Being in the right place at the right time can make or break careers — and companies. Rosabeth Moss Kanter wrote this in her 2013 article, “The first secret of success is showing up.” In it, she references the comedy film, “Being There,” starring Peter Sellers. She explains how Sellers portrays the dimwitted Chance the Gardener, who tended the grounds for a wealthy elderly gentleman. When the man dies, Chance wears his clothes, and his name is misheard as “Chauncey Gardiner.” He is swept into high circles by a series of accidents, his mumbled observations on gardens are taken as wise metaphors, and he is soon a major national advisor. Just because he “shows up,” opportunities abound.
I shared Kanter’s words with our staff recently, not to point out that sometimes you can just luck out by showing up (although, that’s true), but rather to make the point that ideas and innovation and growth won’t happen unless we join together — face to face — and brainstorm. This is true in our clubs, organizations, teams, businesses and even in our families.
Don’t get me wrong, video conferencing can be wonderful and has its benefits, but it simply can’t replace direct and personal interactions when growth is the goal. I suspect some of you who are reading this are ready to fire off an email to me, stating how you are more productive working from home rather than in an office. For a select few of you, that may certainly be true. You may be more productive individually, but is your company more productive overall? Are you generating ideas and growing the business in new ways, or are you simply maintaining the status quo or, worse yet, swimming in declines?
I had dinner with a couple friends the other night, and they both expressed how “remote working” will soon be a thing of the past for the reasons stated above. They may be right.
Kanter wrote that, for companies, being there means “having a presence on the ground to deeply understand places that hold resources important for the future.” She referenced Kodak and noted how the company might have dominated digital imaging today the way it did film-based photography. She shared how things may have turned out differently if the company had “been there” in Silicon Valley “soaking up the sunshine of digital creativity, hiring a new Internet-savvy generation, and connecting with entrepreneurs inventing the future.” Instead, she notes, the firm remained in Rochester, New York, capital of an older technology era.
Kodak’s fall from grace wasn’t due to an overuse of Zoom calls, certainly, but the lack of new ideas and innovation played a part. Those don’t happen accidentally. Being in the right place at the right time is important, and it is impossible to do that without first showing up.
Have a wonderful Wednesday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305
www.thedailyumbrella.com |
