It was first triggered by an image that a friend of mine sent to me, it was a picture talking about how a high ranking official had about 26million worth of shares in a company. Now, anybody with an active portfolio knows that with such a large stock, it won't be the only one. That means the person's wealth is probably way more than that amount, maybe close to 40 million. That set me thinking, that person must been quite the financial genius to be able to work out such a splendid portfolio. The cadre does indeed have top people for the job, the best talents and greatest minds. However, there was just one problem. The thing about many great minds, especially those seem to fit the ideal mould of progress and economic growth, is that they must have the ability to quantify things, even seemingly unquantifiable ones. Like happiness, well-being, poverty and the standard of living. These things become numbers. When things that normally tug away at heartstrings stop affecting them in the pursuit of growth, growth is unhindered as these great minds work in unison, in a magnificent combination actually, to bring this mega corporation to new heights. Now, this bit will be taken from something i learnt from a prof. When people like this form a cadre and set out a training process to pick the brightest. The top that emerges will usually fit perfectly into their mould. The mould that they set, what they assume as the best will be one that exemplifies the characteristics they value, incidentally, they possess. Another friend once told me (I respect her immensely) that many corporations, especially those that are international and grow to be extremely huge have a selection process that tries to occasionally select someone that exemplifies different qualities. Bring in fresh blood to the scene, add a dynamic element and watch natural chemistry work, and the top leadership rejuvenates and evolves dynamically. This doesn't seem to be happening. Its a static process, with undoubtedly great minds coming out, but all of the same mould. Yes the corporation progresses, but certain things, because of a dearth of quality of certain essential values, will flounder and go neglected. Yes certainly lip service may be paid, cause any decent great mind know that a little must be done to placate the plebeians.
This struck through again when another friend spoke of an interview with a person who was exceptional. The person had eyes for large changes, revolutionary changes for the benefit of us, but it seems that he did not regard the small things such as the human touch and the nurturing and development. Nurture specific moulds yes, but not the holistic nurturing of all.The person was on his way into the cadre no doubt, approved by the higher echelons that run the corporation.
Is that where this is all heading? The widening gap, the dissent, the increasing unrest, because this is a self-perpetuating cycle. The top minds yes, no doubt, so far top that certain things go unseen. They say that the best teams are those that compromises of the most dynamic personalities, this is looking to be clearly not happening. Just needed to put it all down into words. Peace of mind now. Cheers
* Maybe this is what I am going to do, corporate psychology and team dynamics
