Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

The “winner” will be declared by fallible persons with prejudices and favorites (just like us).

Surely we can do better than this. Right? Surely, all us smart people can put our heads together and create a better community, a better consensus.

Alas, not this year. We’re all working from home, at least all of us who count as something are working from home, right? You mean there are valuable persons who have to show up on the job site to work? Well, we’ll pull them along if we have to. I mean, they should just acknowledge us and our smartness. Right?

Wrong, wrong, and wrong again.

We’re all fallible. We all have prejudices and favorites. What I value is of no importance to you and the other way around.

So much for society. What about our unit at work? We’re managers, so how do we manage the work and lead the people? One person at a time. Talk with one person. Learn. Listen. Help. Lead. (Someone famous once said those four words.) Change. It is slow, but it is worth it.

So much for work. What about society? Same thing, only bigger and slower. It is worth it.