The best street-sweepers always win!

"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry.  He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well."   -Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Ok don't laugh, but my Mom used to say something similar to me.  Perhaps she got it from MLK?  Or perhaps she got it from her father, Al Ansara, who was an extremely proud, hard working gentleman who worked almost every day of his life until he passed at 93.  Either way, it's something I'm especially in tune with because I consider myself a very proud person and was implored growing up by my Mom and my Dad on the maxim: "if you're gonna take time to do something, do it right".  

Pride.  Pride is a very, very strong motivator.  Without pride, our social fabric and industriousness is diminished.  Think of a world where we move slower, where we aren't willing and able to take the extra step, where we don't take action when we see another in need.  Where we don't get off the couch.  Think of a world where we care less.  Or not at all.  Not a fun visual.  

What about pride in the internet industry?  How are we doing on that topic today?  There are so many good people in our digital industry, and so many bright people too; and there are so many good things happening in our world, yet I know there is room for more pride.  

Where might you see it?  You'd see it everywhere: you'd see more action being taken.  True proactive action.  You'd see more individual responsibility.  You'd see more accountability, and certainly more integrity.  You'd hear more people using the phone, refusing to hide behind email (and thus avoiding even more ambiguity and bad communication in our business day).  You'd see more bosses talking graciously and honestly with those they manage, offering real direction and guidance.  You'd hear less posturing and conjecture, and more sincere dialogue about challenges and how collaboration could be driven to solve them.  You'd probably also see and hear less 'ego' and 'self-promotion'.   You'd see more human interaction and more care and concern for each other, despite your title, despite your rank, despite of course, your gender, age or ethnic background.  

This is not an impossible ideal to strive towards, it can start right now with a simple conversation - not an email - between you and someone important to you.  We can pull it off.  We've pulled off a ton of good stuff so far!