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Human beings most likely have a gene or gene combination for the purpose of judging. And we probably also have a shame switch that judging inevitably throws, regardless of how well or badly we might measure up or fail to in the eyes of the particular judge of the moment. Hence the responses to McClelland's article read like a kind of Rorschach test on which side of the judgment-shame bed we woke up on this morning.
We live in an age of "do your own thing," "whatever makes your boat float," etc., etc. And I know that my first reaction to this article was, Ed, just get over yourself. Whatever your version of the "right way to run" is, if it is that important to you, then find a sponsor, and make it happen.
I also know that we have probably gone overboard in our everybody can play world. Perhaps that attitude is in part responsible for at least one half of the American electorate mistaking a brilliant PR campaign for legitimate leadership.
That's why I felt like chiming in on this particular post and engaging in a little judging of my own. So, Ed. The next time you feel the urge to indulge in finger pointing, remember that every gratuitous throwing of the shame trigger degrades the value of the humiliation card for instances in which it truly needs to be played.
