So, here’s something you may not know,
I’m a huge movie fan. So, for this week’s blog, I’m going to enlist some help,
“from my little friends”, to discuss a very important topic for talent
managers.
Remember this line from the movie Wall Street; “Greed, for lack of a
better word, is good”? Then came the
collective gasp heard ‘round the world. How
could one of the 7 Deadly Sins
be touted as a good thing? That would be
akin to saying disagreement is good. And
in today’s business world, even that statement might be seen as blasphemous,
revolutionary, or even irrational. But,
contrary to popular belief, a disagreement simply means you have a different
opinion, different beliefs, or even different facts. Over the course of history, there have been many
brave people who were willing to “disagree”.
In the words of Agent K from Men
In Black, "1,500 years ago, everybody "knew" that the earth
was the center of the universe. 500 years ago, everybody "knew" that
the earth was flat.” And who’s to say
that everything we “know” today will hold true in the future. Therefore, disagreeing has some merit.
Recently I watched a video on Ted.com
by Margaret Heffernen,
author of Willful Blindness. Margaret’s career started in television
production, and she eventually became the CEO of five businesses. In her Ted.com
video, she talks about the importance of allowing people to disagree and
the benefits that can be derived from these debates. She speaks of Dr. Alice Stewart, a pioneer in
research regarding the effects of the X-ray machine when used on pregnant
women. Margaret also relates a story
about an executive who was hesitant to speak up about an issue, and how his
silence could have endangered patients.
I was very impressed with Margaret’s
storytelling ability. She didn’t use
PowerPoint slides or videos, but was able to keep the audience engaged simply
through telling a compelling, engaging story.
She also provided an interesting statistic in regards to people’s
hesitancy to disagree. She states, “In surveys of European and American
executives, fully 85 percent of them acknowledged that they had issues or
concerns at work that they were afraid to raise.” If executives feel this way, imagine what the
statistic would be for those at lower levels in organizations. Malcolm Gladwell discusses how culture
can play a role in conflict avoidance and how the result can be tragic.
This video inspired me to make sure my
voice is heard in all situations. Having
the courage to stand up for my clients, and what is right, will be an important
element of my brand. My final quote actually comes from the book that a movie was
based on. In, To Kill A Mockingbird
by Harper Lee, she states, “Before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live
with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s
conscience.” Words to live by.
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