It’s my last of 12 posts and I have a topic I have been thinking about since the first one. It has to do with growth. Personal growth, professional growth, speed of growth, impacts of growth… basically, how growth or progress affects us, our families, businesses, society and the world.
Undeniably, we live in crazy times. I find myself now as a parent often reflecting back to simpler times when getting information was hard and just by the nature of it took a lot of time if you even ever heard it. I have kept my kids sheltered from the immediacy of information as much as I can.
But now my son has a SIM card. And I am scared. I have set up all sort of parent controls (maybe I will write a post about how I got those to work and link it here).
Presidents tweet things faster than you can blink, and frankly are inappropriate. I don’t want my kid repeating some of those things. Societies are breaking news before the local news agencies can even pick up a phone to call someone. We had a friend recently killed in a car crash. I do NOT want my kids to hear that from the news.
Technology is a blessing and curse and we are not thinking about the repercussions enough.
Losing Sight of the Purpose
Truth be told, I sometimes think we just need to slow the hell down and think about the impact of what we are creating on society, rather than the bottom line, or the innovation. What about the global impact? I read a story, which I largely assumed to be the case among the Googles and Facebooks of the world, but in a report it was confirmed that Facebook in particular “compensate product managers based mostly on their ability to grow its products, with little regard to the impact of those products on the world”. That’s pretty scary. And how about the horrible treatment of workers in Amazon fulfillment centers? Do we care about that?
We Are Growing and Moving Wayyyyy Too Fast!
As a society, we have issues, no doubt. Water, war, antisemitism, racism, to name a few top of mind. So some clever individual comes along and creates something new and unique, with a social mission for good. Think Google’s “Don’t be evil”. And a Facebook, or YouTube, or a start up to filter swamp water, or even Uber is born. Or even think about fighting wars with AI. Self driving cars.
All these technologies come from the idea that we can do better, which is amazing. I can give you redeeming qualities for any of the major technologies mentioned from my own personal experience.
- Facebook: has given me the ability to stay connected to friends around the world, meet new people that I would never be exposed too with different views making me more open minded.
- YouTube: the ability to see and create content like never before. I have learned more about dog training from YouTube than I probably learned in university for my major… no joke. Any questions on how to do something, YouTube. How do I quickly and efficiently remove nails from pallet wood, YouTube.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMcyXes7MPgAnd then how to I build a bench out of those boards, which I still have yet to do. My kids learn to draw from it.
- Uber: Crazy disruption. I can control my destiny, call when I want to where I want, without relying on a passing taxi. From the drivers perspective, the
- Amazon: I love Amazon! Now that they are delivering to Israel, I have simplicity, cost savings and convenience back.
I can also though give the down sides
- Facebook: Fake news. Filter bubbles where I only see selective content. Psycho ad targeting that literally makes it seem like they read our thoughts.
- YouTube: I have no idea what my kids are being exposed to sometimes, and frankly, it scares the s#*t out of me. Weird stuff pops up and I lose a little faith in humanity each time (on principle I refuse to share an example… it will mess you up). And actually, even regarding dog training, ANYONE can be a trainer or expert. When we had the first dog, there was a trainer on YouTube that my wife and I talked about. Weird guy but whatever. Turns out, he is a “positive only” trainer, which is fundamentally not a methodology I buy into, especially for big dogs. It opens a voice for a lot of people who have a lot of opinions that could put people in dangerous situations.
- Uber: Rapes are happening! Uber Says 3,045 Sexual Assaults Were Reported in U.S. Rides Last Year. WTF!
- Amazon: No one is controlling them. Ever hear of Amazon dumpster diving? Yeah, one mans trash is another mans Amazon order.
Pressure to Grow and Loss of Control
Seems we are losing control as a society. These companies are unable to balance needs of society, and are simply not creating social policy fast enough to keep up with it. If I am being generous and giving them the benefit of the doubt, they all meant good. But at some point, the companies take on a life of their own and lose track of the original purpose, ultimately just trying to please investors and chase the bottom line.
The Tortoise and The Hare
Everyone knows the story of the tortoise and the hare, but the analogy applies here so well, albeit not with the same typical motivation we are used to, how the small guy has a chance and can still win. I view it different. The Hare is the small arrogant startup, running through the valley (silicone valley) thinking it has it all and is for sure going to win the race. But it’s snoozing on the side of the road unaware of the upcoming dangers, the Tortoise.
Unlike the typical view that the tortoise is the underdog, here, it’s not. It’s the dangers of society. In the end, while the heads of these once small startups, now major companies, are dozing off and not paying attention to the world around them, the dangers are pushing right past them and they can no longer catch up to the threats that inevitably overtakes them.
Growing slower sometimes makes more sense. I spoke with someone the other day who has a startup and due to circumstances, has the ability to grow slow and to take his time to do things the right way, without “selling out” to investors that will control how you do things, and pressure him to grow fast. He can do things on his own terms.
That’s a luxury that companies don’t always get. Instead, what they get is this pressure to have to compromise on ideals they used to believe in or not get the money.
Waking up At The End of a Decade
If the last year is any indication, we are trying to make up for the mistakes of the last decade, and i’d like to believe that we are starting to come to our senses. Since 2010 (even a little before), we have seen some unbelievable innovative companies rise up, with out of this world valuations. Remember when Instagram being bought for a billion dollars was crazy?
Lol.
Being valued at a billion has become child’s play.
- Uber 120B.
- Wework 47B.
But a decade later, we have also seen the people fight back. Goodbye to CEO’s of Uber and WeWork. Google Fiber has been kicked out of Kentucky. Facebook has been at hearing after hearing by the US congress, these companies are always being highlighted. We are paying more attention.
This gives me hope.
So here is to hoping that this decade, we start paying more attention, getting back to our roots, and build things for change, and purpose, and mission, and for the good of humanity.
Blogging consistency Challenge status: 12 out of 12. That’s all folks! Thanks for coming along on this journey. It was fun. So no promises, but I’ll be back.