Posts Tagged ‘passion’

Monday, September 24th, 2012

Martyrdom

Would you “kill” for a good idea?

Would you “die” for one?

While we tend to throw these metaphors around – as we should – lightly and tongue in cheek – we wouldn’t really kill nor do we really want to die for a good idea – any idea for that matter – certainly not in our world – but rather we use these throwaway idioms to signify our passion and the inspiration we get from exciting new ideas. That is, most of us anyway….

I once wrote about “Falling on Swords” and considered various scenarios that might or might not be worth the ordeal – my bottom line, by the way, was that very little is worth it…and ideas were certainly not amongst them.

And therein lies the issue – if you won’t “die or kill” – if you won’t “fall on your sword,” then how passionate are you really? How seriously good is your idea? How much could it really be worth?

People who value open systems believe that is just the point – value comes not from owning but from sharing. Not from passion for what is mine but from passion for sharing. From understanding that access is the new ownership – it’s not what I hoard, it’s what I can use when I want.

I write this as I make my way home – mentally energized and physically exhausted – from an intense weekend in Marathon, Greece, where I attended a Marathon weekend of sharing, collaboration and teamwork – with 300 eclectic but like-minded people from around the world who had but one goal – leave with more than they entered because the sum of the whole was worth way more than whatever they might have given away.

The event is called Stream and is hosted by WPP (full disclosure…I work for them) in various locales around the world – but always with the same goal – put in a penny worth of thinking and take out a dollar…not a bad investment strategy – these days, n’ést pas?

The core strategy is simple – set up an environment where ownership is irrelevant and where passion is built by abandoning what you might have once held dear and precious – not because you have lost faith – but rather and better – because together with others you have built on your thinking and others have built on theirs and the resulting new mash-up is exciting, exhilarating, motivating…and by the way, might only last until another addition; another build on; another source of input.

It is truly a Marathon – with the understanding that solo thinking is for sprinters – who lose steam over the long term – while the most powerful outcomes will be built and evolve over time with deep and committed collaboration.

I listened to and participated in conversations ranging from discussing the launch of a new technology that cleans the air; to behavioral economics; to the problems brick-and-mortar retailers have with “show rooming”; to the notion of Generation World (shameless plug).

I watched an expert fly wild-looking drones; I tried the new Windows 8 operating system (a game changer); I drank too much cheap Greek red wine (worse on the stomach than the head…); and I saw a 3-D printer develop quick design prototypes…in 3-D…imagine that…must be why they call it that…

I shared meals, conversations, walks, drinks, ice cream, cigars – with a ragtag collection of interesting, smart as anything and open for anything people and came away with something new each time.

And again…here’s the key – I might die for your right to think but no way was anyone there going to immolate themselves for their own intellectual property – to the contrary – the key was to argue your point – own it – be ready to defend and then do it all over again with your new thinking.

Again – I reiterate – you have to be ready to burn – or else, why bother? – but in the end you burned with the clean passion of shared discovery and building new and not the smoky, stifling fire of the siloed old and used.

Listen:

“Although prepared for martyrdom, I preferred that it be postponed.”
Sir Winston Churchill

You see – by definition Martyrs are created by those ready to die – who sadly have those ready to kill around to oblige – Stream is about eliminating both sides of that self-limiting equation….

So to those who believe in self-immolation; to those who are so passionate about their ideas that they practice suicide murder; to those who are so convinced they are right that they will kill you to prove it….

I say – I’m ready for martyrdom too – only the date changes with every new idea I listen to that affects the idea I’m holding…

And if you must wear a vest, make it grey flannel….

What do you think?

Posted by David on 09/24 at 05:39 PM
  • Do we think it is possible to create a Marathon experience for all the fanatics in this world? Get them together, throw them in a room and lock the door. Let the people in the Arab world who kill for a stupid video, the ultra fanatical orthodox Jews who won't allow the voice of a woman on the public radio ...
    Read more >
    Posted by Edna Kissmann on 2012-09-26 10:30:29
  • I've met a lot of passionate start-up CEOs since leaving Microsoft. Many are prepared to "die" for their idea because they have so much invested in it and feel that's the only way to be. Some cannot waver from their path or take on feedback because they seem frozen by the possibility of fluidity. What I discovered co-writing the book Pioneers ...
    Read more >
    Posted by Mel Carson on 2012-09-25 22:57:20
  • The further I read in this article the more Increasingly insightful it gets... and I wonder.. how can we have the culture of Marathon in our agencies where, while battling as a team, the members still have to cash in some credit for their own. I don't mean I have a problem with that because at the end we all ...
    Read more >
    Posted by Mohamed on 2012-09-24 20:21:56
Monday, November 14th, 2011

Ever Fall On Your Sword?

Ever fall on your sword?

Silly question…if you had, in its historic sense, you wouldn’t be reading this…

But maybe you know someone who has…?

If you have been using the idiom like I do – it connotes believing in an idea so fiercely, so passionately that you would do anything – anything – to see it fulfilled.  And – funnily enough – it’s usually used to infer what won’t happen – as in: “Some big idea – he won’t fall on his sword for it”; or, “Are you nuts????? Do you think I’d fall on my sword for that?” Rarely have I heard – “Oh my God, what an amazing session – she was ready to fall on her sword to sell her thinking.”

Turns out the original usage was centered around accountability. Predating the Japanese tradition, it was the ultimate expression of assuming liability for a screw up.  I imagine if you did it – no one would question the fact that it was your f— up and, by extension, no one else could be blamed – passionate management…if a little final.

In its current usage it’s also about accountability…of sorts. Of sorts I say, because I’m not sure if the stakes are quite the same.

When you think about my example above – “…he won’t fall on his sword for it,” the connotation is that someone won’t take accountability for an idea rather than the older usage denoting accountability for an action (or even an inaction) that had some greater effect in the world – most likely negative.

Now – I’m all about passion – and believe that no idea gets to see the light of day without it – but ideas are, at their best, living, growing things – the best ones don’t stop growing because it’s mine or yours – au contraire – they get better and better as they get shared and built on.

And so the question – would you fall on your sword for your idea?

Listen:

“To be willing to die for an idea is to set a rather high price on conjecture.” Anatole France

Now – let’s be clear before the stones are thrown – I get that ideas like freedom ignite a different set of passions – I’m not talking about that kind of sacrifice….

The way I see it – we live in a world where the ability to think, to speculate, to imagine – has never been greater and where the reward for success in dreaming has never been bigger.

Let me be clear again – I don’t mean speculation like Jon Corzine – no doubt many would like to see him fall on his sword – and, in fact, a good part of the 99% movement revolves around the notion that no one has yet fallen on their swords in accountability or contrition for economic speculation…your call if you think he/they should.

But as we envision, as we conceive and innovate – it seems to me that Anatole has the right idea.

Be passionate – very passionate – but choose your sword falling wisely….and its corollary – what are you willing to kill for….

“The one serious conviction that a man should have is that nothing is to be taken too seriously.” Nicholas Butler

Imagine how much better the world would be….

What’s your view?

By the way, if you should insist on the sword…:

http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/HowTo:Fall_on_your_sword

 

 

 

Posted by David on 11/14 at 03:21 PM
Monday, May 16th, 2011

The Little Transistor Radio




The little Transistor Radio crackled to life.

It was shaped like a brick, encased in a hard leather shell and was precious to me.

I was about 7 years old – and this was my prized possession – given to me by a family friend.


Imagine you had the very first iPad and no one else you knew had one – that was the feeling.

 

We were outside on the roof of the building in Manhattan where I attended grade school. The roof was caged in – it was our playground.

 

I carefully turned the tuning dial – no doubt making a show of it – until we heard the voice of Mission Control in Houston. The static was annoying but added drama – I kept turning the radio in my hand and adjusting the antenna – no doubt making a show of it – to get the best sound.

 

My friends crowded around. We listened intently – at least I did.

 

T minus two minutes and forty seconds – a hold was called. I was almost dancing with anxiety but then the countdown resumed.

 

T minus 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 …ignition – liftoff!!!!!

 

Those words and that sequence never failed to fuel my imagination – and the first time I heard it indelibly inked it to my soul and they became a part of my personal DNA.

 

It was May 5, 1961, and soon Alan B. Shepard, Jr. would be the first American in space – he was strapped into the Freedom 7 capsule and his 15-minute sub-orbital journey ignited my passion for reaching for the stars…

 

I am reminded about this long-ago event and what the hell is a transistor radio? As we have just passed its 50th anniversary and are beginning the last sad flights of the Space Shuttles – already postponed and so lackluster that they don’t even warm interest – let alone ignite passion.

 

Some would say good. We have so many problems here on earth – why waste all that money? Poverty, homelessness, people out of work, war, hatred, terrorism, lack of health care, poor education systems – what am I forgetting?

 

How can we possibly spend billions of dollars on useless space trips when we have trillions of dollars of needs here on Earth?
 
Truth is – my knee-jerk, reflex answer would be yes! That is correct – how dare they spend that money? How dare they even think about it?

But then I find myself tuning that Transistor Radio and that passion returns and I think again.

 

Seems to me that one of our biggest global issues today is a lack of common purpose linked to a big, imaginative, bold, impossible-to-achieve goal, like seeing a man on the moon was back in 1961.

 

Yet there were believers – H.G. Wells wrote about it in his famous book “The First Men in The Moon.”

More importantly, the true believers understood that the nature of this quest went far beyond the mere mechanics of space flight – it was about our future as humankind.

 

President John F. Kennedy who had the vision once said: “Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.”

 

He understood the linkage that uniting imagination, passion, practical application and sheer desire and will power brought to the world. It wasn’t about the rocket – it was about us.

 

Listen:

 

“For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.”
Vincent van Gogh

 

Think on that – we have lost our ability to look at the stars. What we call technology in popular lingo is often nothing more than applications usually focused on creating new venues for advertising…not that I mind the monetization – mind you…but let’s not confuse good ideas with great ideas, solid thinking with inspiration, or doing your job with passion.

 

We worry and rightly so about our daily needs and tasks and forget that sometimes the future is more important to longevity than the present.

 

Having said that I have met many who are looking at the stars and who do dream – yet we tend to isolate them as dreamers — give them awards and accolades and return as quickly as possible to the newest iteration of Give Me One Of Those.

 

Seems to me a little star focus (and I don’t mean the latest antics of the entitled self-absorbed) would be a boon for the world and for each of us individually. A goal, a project, a dream to change the world – an idea that…laugh if they will – would and could make a difference.

 

And what’s the worst that could happen? Listen:


“Shoot for the moon and if you miss you will still be among the stars.”
Les Brown

 

And there you have it – you can’t lose…

 

One last thought from Mark Twain that I think might be prescriptive:

 

“We had the sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made or only just happened.”

So look up every once in a while and dream…and wonder and discuss – and who knows…

 

What do you think?

 

 

 

Posted by David on 05/16 at 03:18 PM