Just how stupid are you?
Serious question and not at all designed to be confrontational but seriously , what do you think?
We all meet people in our everyday lives and we are left stunned by their apparent stupidity and lack of self awareness.The old saying, ‘an empty vessel makes most noise’ is really quite true in many instances.Why is it that some people really seem to advertise how dumb they are?
The level of self absorption can be quite breathtaking and yet we often just work around the problem and soldier on. A wise man once said to me that ‘it was enough to know something but not always necessary to advertise the fact’. The reverse is true and some people don’t even know what they don’t know.
Perhaps it is just me but I find that some of the most brilliant people one meets are really quite self effacing and quiet. Obviously the other end of the spectrum is manifested in the over confident and brash examples of humanity. The idea of people ‘not suffering fools gladly’ is one we all, at some point, feel compelled to find solace in as we cast aside the banal and perplexing people we meet
As they say ‘hell is other people’ , none more so than in large business organisations where the levels of competition often dictate the culture rather than the levels of innovation and creativity.
Enjoy this very short clip from an unlikely source…
If you do not fully appreciate irony then this surely must be the ultimate example!
One serious side effect of stupidity are the gems of lucidity we miss from people whom we consider to be less cerebral than ourselves. We work in creative environments even if we think we do not. All organisations , no matter how simplistic they may appear to be, need creative thinking to deliver their messages and services. Putting a team together needs the skill of a neuro surgeon to place differing skills together to germinate effective communication and innovative thinking.
Rarely do we ever consider ourselves to be the stupid one in any group but surely at different times we must be ‘the one’
I have a saying, ‘if I had a brain, I would be dangerous’ and in many situations that is quite true. My skill set is limited, like everyone’s, but I am surrounded by people who complement my skills and as a group we are whole. In a business world which is moving at such incredible speed and technology demands greater and greater three dimensional thinking, we all need to seek not innovation itself but the innovative people who make it happen.
If you are this boss… well enough said! If you are the employee… it’s a big world out there, go explore!
see you on the long and winding road….. Patrick
