No colours anymore…
It’s a funny world, this place I inhabit. If I had known in my khol-lined teenage years that this was what would come of things, I might not have bothered to protest or get involved in anything. Somehow, we have created a global society that smacks of tall poppy syndrome. What does that mean? It means that if something stands out above the rest of the field, it gets chopped down.
Individualism is non-existent. We live in a world that believes freedom of choice in the shops is the same as being an individual. It’s not. I can buy any music/movie/whore I want. Does that mean I am an individual? No. Even those of us on the fringe think we are buying “alternative” music/books, well – no we are not. Trust me, if it’s playing on the radio or has found its way into Look & Listen then some marketer somewhere has done his job well and knows there is a financially viable market. So, think of most things in your home… are they unique? Probably not.
Heroes today are not astronauts or even adventurers. They are businessmen (a field totally lacking in integrity by its very nature) or sportsmen. Most of them have been cornered by a big company to wear their brand or promote it in some way. Hardly an honest way to earn a living, if you think about it. Me? Oh – I spin for a living. I decide which brands are a good association, I persuade people to buy certain things. Hey – everyone has to earn a crust. It may be less honest than helping lepers, but I manage to keep my personal integrity intact.
Have you ever counted how many advertising messages or PR is thrown at you in a 30 minute trip to the office every morning? Noticed how much crap you listen to on the radio? Someone is paying for that.
So, propaganda and consumerism aside, there is also the terrible tyranny of political correctness. I do understand that shouting racist words or descriptors is not the thing to do. No issue. I take issue with being told I mustn’t call people fat, or ask them if they are pregnant before I hire them. The re-writing of Enid Blyton books because you can’t have golliwogs or Noddy jumping into bed with Big Ears? But you can have signs promoting strip-joints or abortion.
Does this seem remotely sensible? No. I don’t much care for the world I have helped to create. So I don’t buy mass-manufactured things, other than appliances or technology. Everything in my home is handmade or antique. I like it that way. I will call people fat, lazy or outright stupid. What you going to do about it?
Democracy, too, is a way of always ensuring that the lowest common denominator is in charge. Most people are sheeple. And yet we entrust the building of nations to the people they vote in. Odd? You betcha.
Ya, back when I was listening to The Cure, Clash and Toyah, I thought I was fighting for individualism. It appears that, instead, I managed to be part of making a world that is beige. Where being odd means a strange ring-tone on your phone or a vanity license plate on your car.
No thanks. I intend to stay a little scarlett blip on the ocean of beige.
Confrontation in the workplace
Of all the things I have learned in business, there is one tool that will make sure you are always taken seriously and get ahead. It’s called fearlessness. Today, though, I am going to look at one thing: fearlessness in confrontation.
Confrontation does not mean getting ugly or personal or having a screaming match. It means sitting calmly and clearly stating your stuff. Know where you are coming from. Make it clear. Most people don’t know how to deal with it. They are so used to fencing and hiding, that when you are direct it throws them. Generally they agree to anything you want.
So, I have learned to give an issue a night to sleep on, when it is something that makes me angry. Then the next day I call the person and we meet. I never attack the individual, only the issue or the behavior that is out of hand.
Today I nearly lost it, however, with my financial director who is also the sole representative of my majority shareholders on my board. Almost. Instead I was a cruel, evil monster. Icy cold. Factual. This is despite the fact that I am busy thinking about how they are blood sucking leech thieves and that an ice-pick is too good for him. Straight through the eyeball.
Anyway, I did my number, phoned my lawyer (no, Tri, not you cos I don’t need a criminal one. Yet.) and sent a follow up email. The guy is running around trying to make me happy. Fucker it is not going to be that easy. And all I did was deal with facts. In the most simple language possible.
Anyway, my rage did not show. I was outwardly calm and in control and confronted the issue. They never know what to do with that. Good stuff. I do. And honesty and directness work better than anything you could learn from a course on business manipulation. Trust me. Try it out on lovers/spouses/friends/family.
