Here’s a funny, thought provoking question. What technological advance has most dramatically propelled us humans toward our aim of dominating the earth? Was it fire? Do you think it’s the locomotive, the laboratory, or the spear? Take a moment and try to think about the root that has caused us to be the prolific, dominant force on this earth.
I’m currently reading another thought provoking page turner titled, What Technology Wants, by Kevin Kelly. Kelly puts forth a really intriguing premise regarding our long line of advances. He builds a strong case that the root cause for humans domination at the top of the animal kingdom is due to one, specific root. Here’s his belief. He believes that our greatest advance came with the invention of the word. The invention of language.
Language propelled us ahead and allowed ideas and inventions to pass beyond the current generation. Isn’t it funny that today in most every company I visit and most every company with which you work, the greatest inhibitor to improving performance is a translation problem. Humans, unlike most of our networks, don’t share a universal language. I speak Chet, my clients speak their own derivative of Rick, Tom, Dick, and Harry.
Our greatest strength is our greatest inhibitor. Who knew.
Funny, huh.
BUILT TO LEAD 