November MWT article - DRAFT
James Joyce, author or Finnegan's Wake, The Dubliners, and Ulysese, doesn't know much about people or cities; or at least not by the standards of modern organisational recruitment mentality. You see, Mr Joyce has spewed out hundreds of pages all set in Dublin. He did explore other cities in his writing - just Dublin. His curriculum vitae doesn't even contain any 'projects' in the Big 5 cities - like London, Paris, New York, San Fransisco, Vienna.
How could somebody who's spent so much time focused on the one organisation (pardon, city) know anything about cities in general? Any yet, George Bernard Shaw has said that 'you can see every city in the world in Joyce's Dublin'.
Joyce's focus on a particular city appears to have paid off. Through Dublin his is able to understand, communicate, and make grandiose the daily activities of any and every city. In this way Joyce understands a city in it's people. Had he spread his time across a large number of cities he would know no more about cities than Don Juan knows about women.
But it's not as simple as that. Because Don Juan clearly knows a lot about women. By shifting his affections with each passing day, the Don learns to see the similarities between his lovers. His knowledge of that class of things - that fairer sex - is that of the similarities between them. The constant changes allow him to discover the essence of a class of things called 'women'.
But we all know that this is where Don Juan fails. Knowledge based on the similarities is knowledge of the collective group. One it comes to intimate knowledge of a particular women Don Juan fails. When it comes to intimate knowledge of a city, of its people, Joyce knows more because he has even experiences it - based on his intimate knowledge of one.
Knowledge intellectual abstractions - groups and generalisations of people - are a knowledge of similarities. Intimate knowledge of individuals - of one individual or many - is knowledge of differences.
Don Juan knowledge of the intellectual abstraction of women had it's uses. As a pure exercise of skill he was able to woe and win many women. But in the longer term was did that do the women any good. Did it do Don Juan any good? Or the company he kept?
Joyce's intimate knowledge is more valuable, more scalable. Never did he even explore the whole of Dublin. No epic tomb of Dublin emerged in the manner of a James Mechiner Mexico, Hawie; or Kim Stanley Robinsons Mars. Strictly speaking Joyce only captured a few streets within the city of Dublin. And through those streets we become intimate with Dublin itself; and only then with 'every city'.
Fast forward to the business and management world of today. We have invented a mentality that ostracises the Joyce's while rewarding the Don Juan's who hope from company to company leaving a trail of broken hearts and promises.
As these Don Juan's build there skills they will continue to woe and win hearts. But where there bread of abstract knowledge of similarities is, in itself, good for the company they keep, is yet to be seen.
What was missing all along was the organisation's ability to utilise and leverage the more intimate and softer knowledge. The Joyce style intimate knowledge of differences is more subtle - certainly more difficult to understand - but ultimately more rewarding.
Joyce style knowledge may will be found in the stayers, in an increasingly aging workforce, and in thoses whos confidence has not been artificially inflated by the light touch of a wondering winner of hearts. If is these groups that the management of the 20 century organisation must effectively coordinate.
James Joyce, author or Finnegan's Wake, The Dubliners, and Ulysese, doesn't know much about people or cities; or at least not by the standards of modern organisational recruitment mentality. You see, Mr Joyce has spewed out hundreds of pages all set in Dublin. He did explore other cities in his writing - just Dublin. His curriculum vitae doesn't even contain any 'projects' in the Big 5 cities - like London, Paris, New York, San Fransisco, Vienna.
How could somebody who's spent so much time focused on the one organisation (pardon, city) know anything about cities in general? Any yet, George Bernard Shaw has said that 'you can see every city in the world in Joyce's Dublin'.
Joyce's focus on a particular city appears to have paid off. Through Dublin his is able to understand, communicate, and make grandiose the daily activities of any and every city. In this way Joyce understands a city in it's people. Had he spread his time across a large number of cities he would know no more about cities than Don Juan knows about women.
But it's not as simple as that. Because Don Juan clearly knows a lot about women. By shifting his affections with each passing day, the Don learns to see the similarities between his lovers. His knowledge of that class of things - that fairer sex - is that of the similarities between them. The constant changes allow him to discover the essence of a class of things called 'women'.
But we all know that this is where Don Juan fails. Knowledge based on the similarities is knowledge of the collective group. One it comes to intimate knowledge of a particular women Don Juan fails. When it comes to intimate knowledge of a city, of its people, Joyce knows more because he has even experiences it - based on his intimate knowledge of one.
Knowledge intellectual abstractions - groups and generalisations of people - are a knowledge of similarities. Intimate knowledge of individuals - of one individual or many - is knowledge of differences.
Don Juan knowledge of the intellectual abstraction of women had it's uses. As a pure exercise of skill he was able to woe and win many women. But in the longer term was did that do the women any good. Did it do Don Juan any good? Or the company he kept?
Joyce's intimate knowledge is more valuable, more scalable. Never did he even explore the whole of Dublin. No epic tomb of Dublin emerged in the manner of a James Mechiner Mexico, Hawie; or Kim Stanley Robinsons Mars. Strictly speaking Joyce only captured a few streets within the city of Dublin. And through those streets we become intimate with Dublin itself; and only then with 'every city'.
Fast forward to the business and management world of today. We have invented a mentality that ostracises the Joyce's while rewarding the Don Juan's who hope from company to company leaving a trail of broken hearts and promises.
As these Don Juan's build there skills they will continue to woe and win hearts. But where there bread of abstract knowledge of similarities is, in itself, good for the company they keep, is yet to be seen.
What was missing all along was the organisation's ability to utilise and leverage the more intimate and softer knowledge. The Joyce style intimate knowledge of differences is more subtle - certainly more difficult to understand - but ultimately more rewarding.
Joyce style knowledge may will be found in the stayers, in an increasingly aging workforce, and in thoses whos confidence has not been artificially inflated by the light touch of a wondering winner of hearts. If is these groups that the management of the 20 century organisation must effectively coordinate.
posted by Matthew at
7:27 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home