Big Business

I've had opportunity at times in my life to study big corporations....mostly because I worked at them.  Taking it all in stride, I have found it much easier to work with smaller companies.  One family owned company I worked for a number of years ago now goes down in my history as the best place I've worked.  As I look at some of my other faves I see a line of similarity: the location or department I was in worked like a small business within a big business.

Now, to be fair, I want to own my own business so that colors my thoughts.  But recently it dawned on me why the functions in a big corporation (and I've worked for several) always seems disjointed.  It occurred to me that they are trying to function in a way that is unnatural.  Here's what I mean....

In every corporate environment everywhere (I think that's a politically correct thing to say) whether it's a church (that's probably not a politically correct thing to say), a fortune 500 company, or the little mom and pop shop down the street, the people working there know who can get the job done.  If you need this document typed out in a hurry, you talk to Jimmy.  If you need a good deal on supplies, you talk to Sue.  If you want this project on time, you give it to Ralph.  Whatever "it" is, you know who's gonna get it done.  The reality is that for things to get done in any size company, you have to deal with it relationally. 

Most big corporations, including mega churches and the like, adopt a process model that allows them to produce their widgets in the most efficient and concise manner.  I've been involved in and used those processes for many years now.  Looking at it objectively, it's obvious to me that these processes, developed by the intelligentsia of the age, are as solid as they can be.  Yet they all over look one thing; reality.  They expect humans to follow through with them.  That's really the laughable part of it all.  From what I've seen (and there may be exceptions) the process that has been adopted holds true...for a while.  But eventually, it's all gonna hit the fan and the person who has the most pressure on them will resort to that animal instinct that God placed within them to seek out another person.  They will seek out that person that will get it done, the person they feel the most safe with.  In the end, the process fails us because we need to deal with pressure and problems relationally to feel that we've actually accomplished something.

In an environment where that is not factored in, the process seems ludicrous.  The team tends to rebel against the process because "it doesn't work." Those people who were over burdened before the process came in become even more overburdened because they are expected to follow, loosely, the process for appearance sake while still accomplishing the work in the same old way.  Thus, the whole things seems, somehow, unnatural.

I have not seen an environment where this was not so in one degree or other.  However, some companies do better when they know that the human factor will kick in and they allow some leeway in the process that allows people to do what they do naturally....handle things relationally within the framework of a process.

And still I contend that work is most often done well in the case of a small, privately owned company.  They tend to live off the relationships they've built.  Take care of the people and they take care of you.  It's no panacea I know, but somehow it does seem more natural, doesn't it?

I'll have more to say about working in big corporations in the future.  For now, it is enough to know that no matter where you are and what job you do, relationships are vital.  Remember that and you will build a team around you that will get the job done.  Count on it.

Boredom

I have a theory; I think we're all bored.  Now, I know, you've got your Itouch out and you're checking out the latest plot line of Twilight while listening to your favorite Barry Manilow song with one hand while you drive your blue tooth enabled hybrid to hang out wherever it is you hang out.  So how could you possibly be bored?  Right?

I think that our technologically advanced society is, at its heart, bored.  I can see it in the average cubicle dweller.  We sit at our computers....all day long.  Screen after screen of reports, spreadsheets, analysis, etc. is enough to drive any man crazy.  So what do we do?  Listen to the Ipod and sneak a peek at Facebook to see who sent the latest friend request.  We instant message the guy two cubes down from us.  Or, some who border on being Amish, actually walk to a cube near them and talk (does that still happen?) to each other.  Crazy concept I know.

I think it's really because we're bored.  Here's how the theory goes:  God created us to work the land.  That was His original design.  This gave Adam the chance to really pour himself into something.  Even after the fall, Adam and Eve's purpose didn't change much.  It became harder, but it didn't really change.  So they're pouring themselves into their own lives: Adam tends the land trying to provide food.  Eve is working along side Adam and caring for the children as they come.  They don't really have a lot of other distractions.  Their not worried, you see, about who danced the tango last night or who was ripped to shreds for their singing abilities.  They worried about themselves and they created a life of beauty.  That's the key.  They created something together.  It was their focus.

It seems to me that we've lost focus.  We have so many plates spinning in the air, but with no real purpose.  Now, I'm not suggesting that everyone in the world is bored at every moment.  No, I'm talking about American society in general. 

George Orwell said "War is a way of shattering to pieces... materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable and... too intelligent."  Although I cannot speak to what he was thinking, the quote seems to indicate that the more comfortable a race is, the more intelligent it becomes.  I'm not so sure that's played itself out.  Though we've come into a place as a nation where we are most comfortable, I don't see vast intelligence breaking forth.  Instead, I see games.  I see things to keep us occupied.  Instead of  groundbreaking intelligence, I see a people who identify themselves with their occupation or hobby and pour themselves into it...because they have nothing else to pour themselves into.  

The point is not that any pursuit of pleasure is bad; the point is that no matter what activities we engage in we should get back to a mindset where we pour ourselves into family and each other.  The framework of our pursuits should fit around those closest to us.  I think that's what God intended.  What do you think?