One of the old maxims of job hunting was the concept that you could win people over by being a problem solver.
That might have even been something that was effective before the Internet and modern management because in a command and control setting where information was limited, figuring out the problem and how to attack it was a much more valuable skill.
It seems that lately we are saturated with opportunities to solve problems, do things, stay busy.
The sad truth is that in most cases, our modern society rewards constant action. That’s not a new thought.
Neither is the idea that because we are rewarding constant motion, hot takes, and motion for motions’ sake, that means that we are also turning our back on other things like thoughtfulness, focus, and depth.
The new thought might be that now more than ever, problem solving is a commodity skill. Solving the problem is simpler than ever, if you want to.
What is becoming more and more difficult is doing the right things, making the wise choice of focus.
That’s not necessarily a new idea either.
What is new about it is the way that the facts of modern life make being wise and considerate in your emphasis more difficult than ever before.
The reality of modern business is that we need more wisdom.
If you don’t believe me, look at all the companies that are rewarding their executive suite for making short term decisions that bankrupt businesses.
The real story of why there is such high turnover in the number of businesses in the stock market and the Fortune 500 has everything to do with the way that companies are encouraged and rewarded to perform. The discredited concept of shareholder value being king is to blame.
That’s a new idea. That the pain and lack of innovation that is at the core of much of our economy is based largely on a discredited theory of shareholder value, but again, that’s probably not new either.
I mean trickle down economics is trying to come back in vogue as well.