Importance of Connections

[Ramu Iyer]

>> Date: Sat, 22 Dec 2007 17:17:02 -0500
>> From: "Ann Hale" <annehale at swva.net>
>> Subject: Connections
>> To: "grouptalk" <list at grouptalkweb.org>
>> Message-ID: <06bb01c844e8$6146caf0$0301a8c0 at user8vk4fkzluw>
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>>
>> I am remembering the email conversations we had last year, reactions
>> to the publication by the American Sociological Association which
>> revealed that, in the US at least, the average number of people other
>> peole know has dropped from four to two. And, that many people are not
>> connected to other people at all.

As 2007 end of year approaches, I think that this statistic about a decrease
in connections is a wake up call, at least for me and my sphere of
influence, to become more consciously aware of people connections and take
appropriate action. I am going to think out loud and explore some of my
thoughts on this concern in a non-linear fashion.

Thought A:
I regard a true person to person connection as being authentic and creating
a purposeful dependency that is mutually beneficial.

Thought B:
However, as I walk on "Main Street" in a world of commerce or retail
therapy, connections are sometimes fleeting, almost unconsciously, as credit
card transactions. The solo "walk" that I am describing can occur either in
a real-world or online setting via a Business to Consumer transaction and is
a certain type of mental model. Credit card transactions have no emotional
reactions and it can be as insensitive as a database transaction. The
fallout of credit card transactions may occur if one were to venture into
the realm of retail therapy without prudent financial planning; it can
easily snare a naive person into the bowels of credit card debt and
gradually deplete his (her) emotional bank account.

Thought C:
Advances in computer hardware performance have often been described as
Moore's law where the speed of chips increase significantly by an order of
magnitude every 16 to 24 months. From a user's point of view, our eagerness
for faster response times also means that we are increasing our craving for
being cocooned in an artificial, instantaneous economy and expecting
nano-second response times, for example, while surfing the web. This
unrealistic expectation has a spillover on the "life dimension" and impacts
the value of the tenacity quotient while creating and cementing human
relationships; I regard this phenomenon as a corollary of Moore's lawon the
human side, whereby our individual patience, left unchecked, potentially
decreases with every passing year (or month or day).  This may lead to
increased stress, anger, frustration, etc.

Let me provide a concrete example to illustrate this trend, where "dazed by
busy schedules, more people are ceding responsibilities of daily tasks to
"lifestyle managers"."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/24/AR2007112400615.html

For this particular situation, may be there is an opportunity for certain
individuals, who may have "ceded responsibilities for daily tasks," to
reflect on possible "role reversal" opportunities (while autonomously
choosing to reduce the dependence on a lifestyle manager). While the growth
of lifestyle managers is a profitable venture for concierge services, I am
just wondering to what extent the (off-the-cuff) outsourcing of non-work
(life) activities impacts our personal lives and changes personal values? In
"Thought A", I described a connection as a purposeful dependency between two
(or more) people without triangulation.  The food for thought for
psychodramatists and other agents of change is to offer an array of services
that will enable any citizen of the world master the art of navigating work
and life with a minimal number of intermediaries (interactions without
triangulation) and non-depleted emotional bank accounts.

In a nutshell, I personally need to become responsible and accountable about
connections. Outsourcing this facet is probably non-negotiable, in my
opinion, and must become a cherished personal value that survives the trials
and tribuations of life and work.

Blessings to everyone and Happy New Year!

Ramu Iyer


-- 
EQuilibrium ROI, Inc.
equilibrium.roi at gmail.com
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