Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The Recognition Era - Part 2, What It Means "Top Ten" List conc.


This post is the continuation of a previous post on Friday, June 15, 2012.

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Six.  Irresponsibility.  The world is very complex and it is pretty tough in today`s social, business, political arenas to assign blame to an individual.  Even in instances whereby direct blame is is obvious the subject can easily find excuses for poor performance.  Problem solving and putting out fires is a better skill these days than foresight.

Seven.  Apathy.  People care about what they consider important more than ever and not much else.  Further,as the need for recognition is paramount, effort will only be put towards areas whereby there can be acknowledgement.  Subsequently, if recognition cannot be attained then people won't care and will not put any effort at all towards areas in which there is no success.

Eight.  Triviality.  Recognition for its own sake does not require significance.  Therefore, people will attempt to succeed in areas that are niche and quite likely inconsequential.  Being acknowledged for being good at something trumps the importance of the activity as well as any type of moral contribution.  As recognition is the key driver, the means of acknowledgement is inconsequential therefore non-traditional socially acceptable means will become mainstream.  Crime, pornography, abhorrent behavior.

Nine.  Ease.  Very few people appear to want to work hard for anything these days.  Recognition and success have to come easy and early for anyone to pursue it.  No one wants to see the fruits of their labor materialize three years down the road.  Instant impact and rewards are what drives motivation in the twenty-first century so abandonment of difficult tasks will occur frequently.

Ten.  Individuality.  Recognition is greatest when it is a singular achievement.  More and more people will strive to be acknowledged for their own efforts rather than being part of a collaborative team. Within the team environment as well there is a need to be considerate and follow much more procedure which is the bane of individuality. As everyone feels that they know what is the best course of action for them, then teamwork will become the antithesis of the individually minded person.

All these things in total do not necessarily require negativity rather a willingness to be accommodating and an ability to manage in this new Recognition era.

Friday, June 15, 2012

The Recognition Era - What It Means "Top Ten" List

As the world becomes less focused on accomplishment and more on recognition here is what we can expect.  Here is a proverbial Top Ten list split into two postings.

Firstly, an overall decrease in quality of just about everything.  From clothes, to cars, to food you name it, it will get worse.  The exception of course will be at the high-end or luxury type items whereby those who can afford quality will be able to purchase it.  Everything will be built or grown to ultimately be disposable so quality will be a secondary goal.  Consumers expect their products now to be functional and design-oriented.  Durability is not something younger generations strive for as they are used to products being replaced regularly due to advancing technologies, evolving trends which has lead to an inherent obsolescence of goods and services.

Two.  Transiency.  There will be an increased growth in movement as people can simply leave one area or sector where they are not getting enough attention and search out greener pastures.  The easiest way to get recognition is to be the "new guy" as expectations are usually lower while attention is usually at its peak.  People will however, will still want to gravitate upwards in their careers so expect a lot more movement as candidates for internal promotion become less and less available.

Three.  Sound-bites.  The recognition era is of course driven by short attention spans and digital media.  Therefore, do not ever expect to have time to explain yourself fully.  Every message including personal conversation has to be delivered quickly.  The result will be that society and business more forward in a piece-meal fashion and requires leadership who can respond quickly and effectively but also mobilize those around them to respond as well.  Think of it as flash mob leadership.

Four.  Inconsistency.  Most people these days hold more of a go with the flow approach.  Just look at the political world to see that what the candidates said five years ago is no longer meaningful nor are they even individually accountable for it.  The world is changing very fast and new information surfaces constantly so what worked last week may no longer be even relevant.  Planning will become less influential when compared to the need for speedy reaction times.

Five.  Success.  Success will not be 100% measured in terms of pay and income.  Flexibility of working, unique processes and freedom of action will become paramount.  No one who thinks they are special want to do things the same way as everyone else.  Quick promotion and titles will be more important.  Expect the companies that get and retain the best people to be the ones with the least amount of management.  Plus, many younger people have access to their boomer parents wealth and know they are OK financially.

Numbers 6 through 10 will be available on Wednesday, June 20, 2012.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

The Recognition Era: Accolades without Achievement


People today prioritize and strive for recognition over all else.

The days of actually earning recognition through accomplishment have been overtaken by a world whereby accolade is easier in a self-developed media environment and subsequently there has grown a culture of reward for nothing else other than doing.

Reality TV is the obvious outcome as people who have no significant skill or talent and certainly have not achieved anything are watched and on occasion celebrated for doing absolutely nothing.  This phenomenon extends from people going about their daily jobs like building motorcycles or catching fish to the full blown cult of celebrity whereby people who are otherwise normal gain a following for merely being followed by cameras (the Kardashian's for example).

Our society has created this from birth as we no longer embrace a spirit of accomplishment to gain recognition nor do we rely on competition to distinguish those who deserve accolades. Everyone today, who in the past would have been considered average receives acknowledgement.  At a recent university graduation, every graduating member of the class received Honours or Distinction status.  What is the point?

In sports, there is a Para-Olympic program that permits those with disabilities to perform on a world stage though quite often their achievements are microscopic when compared to the world’s best.  In fairness though, these folks work very hard to get where they are.  Even in team sports overall, a spirit of inclusion and equality of playing time quite often is paramount when compared to winning and losing so why even refer to it as sport?  Under these conditions it has become merely exercise.

YouTube has given every single person in the world the opportunity to be acknowledged for doing nothing more than holding a camera.  Sadly, the elements of YouTube that attracts the most attention are cat videos, people doing dumb things and Justin Bieber.  None of which adds anything to a broader society beyond a few brief seconds of distraction.

On an extremely more negative note, recognition has also become more important for the truly dysfunctional element of society.  These individuals now feel justified in undertaking quite spectacular atrocities so that they receive some type of acknowledgement as they know that they cannot be acknowledged within modern societal norms.

What needs to happen is that achievement and accolades have to become more attainable without the media being present and/or for merely fulfilling the mundane part of existence. 

People who deliver results and rise above difficult circumstances certainly warrant more from society than they currently receive.  People who contribute greatly to their local community deserve more pay.  People who rise above the norm deserve more acknowledgements for their contributions.  Those who truly have unique skills or achieve major accomplishments in athletics, business, entertainment, beauty can still attain disproportionate amounts of success due to their personal accomplishments.

Monday, June 4, 2012

The Presidency is Undemocratic

Obama or Romney.  It won't matter in the least.

Once again the lack of choice is testament to the undemocratic nature of the American political system.  On one hand you have a candidate who has failed miserably to inspire America and stem the downfall of the economic system and on the other hand you have a candidate who is an opportunist who has zero credibility in terms of leadership.  There really is no preferred choice.

The Presidency was designed to be a powerful leadership position for the entirety of the USA.  It was to be a position of intelligence, might, and most of all a defender of the Constitution and the multitude of freedoms that the USA was trying to establish in the world.  In our current era, the Presidency should be the number one defender of these same liberties.

The oath of office makes the Presidents role extremely clear.  


"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Over the years this oath has essentially been abandoned by the office of the President.  The Presidency has devolved into being merely a position for the top party representative.  This person ultimately is beholding and controlled by the parties themselves and the Constitution has been forsaken.  Therefore, the President does not represent America.

The democratic ideals and principals of the US have been completely usurped.