A blast from the past
October 11, 2008 by Miki Saxon
Considering what’s going on in the world I thought I’d republish a guest post by Kevin Dwyer (I added some formatting) that really resonates with today’s headlines.So, without more ado, here it is…
“Since When Did I Become a Grumpy Old Man?”
By Kevin Dwyer
Something insidious seems to have happened as I have got older. The world as seen through the prism of popular culture continues to be dumbed down. Stupid seems to have become mainstream. This appears to have occurred both in general and business society.
Now, it may well be that I am just becoming one of the grumpy old men from The Muppet Show. I offer the following for you to judge.
- CEOs and their executive teams who preside over share prices which fall, are involved in scandals, or are sold on to private equity firms because the executive team cannot get sufficient value out of the assets are given bonuses on top of extremely high salaries.
- Politicians not only get away with plausible deniability, but seem to believe that it is a legitimate tactic in executing their responsibility to spend our individual money to build a collective future society for our children, better than the one we were born into. Promises become core promises and non-core promises. The truth becomes what people believe is the truth, not necessarily what is the truth.
- People who would be lucky to have a serious following of friends at their local pub, gain national and international notoriety based on actions within a voyeur’s house that would have had them arrested or ostracised from a society with reasonable morals.
- Buzz words dominate business. “Going forward” is used as a phrase relating to time used instead of next month or next year, a minimum of ten times in a morning television business news report. If they can do the opposite of going forward in time, then I’d really be listening. Phrases which confuse rather than inform become the norm, for example, “People” becomes “Human capital”, “Employees” becomes “Associates” and organisations “Push the envelope”.
- Athletes who can perform their particular skill at a higher level than most others and are paid astronomical salaries to do so, become a protected species if they lose their way and succumb to repeated use of drugs, both legal and illegal. Compared with the “man in the street” they get repeated chances for redemption before the law is applied.
- Leaders do not lead. They prefer to pretend that they are like us; so as not to scare us and possibly lose our support. They do not see their role as envisioning and building a better future, persuading us along the way by the force and logic of their idea. Rather they want us to see them as their mates, liking them and supporting them as evidenced by opinion polls.
What about it? Do you relate?
Your comments—priceless
Grumpy old men…
Thanks for the thoughts. As I was reading this, I couldn’t help but think of the book Dropping Almonds by Bach Anon. In his management memoir, Bach points to many of the issues Mr. Dwyer summarizes. As I was laughing reading the post, I thought of Bach’s book. You may want to pick up a copy and join the Almond Army.
Hi Scott, thanks for stopping by and adding to the conversation.
I’m delighted to have added laughter to your Saturday—even if I didn’t write it. Thanks for the heads up on Dropping Almonds, I’ll definitely check it out.