When Corporate and Personal Goals Collide: Efficiency over the Individual
April 23, 2020
I read “Covid-19 and the Welcome Collapse of Professionalism.” The write up has a defeatist quality. Consider this passage:
Over the last few weeks, I’ve navigated my own emotional response to the pandemic while attempting to model the leadership I believe is important in times like these: empathetic, decisive, present.
Empathy, decisiveness, and presentness? Does this sound like a young adult trying to explain what he or she wants to do as a parent. There is a sense of loss and longing in the statement quoted above. “Emotional” comes up short. How about the word “psychological”?
The context of the write up is, of course, the crisis of the Great Pandemic. The assumptions in the essay are that the Organization Man’s definition of professionalism is not right for our times. Interesting, just not professional based on my work experience.
What is professional?
Consider Amazon. “Public Plea to AWS: Give Free Credits to Startups Around the World” explains that a successful online bookseller should have “mom” characteristics; that is, empathy, decisiveness, and presentness—just tailored to the needs of the emotional little people.
The article implores:
I am asking AWS to offer us all additional credits based on the last 12 month’s spend. Help us … based on how much business we do with you. Reward your loyal customers. Offering us all, say, the equivalent of one quarter’s standard usage based on the last 12 months of consumption would be a spectacular way you can help us through this difficult time.
These two write ups are interesting. Both are emotional. Both reveal a keen desire to have a parental intervention make everything all better.
The first wants everyone to redefine professionalism, presumably to make work kinder, friendlier, and chock full of goodness. Maybe like a pre-school daycare with really kind staff, milk, and cookies.
The second wants the world’s richest man to give stuff away for free. The argument is that “everybody wins.”
Reality check:
- Work is generally not like day care. People in groups have a tendency to demonstrate human qualities. These include behaviors not in line with empathy, decisiveness, and presentness. Concepts like “I don’t care if your kid is having a birthday party, the report is due tomorrow.” and “I am not sure what to do. You and your team figure it out.” and “I have a plane to catch. Deal with it.”
- The really rich people like to charge people, get money, and increase their cash reserve as a way to keep score. Giving stuff away free is okay if it hooks the person into spending more and forever.
Several observations:
These pleas for change at a time of pandemic are interesting.
Most of the bleats will be white noise.
Change is likely to arrive, but it may not be what those looking for emotional comfort or a benign corporate Santa will deliver.
Net net: Corona pleading may be a new form of Silicon Valley inspired writing. Worth monitoring but with appropriate empathy, decisiveness, and presentness, of course.
Stephen E Arnold, April 23, 2020
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