Message Undeliverable – Generation or Culture?
2011 Sierra Innovation Summit Series – Part 1 of 6
"How will our generation change to adjust to today’s conditions?"
This was one of the questions brought up during the 2011 Sierra Innovation Summit and focuses on how our generation will respond to the current environmental state (with the “state” left open for interpretation). As I sat in the audience and looked around at the various Sierra region organizations, I initially thought the answer was apparent. We simply just adjust and make things happen. Yet as I walked away from the presentation, I realized that the question started to weigh heavier on my mind. See, the important thing for me to do was to not answer that question from my own perspective, but rather from a general societal approach, because if I compared my journey from wireless technology to the world of sustainability, my method of adjustment simply does not apply to the majority.
If we look at this question from a counterculture or subculture perspective, we start to see how you cannot answer this for society as a whole, let alone try to narrow it down to a generation. Since “our” generation is comprised of a dynamic range of cultures, we would need to figure out what group is this question really directed to. I’ve had discussion before on the differences between a subculture and a counterculture and the most frequent outcome is that the line is blurred. For example, we can consider the green movement both a counter- and subculture. To support the counterculture argument, some would say that the green movement’s specific goal is to counter the government and/or the oil corporations and their negative impact on the environment. Yet in the same breath, you can classify (but not silo) the green movement as a subculture by the ideals that differentiate them from the “environmentally naïve.”
Now taking these two scenarios, you’ll realize that the message that needs to be delivered to this generation cannot be done so with without considering the values of each culture. I’ll circle back to this.
Step back to the auditorium where the presentations were given and the audience within it. One message that was delivered to group was that “not everyone can be an entrepreneur”. Now obviously, there is some truth in this message, because there’s this little thing called follow-through. But what are not being emphasized in this statement are the ideas and inspirations that come from the desire to be an entrepreneur. So how we treat that statement will affect how we get this generation to adjust to today’s conditions. Do I think that there’s a little entrepreneurship in everyone? I would think so. These days, entrepreneurship begins with conceptualization which I am confident everyone has the ability to reach and it’s at this critical moment that I believe we need to cultivate the ideas of those that may not be able to make those ideas gain momentum.
So what group is this question directed to? I will leave that up to you to determine, but while doing so, you have to decide what values you are addressing with your message and then ask yourself if that message will effectively move that culture to adjust. Even within the audience, I got the sense that both cultures were present. But I think we need to be open to scaling back on the theory that not everyone can be an entrepreneur and increase our opportunities by treating entrepreneurship like a relay race. Let’s all line up at the starting line as entrepreneurs with the conceptualization needed to make a difference. For those that cannot finish the race, hand off those ideas to those that can. This is how I believe this generation can adjust.
~Michael
"How will our generation change to adjust to today’s conditions?"
This was one of the questions brought up during the 2011 Sierra Innovation Summit and focuses on how our generation will respond to the current environmental state (with the “state” left open for interpretation). As I sat in the audience and looked around at the various Sierra region organizations, I initially thought the answer was apparent. We simply just adjust and make things happen. Yet as I walked away from the presentation, I realized that the question started to weigh heavier on my mind. See, the important thing for me to do was to not answer that question from my own perspective, but rather from a general societal approach, because if I compared my journey from wireless technology to the world of sustainability, my method of adjustment simply does not apply to the majority.
If we look at this question from a counterculture or subculture perspective, we start to see how you cannot answer this for society as a whole, let alone try to narrow it down to a generation. Since “our” generation is comprised of a dynamic range of cultures, we would need to figure out what group is this question really directed to. I’ve had discussion before on the differences between a subculture and a counterculture and the most frequent outcome is that the line is blurred. For example, we can consider the green movement both a counter- and subculture. To support the counterculture argument, some would say that the green movement’s specific goal is to counter the government and/or the oil corporations and their negative impact on the environment. Yet in the same breath, you can classify (but not silo) the green movement as a subculture by the ideals that differentiate them from the “environmentally naïve.”
Now taking these two scenarios, you’ll realize that the message that needs to be delivered to this generation cannot be done so with without considering the values of each culture. I’ll circle back to this.
Step back to the auditorium where the presentations were given and the audience within it. One message that was delivered to group was that “not everyone can be an entrepreneur”. Now obviously, there is some truth in this message, because there’s this little thing called follow-through. But what are not being emphasized in this statement are the ideas and inspirations that come from the desire to be an entrepreneur. So how we treat that statement will affect how we get this generation to adjust to today’s conditions. Do I think that there’s a little entrepreneurship in everyone? I would think so. These days, entrepreneurship begins with conceptualization which I am confident everyone has the ability to reach and it’s at this critical moment that I believe we need to cultivate the ideas of those that may not be able to make those ideas gain momentum.
So what group is this question directed to? I will leave that up to you to determine, but while doing so, you have to decide what values you are addressing with your message and then ask yourself if that message will effectively move that culture to adjust. Even within the audience, I got the sense that both cultures were present. But I think we need to be open to scaling back on the theory that not everyone can be an entrepreneur and increase our opportunities by treating entrepreneurship like a relay race. Let’s all line up at the starting line as entrepreneurs with the conceptualization needed to make a difference. For those that cannot finish the race, hand off those ideas to those that can. This is how I believe this generation can adjust.
~Michael
Great post Michael! I love the concept of treating enterprenership as a relay race. "Let’s all line up at the starting line as entrepreneurs with the conceptualization needed to make a difference . . . for those that cannot finish the race, hand off those ideas to those that can." This would require us all to drop a little ego and expand our personal conciousness to add value just because we can; without attachment to the outcome.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your observation, Darlene. I agree, the action of shedding a little ego is essentially the first step in shaping your core characteristics to allow yourself to make a difference.
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