Amazing. That word is
used very often in our American culture.
Has it lost its meaning through overuse?
Does it cause a reader or hearer of the word to stop in his/her tracks
as it was intended?
The dictionary defines the adjective “amazing” as causing
great surprise or sudden wonder (www.dictionary.com). When the word is used today, does that ring
true to the noun it is describing? I
have had an amazing vacation and my children are amazing, but does the meaning
in those contexts lose its force when I have also said that my shoes are
amazing or that the chocolate water ice I just ate was amazing?
If everything is amazing, then nothing really is.
So, when it comes to businesses, does the word amazing enter
your mind? Do you only have pictures of
Google and Apple when you think of the word connected to companies? Is the reason those companies are amazing due
to their technology, their dress code or their in-house dry cleaning service
(ok, I really do like the last one). In
a world where many things are amazing, why is it a rarity to hear it used of a
company?
In the US today, there is a lack of “amazingness” due in
large part to the overall health of the companies we work for and own. A natural pulse of the organization is
missing, mostly due to the desperate view of production. Those quotas are often the primary “what I
care about” for management and shareholders.
While I would never say that those numbers don’t matter, what I would
say is that those numbers may be a percentage of what they could be if there
was a commitment to organizational health and true organizational development.
This is a worthy concept and one that needs much more
unpacking. For now, ask yourself a few
questions:
- What do I think of my organization? Is it amazing?
- What do I understand of the stated values of the company versus the real values of the company? Is there a difference?
- Is the health of my organization something I have even considered? If so, in what context?
It is quite possible that you are a key person in the health
check of your company. Take some time to
consider. And have an AMAZING day!
