Examples of the European "deal"

Martin Wolf of the Financial Times recently commented on how the West is losing its economic dominant position. "Some are saying that economic stresses are emerging in the US and Europe that signal the end of the West's economic dominance [paraphrased*]. I think of it as the end of “the deal”. What was that deal? It was the post-second-world-war settlement: in the US, the deal centred on full employment and high individual consumption. In Europe, it centred on state-provided welfare. "

Here's a great example... The man working at the fries counter in Brussels the other day decided he had had enough. So he yelled at all the customers about how these are fries... not "fast food" (right)... and then sat down to have a coffee and probably a cigarette. Of course, we had little choice. We could either wait or... wait... as the other fries place is now on it's month long vacation to I-don't-know-where-you-can-go-on-the-money-you-make-selling-fries, but I'm sure it's nice.

There's "the deal" right there.

My response: "you make fries, man." Please just make me some fries.

* "Three years and new faults lines threaten" by Martin Wolf. Published in the Financial Times: July 3, 2010

Getting better - teamwork

There is a theme running through the 21st century - it is about measuring (and improving) what was thought to be unmeasurable. I've seen this recently in Gawande's book Better and Dan Gilbert's book Stumbling on Happiness. I also saw this myself with a project I did in business school where we studied what best practice in teamwork might look like.

The biggest learning I had was that while there are technically obvious techniques that can make a team better, there are many not so obvious techniques. We can use MBA teams to innovate new teamwork designs, measure them in subsequent years (while continuing to innovate in these years), and sift great new ideas for teamwork from these. I think it echos the themes of measuring the "soft stuff" I'm seeing in other areas well.

What does success look like?

What exactly is success? Like the really good things in life, I'm beginning to understand that it's one of the more nebulous concepts in life, despite the fact that ostensibly, many people with ambition are fighting to be successful. So, based on recent events, I'm going to lay out what I think success is

First, what is it not? It is not purely wealth or fame, in the common sense of these words. Material wealth (a big pay check, etc.) is nice in that it can give one freedom, it is only a means to be successful. Nigel Roome, in a recent lecture, pointed out that one of the key planks in the causes of the financial crisis was the Gordon Gecko idea that "Greed is Good." I think the statement should be expanded - greed is good for what? And fame, per se, is not success either. Remember you have to be careful to define again, "famous for what?" I suppose I would like to be famous, but if I were famous for a crime, does that really make me successful?

This leads to the next question, the "for what?" part of greed and fame. I'm defining a pretty short list of virtues one could be famous and wealthy for: truth, beauty, wisdom, generosity, leadership, friendship, humanity, peace, happiness, and love. Looking at this list, of course, I can see that each term requires it's own definition, but if we take this list as layer down from success, then I think it's safe to say pursuing any of these is a worthwhile goal.

But that does not necessarily lead to success. It seems very clear to me that if one truly has found a new truth, a new beauty (or has mastered an old one), or has developed a greater humanity, it is imperative that it be shared. Proverbially speaking, "polishing one's virtues under the covers at night" is cowardly. So one also has to have the courage to share what you know with the world.