Did 20th century American culture create a privileged underclass of adult children? Certainly there are many who fall into this category. Do we do our children a huge disservice by coddling them through adolescence? The 20th century began a time when teen-agers were expected to become useful and productive from late childhood. Partly as a reaction to 19th century child labor atrocities, we invented an extended childhood that lasted up through 16 years. That time has grown to 21 years or more with the expectation of a college education for everyone.
Admittedly, in most cases this time is not wasted and young people gradually develop a sense of responsibility and desire for productivity. For some though, it can be a time of extended boredom. Some are showered with money and gifts and great lengths are taken to protect them from reality. Our education system tends to be disconnected from reality in many cases.
Even though most "yoots" (re Joe Pesci's hilarious "Cousin Vinny" character) become productive to society and do not become burdens on the state or worse, does this extended childhood contribute to a "do the minimum" attitude? Why do many extremely successful individuals come from very challenging circumstances? Very challenging early circumstances seems to produce either a strong desire to succeed or the opposite extreme of giving up. The extended childhood to which most of our yoots are subjected may be more likely to produce mediocrity than one extreme or the other.
What is the quality we need to engender that is caused neither by too much coddling or too much unfortunate circumstance? We need our yoots to want to make a difference in the world. We need them to engage at an early age. We need their young fresh minds to be applied to constructive thinking and doing rather than killing time with the latest video game.
How can we help make this happen?
Monday, November 10, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Entitlement
What is the deal with feelings of entitlement? It seems that many people from a variety of backgrounds and contexts show this personality trait.
Seems to me that entitlement overdrive can take 2 forms. One is based on historical expectation and the other is rooted in envy and resentment.
Some people feel entitled to keep getting the same level of goodies and rewards as "they have become accustomed". We see this kind of entitlement expection in the stereotypical spoiled brats of the world. This can come from the very rich or from anyone who has become accustomed to getting things that were not earned. Receiving things that were not earned is the root of the problem. A false perception of superiority builds inside the individual. Any changes that might cause a reduction in benefits is usually not welcome. This kind of entitlement complex has a historical expectation basis. Even though this variety is real, it usually only results in whining or other harmless yet crass social behaviors.
Envy and/or resentment causes some of the same symptoms. People in this camp resent not getting things that they have not earned. IOW, they see others who get benefits that they do not or perceive that they cannot ever have. This causes resentment toward those who enjoy those benefits. Envy causes them to lash out at a particular social class or society at large. This can manifest itself in physical violence or relatively harmless one-upmanship (for example, getting your friends to wait in a long line, then call you on your cell phone when they are close to the front so you can move past others who are paying the dues of waiting). Of course, this kind of behavior sidesteps the reality of earning the benefit.
The root solution to either of these manifestations of entitlement is commitment to taking what we earn and no more. We all have feelings of entitlement from time to time. When we feel this coming on we should stop and ask ourselves "have I earned this?".
Seems to me that entitlement overdrive can take 2 forms. One is based on historical expectation and the other is rooted in envy and resentment.
Some people feel entitled to keep getting the same level of goodies and rewards as "they have become accustomed". We see this kind of entitlement expection in the stereotypical spoiled brats of the world. This can come from the very rich or from anyone who has become accustomed to getting things that were not earned. Receiving things that were not earned is the root of the problem. A false perception of superiority builds inside the individual. Any changes that might cause a reduction in benefits is usually not welcome. This kind of entitlement complex has a historical expectation basis. Even though this variety is real, it usually only results in whining or other harmless yet crass social behaviors.
Envy and/or resentment causes some of the same symptoms. People in this camp resent not getting things that they have not earned. IOW, they see others who get benefits that they do not or perceive that they cannot ever have. This causes resentment toward those who enjoy those benefits. Envy causes them to lash out at a particular social class or society at large. This can manifest itself in physical violence or relatively harmless one-upmanship (for example, getting your friends to wait in a long line, then call you on your cell phone when they are close to the front so you can move past others who are paying the dues of waiting). Of course, this kind of behavior sidesteps the reality of earning the benefit.
The root solution to either of these manifestations of entitlement is commitment to taking what we earn and no more. We all have feelings of entitlement from time to time. When we feel this coming on we should stop and ask ourselves "have I earned this?".
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Corporate Culture
I have been spending the week starting a new job and learning the company product. Two variables that become apparent very quickly is company and customer culture.
Company culture seems to be influenced by the leadership, the people that make up the company, the particular business of the company, the level of quality of the product or service provided by the company and the customer base.
The leadership of a particular company has the largest influence on the fundamental cultural characteristics of a company. The level of open communication, trust and honesty perceived from the senior leadership is transferred and magnified across the organization. This is magnifed even moreso in a small to mid-size company. Smaller company culture can be affected to a larger degree by the individuals that make up the company. Larger companies are more affected by senior leadership, brand, history and tradition.
The level of product quality can have an extreme effect on a company culture for good or bad. For larger, successful companies this is typically a positive effect, otherwise, they might not still be in business. However, market disruption or financial challenges can tip this ingredient to one side or the other. For smaller companies, a high quality product can push morale higher, promoting a self-sustaining positive environment for future growth. A low quality product can undermine morale and create bickering and blamecasting across departments.
Even though customer culture has a uniqueness quotient between each individual company, there appears to be some common ground across customers of a particular product, especially a software or technology product. The bond that grows between users of a particular product, especially if that group is small, can affect the team culture of that user group.
Company culture seems to be influenced by the leadership, the people that make up the company, the particular business of the company, the level of quality of the product or service provided by the company and the customer base.
The leadership of a particular company has the largest influence on the fundamental cultural characteristics of a company. The level of open communication, trust and honesty perceived from the senior leadership is transferred and magnified across the organization. This is magnifed even moreso in a small to mid-size company. Smaller company culture can be affected to a larger degree by the individuals that make up the company. Larger companies are more affected by senior leadership, brand, history and tradition.
The level of product quality can have an extreme effect on a company culture for good or bad. For larger, successful companies this is typically a positive effect, otherwise, they might not still be in business. However, market disruption or financial challenges can tip this ingredient to one side or the other. For smaller companies, a high quality product can push morale higher, promoting a self-sustaining positive environment for future growth. A low quality product can undermine morale and create bickering and blamecasting across departments.
Even though customer culture has a uniqueness quotient between each individual company, there appears to be some common ground across customers of a particular product, especially a software or technology product. The bond that grows between users of a particular product, especially if that group is small, can affect the team culture of that user group.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)