“I am not an Athenian, I am not a Greek, I am a citizen of the world.” Socrates
Socrates never wrote down any of his teachings, to that we owe a debt of gratitude to Plato and Xenophon. While this quote so aptly describes what I think is the proper mindset for the 21st century, it also speaks to one of the biggest issue businesses face today—internally. I’ll explain. One of the most common criticisms I hear when people describe a senior team, is that they only care about themselves and their department. They are a collection of individuals, not a team. Finance doesn’t care about marketing, marketing doesn’t care about sales, etc., etc. You get the picture. This is the silo thinking of “I’m a finance person, or I’m a marketing guy and all I care about are my KPIs—not yours.” These are the modern-day equivalents of being just an Athenian or a Greek. These represent the insular thinking that holds companies back from achieving their potential. On the other hand, when Socrates says he is a citizen of the world, he is describing what I call enterprise thinking. I don’t just think about my silo, I also consider myself to be a part of the enterprise as a whole, so naturally I want what is best for the company, not just my department or function. This is what team cohesion looks like and this is how the alchemy of success in the 21st century begins. How would you describe your citizenship?
Good luck on your journey!
