Ego - A Three-Letter Word

I wonder whether you have seen children play games with a bat or a ball, like cricket or football. Then seen these kids get upset with decisions that haven't gone their way, just pick up their bat or ball, and walk away saying, "I'm done!" leaving everybody else in a bit of a fix. That is a good early symptom of a slowly growing ego. "They would rather opt-out of the game than be flexible enough to find a compromise and continue playing," says Todd Henry, adding that, "ego is something that can kill creativity, kill innovation and can kill collaboration." It doesn't allow for people to work together; it brings in a "victim "complex that doesn't allow teamwork.

I spent some time reading through the book by Walter Isaacson that came out some time back, called "The Innovators." It's a brilliant book, a compendium, actually that chronicles the whole evolution of the computer and the Internet. He takes it right back to 1835 – the time when it was really embryonic. But, in the middle chapters, he talks about the evolution of the transistor and how technology moved from the vacuum tube which some of you may remember to the solid state era. That came about because of a guy called William Shockley. He was born in 1910. He went to MIT and graduated when he was 26 years old and was known for his brilliance. Eventually he teamed up with 2 people, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain. They would go on to get the Nobel Prize for their work with the transistor in 1956.

Pride - Your Downfall

I came across a little anecdote in a book that I have been reading by Simon Sinek, called 'Leaders Eat Last'. The author says, "I heard a story about a former Undersecretary of Defense, who gave a speech at a large conference. He took his place on the stage and began talking, sharing his prepared remarks with the audience. Then he paused to take a sip of coffee from the Styrofoam cup that he had brought on stage with him. He took another sip, looked down at the cup and smiled. 'You know,' he said, interrupting his own speech. 'I spoke here last year. I presented at this same conference, on this same stage. But last year, I was still an undersecretary. I flew here in business class and when I landed, there was someone waiting for me at the airport to take me to my hotel. Upon arriving at my hotel,' he continued, 'there was someone else waiting for me. They had already checked me into the hotel, so they handed me my key and escorted me up to my room.'

'The next morning when I came down, again there was someone waiting for me in the lobby to drive me to this same venue in which we are today. I was taken through a back entrance, shown to the green room and handed some coffee in a beautiful ceramic cup. But this year, as I stand here to speak to you, I am no longer the undersecretary. I flew here coach class and when I arrived at the airport yesterday, there was no one there to meet me. I took a taxi to the hotel, and when I got here, I checked myself in and then I went by myself to the room. This morning I came down to the lobby and caught another taxi to come here. I came in the front door and found my way backstage. Once there, I asked one of the techs if there was any coffee and he pointed to a coffee machine on a table against the wall. So I walked over and poured myself a cup of coffee into this here Styrofoam cup,' he said, as he raised the cup to show the audience. 'It occurs to me,' he continued, 'the ceramic cup they gave me last year was never meant for me at all. It was meant for the position I held. I deserve a Styrofoam cup.'

Ego Management

It’s been a year since we started Corporate CAPsule and I want to take the opportunity to thank each one of you on this call. It’s been a privilege for me to speak to you.

As I was reflecting on what to share with you today, I got caught up by a 3-letter word that sometimes has positive connotations but more often than not, is associated with negative connotations. I don’t know how many of you have heard the expression, ‘He’s getting too big for his boots’ or “he or she has a king-sized ego’ or ‘they think that they are the cat’s whiskers’. All of these sayings have to do with negative thoughts that are going out to a person who has a big ego or seems to trample on other people because of the way they think about themselves.