Somewhere along the line I’ve absorbed the statement, “Our greatest strengths are our greatest weaknesses.” And I’m a believer that paradoxes like this in our world do the best job at describing just about everything, and certainly the most meaningful of life experiences. This one, in particular is my all-time favorite. It’s applicable in my life all the time.
I’m going old-school on this post today because I’m seeing more and more that the amazing, and often radical, technological changes in communication we see in our world are both our greatest strengths and our greatest weaknesses.
I see it especially so in my 14 year old daughter who, when I make attempts to point out anything from a gorgeous sunset, to ask her a basic question, I am competing with 7 billion other people at any given moment-this is the nature of interconnectedness these days. No one can compete with that much other drama! Somebody, somewhere, has something more interesting to say at that moment to her then I do. And yet, no relationship is more important than ours at that moment.
It’s a whole new world out there, and for businesses, and intelligent businesspersons, the temptation is, just like my daughter, to over-communicate instead of just do–to be hypnotized by two dozen email subscriptions, or posting, or tweeting, or surfing the news, or blogging, or texting, or email CYA’ing…. Communication is critical in many ways, but over-communication often leaves lots of work on the shelf. Especially if it’s virtual.
Take a moment today to be mindful of what is work and what is communication masquerading as work–and then remember what real value, product, or service you are supposed to bring to the marketplace. Or better yet, what dream you wish to fulfill in life is on perpetual hold because communication is consuming all of your personal time? I suspect that awareness will reveal an amazing new advantage for you and your business…more time to do more.
