The \u2018Lean\u2019 (as in \u2018Lean Startup\u2018) methodology may prove instrumental in guiding us into the Information Age, but perhaps it is time to disassociate ourselves from the perceived need to be \u2018Mean,\u2019 at least within the context of entrepreneurship. If we agree that we\u2019re striving to contribute to society and improve upon the human condition, we might want to be mindful of the language we use in the process.<\/p>\n
Here are a couple of quotes to support my position. I always welcome any feedback to the contrary, all the while making no claims whatsoever that I am immune to cognitive dissonance.<\/p>\n
So you are lean and mean and resourceful and you continue to walk on the edge of the precipice because over the years you have become fascinated by how close you can walk without losing your balance. Richard Milhous Nixon<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
These sounds like the words of someone with a death wish. Without question:<\/p>\n
Risk is a necessary component of every entrepreneurial endeavor.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, pathological ideations in a group setting can lead to the ruin of many lives. That\u2019s the reality. I\u2019ll spare you the history lesson.<\/p>\n
In America, we hurry\u2013which is well; but when the day\u2019s work is done, we go on thinking of losses and gains, we plan for the morrow, we even carry our business cares to bed with us\u2026we burn up our energies with these excitements, and either die early or drop into a lean and mean old age at a time of life which they call a man\u2019s prime in Europe\u2026What a robust people, what a nation of thinkers we might be, if we would only lay ourselves on the shelf occasionally and renew our edges! Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Anger can be a great motivator. Over time, it will wear you down, if it doesn\u2019t kill you outright. In the meantime, it might turn you into a miserable bastard no one else wants to be around or worse, foster an angry mob.<\/p>\n
A German boy must be lean and mean, quick like a greyhound, tough as leather, and hard as Krupp steel. He must learn self-denial, to endure reproaches and injustice, to be reliable, silent, obedient, and loyal. Motto of the Hitler Youth<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I do not consider myself a Pacifist, nor do I advocate rolling over in the face of adversity. Self defense is our prerogative. Rather, I caution against exclusionary, adversarial tactics.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s worth noting that both Stages Three and Four require an adversary. When we work with people and groups, people in Stage Three groups will say, \u2018I\u2019m great because I sold more last quarter than anyone\u2019 or \u2018I just bought a huge house.\u2019 They begin to notice that these statements are all comparative, netting out to \u2018I\u2019m better than others.\u2019 At Stage Four, people will say, \u2018We\u2019re great because our team is winning\u2019 or \u2018We have the best people.\u2019 Again, this language system implies \u2018We\u2019re better than them.\u2019 At Three, the enemy is other individuals. At Four, it\u2019s another group, or a company, or even an industry. Only at Stage Five does the need for an enemy go away. Dave Logan and John King, Tribal Leadership<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Logan and King are referring to the Five Tribal Stages, the fifth of which is embodied by altruism, a focus on values, a \u2018noble cause.\u2019 At this stage, the need for adversaries vanishes. After all, we\u2019re in this to make the world a better place, together. Aren\u2019t we?<\/p>\n
Are you operating like it\u2019s \u201cYou Against the World?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The \u2018Lean\u2019 (as in \u2018Lean Startup\u2018) methodology may prove instrumental in guiding us into the Information Age, but perhaps it is time to disassociate ourselves from the perceived need to be \u2018Mean,\u2019 at least within the context of entrepreneurship. If we agree that we\u2019re striving to contribute to society and improve upon the human condition, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"wp_social_preview_title":"","wp_social_preview_description":"","wp_social_preview_image":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paMBsL-gw","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/keithratner.live\/keithratnerstaging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/keithratner.live\/keithratnerstaging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/keithratner.live\/keithratnerstaging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keithratner.live\/keithratnerstaging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keithratner.live\/keithratnerstaging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1024"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/keithratner.live\/keithratnerstaging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1024\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1029,"href":"https:\/\/keithratner.live\/keithratnerstaging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1024\/revisions\/1029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/keithratner.live\/keithratnerstaging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keithratner.live\/keithratnerstaging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keithratner.live\/keithratnerstaging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}