I have long maintained that the corporate environment in Cleveland is ice-cold. It’s the truth.
Opon further reflection, the reasons for this are legion, but I think I can narrow things down a bit for the benefit of all. Hopefully, we can work together and come up with more than just answers — true solutions which, if placed into practice, succeed.
The problem begins with “experts” in high positions that, when presented with an innovative idea, think, “What’s in it for me?” and their short-term thinking replies, “not much for the foreseeable future.” The so-called “expert,” steeped in “what is possible, what is probable,” will generally dismiss innovation because of the above reason, or — worse yet — because it is perceived as a threat to his (or her) job.
People in Cleveland are fired — or vice versa, not hired — in Cleveland every day because of this very attitude.
And this attitude is what is holding Cleveland back big-time: we are too big, too experienced, too determined, too important, too educated, too staunchly-entrenched in our own thinking to get our fair city out of the deep pile of crap that we live in. As a result, we’re miserable; miserable people have miserable attitudes, and the cycle perpetuates itself.
It’s a type of viral advertising, although not the type you want for a business — or a city.
Look at how many civic improvement organizations we have in Cleveland: there’s at least 8, all doing the same things, spouting the same goals and itinerary — and getting absolutely nothing done. Other cities, like Boston or Cincinnati or Indianapolis, may have three or four — and they all work together for a common cause, lending impetus to many civic causes.
And their results show. On a recent trip to Cincinnati last year, my bride and I found a clean, well-kept city. We met friendly people all too happy to help a visitor (even if we were from Cleveland). People smiled. They were cheerful. All this from a city that, at the time, had crap for baseball and football teams and a loathing for anything Cleveland.
Cincinnati is growing, far outstripping Cleveland in Information Technology (and other career areas) by leaps and bounds. During my recent unemployment, I passed over at least a dozen job opportunities with my exact skill set — because my bride has an important job here in Cleveland, as well as a mother that doesn’t drive. What would have been a two- or three-week vacation turned out to be a three-year nightmare, because Cleveland (our fair city) sucks at IT — and innovation — and… and… and…
No one in Cleveland wants to extend a helping hand. No one here wants to do anything unless there is an immediate payoff, an immediate ” ‘atta-boy’.” People here just don’t want to get involved without at least notoriety as recompense. That’s why I call it cold. Bone-chilling, in fact. And that’s unfortunate, in every sense of the word.
What’s to be done? What can we do to change this? Well, we need to realize a few things:
- 1) Just as there is someone (or something) more powerful than Bill Gates, George Bush or Donald Trump, there is a power greater than ourselves;
- 2) Our actions (or inaction) affect other people;
- 3) No single person is inconsequential;
- 4) Not everything we do is right;
- 5) We don’t know everything;
- 6) You’re never too old or too experienced to learn;
- 7) Serving another doesn’t mean you lose yourself in the process — in fact, it’s quite the opposite.
To reference:
1) If Bill Gates were the most powerful man in computing, then Firefox wouldn’t exist (it does, and it has the fastest-growing market share if any software program existing today); if George Bush was the best president for today, then he’d have approval numbers in the high 90th percentile (he doesn’t); if Donald Trump was the most powerful man in business today, he’d probably be king (although I’d still have issues with his hair). Wal*Mart can be beaten: all it takes is a willingness to serve!
2) That disgusted sigh you heaved when an employee turned in an assignment just widened that rift between the two of you. Be careful: your business my continue to thrive if that person were to leave, but if they start something better than your company in the same industry, you could, sooner or later, find yourself in trouble! And driving down the highway flipping off everyone in your way (I actually saw this one rush-hour morning on I-271) is a good way to get cut off by another, larger vehicle — and put you hopelessly in a ditch — or worse. Our actions have consequences, and it’s up to us to determine what is proper and what is not. Consider #3 below.
3) People matter. You matter. I matter. We all matter. We need to stop marginalizing other people because they disagree with us, or because they’re of a different ethnic background, or because they live on the other side of town. Just put this attitude down. Now. It doesn’t serve you at all.
I owned a funny sign once. It read:
Nobody is Perfect.
Each one of us is a mixture of good qualities, and some, perhaps, not-so-good qualities. In considering our fellow man, we should recognize his good qualities and realize that his faults only prove that he is, after all, a human being. We should refrain from making harsh judgment of a person just because he happens to be a dirty, rotten, no-good, son-of-a-bitch.
Come to think of it, it’s really not funny. Not at all. I threw the sign away. A long time ago. You know, you catch a lot more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.
4) The fact is, we’re all human, we all have our limitations, we all have our talents (and lack of talent therein), and we all make mistakes: at work, as a parent, as a driver, as a homeowner — whatever. Show me the person who has never made a mistake and I’ll show you God.
I can still show you God, however: just look in the mirror — God lives in each and every one of us. See #3 above.
5) See #4 above. We don’t have all the answers. Not even collectively. Neil Armstrong may have been the first man on the moon, but he didn’t get there alone: not only were there two other men that traveled with him, there were literally thousands of people, men and women alike, working collectively behind the scenes to get him there. Together, we can accomplish great things; individually, we’ll surely fail.
6) See #1, #2, #3, #4, & #5 above. This obviously leaves a lot of room for folks to learn. I try to make sure that I learn something new each and every day. The more somethings in a day, the better, in fact. In working for a change for the better in our fair city, trying to learn something new each day — just one thing a day — is a great new habit to start, and will go a long way to creating a new attitude in this city. Just think: if everyone brought this approach into work every day, for just one learning item a day, how much easier would your job become?
You eventually become open to more and newer ideas; you become more flexible; you realize that you aren’t alone in this world — and things become easier. Many hands make light work.
7) See #3 & #4 above: we may not have all the answers, but we have our experience, which is best shared — not hoarded. By sharing your experience, strength, and hope, we help others see that they are not alone, we help empower others, we help others feel better about themselves — which leads to a more peaceful home life, a more peaceful community, and a nicer place to live. Everyone tends to care about their surroundings just a little bit more. It helps us dig out of the rut we’re in, to get ourselves out of the aforementioned massive garbage heap. See #2 above: a better response would be to smile, say, “Thank you!” and be grateful you have the work to do. See #5 above: if you can’t help someone with a particular problem or issue, then refer them to someone who can; it’s no skin off your nose, believe me. See #6 above and keep on learning; it’s self-perpetuating.
I’m not the first to say anything like this; Seth Godin has been touting this approach all along. So have others. The problem is that we read this stuff and immediately forget about it when we go to work, and, in the process, marginalizing those very folks we supposedly revere.
Ironic, don’t you think?
Cleveland: quit shooting yourself in the foot!
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