Jaywalk…

Stanley Milgram was right and maybe wrong. Following WWII he was asked to study the German people and discover if there was something wrong with them (psychologically). Our government wanted to better understand how the holocaust happened. Talk about a lack of humility on our part, huh…

Today, crossing this intersection in the heart of Berlin, I observed how obedient everyone was to authority. Nobody in a white lab coat ordering us to do anything, just a simple red or green signal. Walk or wait. Everybody followed orders, except me. I’ve been programmed by old America and walked when there was no traffic. My German friends looked at me in disgust. They waited. They appeared more obedient to authority, at least when compared to one American. Nothing scientifically sound discovered through this limited sample size experiment. Just my observation.

We’ve become more obedient in America. We are a less critical thinking mass, aren’t we? Look at our response to Covid as example. Do you really think we’re following “the science,” whatever the hell that even means. We are becoming less one, distinct and deeply connected. Divided states not united. Following whatever authority gives us the answers we want. Settling for diversity in appearance instead of diversity in thinking. Slow down and reflect. Think. What, friend, do you think?

What about you and your team? Are you building productive rebels who marry freedom alongside responsibility? Are you building high performers who live just this side of chaos? Or are you slowing everything down and living in a green and red world? The elite, in any endeavor, embrace ambiguity and act while others wait. What about you? Are you and yours becoming more one, distinct and deeply connected? Think. Good.

Live hard. Love harder. Look both ways before you jaywalk…