I came across an interesting passage in Seth Godin’s Linchpin yesterday evening that I wanted to share with you, as always, with a few of my thoughts on the topic. Godin noted a seismic shift in the way work happens in our era, as distinct from earlier times and summarized his thoughts in this description of the “new” American dream:
The New American Dream
Do you remember the old American dream?
It struck a chord with millions of people (in the United States and in the rest of the world too). Here’s how it goes:
Keep your head down
Follow instructions
Show up on time
Work hard
Suck it up…you will be rewarded. As we’ve seen, that dream is over.
The new American dream, though, the one that markets around the world are embracing as fast as they can, is this:
Be remarkable
Be generous
Create art
Make judgment calls
Connect people and ideas…and we have no choice but to reward you.
As an employer and a small business owner I must say that the qualities Godin outlines in the “New American Dream” are exactly what I look for in an applicant for any and every position in the company. People who “put themselves out there,” who dare to rise above the norm, who stretch in every area of their work are those who will prove themselves, generally speaking, to be remarkable people.
When you keep high standards in this way, productivity and skills – the primary benchmarks in most hiring campaigns – naturally follow. What’s more is that they occur even without carrot or stick. The carrot – incentives, and the stick – negative consequences, should be the last and not the first resort when it comes to developing a program and an atmosphere of sustainable motivation.
So many of the things we consider to be a natural part of the world we live in – regulation, rigid rules, laws and so on – are considered to be normal and necessary. Given the comportment of humanity over most of recorded history it’s no wonder that we feel such things are normal, but are they natural? These bandaids likely wouldn’t be necessary were generosity, forgiveness, integrity and other important virtues the rule rather than the exception, but that is food for a later thought.
My general philosophy is, was and always will be that thoughtful prevention is preferred over invasive intervention. This is as true in health care as it is in education and as far as I can see, no activity within the affairs of men is exempt from this basic premise. Rather than address the problem on the surface, it is generally better to backfill the missing foundational elements. We must get back to the basics in any area where the problem seems to be spiraling out of control or going from bad to worse over time.
Those foundational elements don’t necessarily relate to doing things the “old way.” They may be discovered by remarkable, creative, forward-looking and thinking people who generate solutions based on the new factors, in this new day. The opportunities are endless for people who possess the uncommon qualities outlined in Godin’s new American dream.
Gregory Hake 
Very interesting!
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People are remarkable. Unfortunately, the “Old” American Dream tended to suppress and underappreaciate people’s unique gifts. The end result was that people would spend the majority of their lives in this suppressed state, and at the end of their days have a tendency to look back with regret and emptiness. The “New” American Dream is the exact opposite, and in fact provides people with an opportunity to live and to fulfill their own dreams. And in doing so, they become vastly more valuable in all aspects of their lives. The companies that surround themselves with those who desire to live in the New American Dream thrive for they provide not only valuable products and services to the marketplace, but an opportunity for their employees and associates to participate!
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The first thoughts that came to me when reading this was “Man cannot live by bread alone” along with something else I read by Rudolf Steiner where central to his ideas was the fact that for mankind to evolve beyond his current state of consciousness, his current world view, then mankind must learn how to work without any expectation of recompense. I think we are at the threshold of the new American dream for certain, and now it is “sink or swim”.
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I love the “new American Dream” as Seth Godin has outlined. We need remarkable people not only in corporations, but all over the place – schools, politics, families, etc. It’s time to shed the old concepts of being canned goods, trying to fit in an old mold and instead let the wonderful uniqueness of ourselves shine forth.
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I think that these qualities are not only beneficial, but necessary. Especially if you want a company that can rise above the mediocrity that plagues most businesses increasingly as they grow. It’s relatively easy to empower a customer service rep in a small business to take initiative and treat the customer right, because the chain from an employee who interacts with the customer to CEO is shorter. To have a large company where this happens, you would have had to build the foundational culture of the company this way from the beginning, and infuse it at every level to make it important to every employee. It can absolutely be done, it just takes dedication. But the company that does this will always be successful, both in the way that most companies gauge success, and in other, less measurable ways.
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Well said. When hire I’m looking for uncommon people, those that want to live their lives in a way that they count. If showing up is the best you have, I’ll gladly leave you to my competitor. Bring your gifts and ideas. Bring your hunger to develop new skills, to enjoy the satisfaction of creativity and camaraderie of uncommon peers.
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Great post!
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This is great – as I look to expand my business I’m hiring people for their individual character, creativity, and ability to help others, not those who will “conform”. Sure, people can follow rules and make things “look good” but at the end of the day we still have to look at ourselves – and the question I ask myself is, “what difference did I make in the world today?”
I like the “New American Dream” – it creates a responsibility for us to discover our own unique gifts and talents and bring them to the table.
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