{"id":1039,"date":"2009-01-29T13:17:02","date_gmt":"2009-01-29T20:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.opexlearning.com\/resources\/?p=1039"},"modified":"2016-12-25T00:45:08","modified_gmt":"2016-12-25T05:45:08","slug":"how-to-be-a-human","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.opexlearning.com\/resources\/how-to-be-a-human\/1039\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Be A Human"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"a296a24fa2fc69ef5487857f02f111e8\" data-index=\"9\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Single Post readerboard -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:inline-block;width:728px;height:90px\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8207522353004717\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1144967431\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>I had an experience recently where I spoke with a group of friends and acquaintances about the economy and the existential despair that is all around us.\u00a0 Then, a friend said something that shocked me:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>. . . it&#8217;s terrible that (company x) went through such a huge delayering<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>What?\u00a0 &#8220;Delayering&#8221; as a euphemism for a human losing his or her livelihood &#8212; these are people who have spouses, children, a mortgage, dreams &#8212; that will be affected.\u00a0 To refer to each of these human beings as a collective &#8220;Delayer&#8221; felt very wrong.<\/p>\n<p>I challenged her and asked what she meant by &#8220;delayer&#8221; &#8212; through a socratic dialogue, she finally said something that was less jargon-filled:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>. . . it&#8217;s terrible that so many people lost their jobs<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This experience caused me to reflect on Kierkegaard&#8217;s poignant question &#8220;what does it mean to be a human?&#8221;, then on Martin Buber&#8217;s explication of the &#8220;I\/Thou&#8221; relationship, then on Martin Luther King Jr.&#8217;s notion of &#8220;nobodiness&#8221; and, more recently, on Josh Bernoff&#8217;s invitation for all of us to become more human.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s an appropriate invitation and, in this post, wish to contribute a few ideas on how we can become more human with language: our <em>language can convey meaning, an emotion, and a judgment<\/em>.<br \/>\n<strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Worldview<\/h2>\n<p>Martin Buber provides an appropriate context in his I\/Thou description.\u00a0 In plain language, we can respond to other human beings in the following ways:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>We can treat other human beings as objects: things that either help us progress or things that get in our way of progression.<\/li>\n<li><em>We can treat other human beings as humans: we can listen, have empathy, and treat each other with kindness despite other differences.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>I submit that to be human means to accept Martin Buber&#8217;s description #2 above.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-9186 aligncenter\" title=\"pete-abilla-family-picture\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.opexlearning.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/pete-abilla-family-picture.jpg\" alt=\"pete abilla, family picture, shmula family\" width=\"610\" height=\"543\" srcset=\"https:\/\/staging.opexlearning.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/pete-abilla-family-picture.jpg 772w, https:\/\/staging.opexlearning.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/pete-abilla-family-picture-600x535.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p>A few basic characteristics that will help our understanding:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Human development involves physical, mental, social, and the emotional.\u00a0 On one aspect, Human Beings are quite complicated and have an inner-life that is rich, deep, private, and sacred to that individual.<\/li>\n<li>Human Beings also have the faculty of memory, that can be triggered by outside stimuli, color, smell and can further trigger emotions that can sometimes drive behavior or thought.<\/li>\n<li>Gadamer pointed out correctly that Human Beings are social creatures &#8212; sociality requires communication with others and a community is the outcome of our sociality.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>All in all, it is important to remember something <a title=\"shmula.com, overmanaged and underled\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.opexlearning.com\/resources\/overmanaged-and-underled\/457\/\">my mentor taught me<\/a> a long time ago:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>judge slowly.\u00a0 people are hurting &amp; struggling in ways that we cannot see<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Having this worldview as a context is helpful &#8212; we can now discuss some ideas in how we can treat others.<\/p>\n<h2>Language<\/h2>\n<p>The above-mentioned example of &#8220;delayer&#8221; is not sensitive &#8212; clearly &#8212; but it also points to a cultural challenge in business where we have, for the most part, replaced meaningful conversations with empty jargon.\u00a0 This state-of-affairs results in a community of human beings that speak, but don&#8217;t really say anything at all.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some examples of jargon that I hear daily, but lack much meaning (if you are interested, <a title=\"shmula.com, jargon monoxide\" href=\"http:\/\/bobsutton.typepad.com\/my_weblog\/2008\/12\/business-language-that-makes-me-squirm.html\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"broken_link\">Bob Sutton at Stanford<\/a>, recently wrote about Jargon Monoxide):<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>center of excellence, ramp up, upside, collaborate, sustainable, brain storm, mind shower, metrics, multitask, green policy, run the numbers, exposure, real-time, drop the ball, goal oriented, customer oriented, level set, touchpoints, streamline, high-level, mission critical, synergy, reach out, tasked, buzz, action item, service oriented, walk the talk, reinvent the wheel, occupy the field, quick win, bottom up, core competency, circle the wagons, share-of-wallet, non-productive headcount, full-time equivalent, downsizing, redundant employee, position elimination, go to market, BHAG, delayer, organization simplification, agile, etc&#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Admittedly, I am guilty of using some of the jargon I mention above.\u00a0 But, my usage doesn&#8217;t justify the usage of some of those phrases &#8212; some are just cruel, whereas some are devoid of meaning, while some are actually descriptive of the concept.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m not saying that we shouldn&#8217;t use any business jargon, but I&#8217;m proposing a greater sensitivity toward others and a bias for <em><strong>meaning<\/strong><\/em> and <em><strong>humaneness<\/strong><\/em> &#8212; which might mean that instead of saying &#8220;drop the ball&#8221;, one might say instead &#8220;fail&#8221; or instead of saying &#8220;core competency&#8221;, one might say &#8220;what we&#8217;re good at&#8221;.<\/p>\n<h2>Share-of-Wallet or a Customer?<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Here&#8217;s my point: would you prefer to be called &#8220;share-of-wallet&#8221; or a &#8220;customer&#8221;?\u00a0 There is a clear intention in our language: &#8220;share-of-wallet&#8221; satisfies Buber&#8217;s definition of being treated like an object; being referred to as a <strong><span style=\"color: #800000;\">&#8220;customer&#8221; <\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">is more humane.\u00a0 I prefer to give a larger share of my wallet with businesses that treat me as a human &#8212; that is irony. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In sum, a businesses wouldn&#8217;t last long if it claimed in some form the following claim:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">we are passionate about our share-of-wallet<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">But, a business can and should say and will likely last long-term if it claimed and behaved like:<em><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>we are passionate about our customer&#8217;s happiness<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Herein lies my point and an irony: <strong>I prefer to give a larger share of my wallet with businesses that treat me as a human<\/strong><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Implications of Language<\/h2>\n<p>Our condition as Human Beings requires us to engage in social interactions &#8212; to talk with each other; connect with each other; to commune with each other.\u00a0 This means that communing with each other can be done in many types of contexts &#8212; including a business context.<\/p>\n<p>Which begs the question:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>Why are our interactions at home with our loved-ones more grounded and down-to-earth, but once we enter a business setting, our language and ways of communing with each other and with our customers take on an impotent tone, devoid of life or meaning?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Can you imagine if we were verbally spoken to in the same manner that newspaper print advertisements look: &#8220;50% off, buy one, get one free &#8212; shop NOW!&#8221;\u00a0 We might see that in print and, certainly, on TV and other media.\u00a0 But, if a human said that in-person and verbally to our face, most of us would feel that was strange.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because it&#8217;s just not how human beings talk with each other.<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>We can all stand to be a bit more human &#8212; starting today.\u00a0 Are you with me?<\/p>\n<!--CusAds0-->\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I had an experience recently where I spoke with a group of friends and acquaintances about the economy and the existential despair that is all around us.\u00a0 Then, a friend said something that shocked me: . . . it&#8217;s terrible that (company x) went through such a huge delayering What?\u00a0 &#8220;Delayering&#8221; as a euphemism for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12327,"featured_media":8623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[131],"tags":[338],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.0 - 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