Snowflakes, Idiosyncrasies and the Corporate Shuffle

Hmmm, in a world where control is slipping away from us, is there a way we can fight back?

Let me begin with a confession. I specifically organize my life so that I am as self-sufficient as possible. It's not that I'm antisocial. I just don't like being dependant on other people or, more specifically, on things beyond my control. It's one of my idiosyncrasies (of which there are many).

But I'm finding myself butting up against more and more situations where I am at the mercy of someone – or something – over which I have no control.

Nowhere is this more evident than the high tech box that sits on desk proudly flaunting its inscrutable nature. When something goes wrong with my computer, or any peripheral device attached to it, I'm completely helpless. Cursing at it does no good aside from venting my frustration.

In this situation, I have to put myself in the hands of a technical expert at a handsome hourly rate. He or she can tell me just about anything they wish. I have no choice but to trust them because the world of computer technology is a complete and utter mystery to me.

I quite resent being in this helpless position. But there seems to be no relief in sight until they invent computers that can trouble-shoot and fix themselves. Then, of course, I'll be at the mystery of the device itself which is even more distasteful.

It is much the same scenario with my car. Years ago, when I first started driving, cars were much simpler machines. Back then a good mechanic could often identify a problem based on a description of the symptoms alone. Those were the good old days!

But now cars are jam packed with technology. They've become temperamental wonders-on-wheels that can virtually drive themselves. The problem is the technology built into them is so complex and quirky that only another computer can diagnose their ailments. I loathe taking my car in for service because I know there is about a 50-50 chance that the first "fix" won't take.

But it's not just the world of technology that leaves us wandering in the wilderness of powerlessness. The business world has become a fearful, unpredictable place. There was an era when showing up on time, doing a good job – and going the extra mile now then – was enough to assure you of job security.

Not so anymore. We're all just numbers in the corporation equation. At regular intervals, the corporation reaches a point where it needs to shuffle the deck and cast aside a few units of production. We go to work each day knowing that we could be given the not-so-golden handshake before the day is over. We are powerless to influence the equation in our favour.

I could go on and cite numerous other examples – waves of economic uncertainty world-wide that have us  on a continuous roller coaster, new virus strains that jump species and sneak up on us from the back door, and so on.

I don't mean to sound like a prophet of doom. We're not facing Armageddon quite yet. But it does seem to me that there is an increasing tally of situations where we have little or no power to influence the outcome.

So where do that leave us? The one area that we still have control over is how we interact with one another. We can choose to accept each other for who we are – without preconceptions, without judgment and without imposing our own agendas. We can give one another the power to be as unique, quirky and original as we choose to be.

Let us adopt and embrace the snowflake metaphor – no two quite alike, each one an original creation. Now that's a power worth having.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of "Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel" – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael's website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Subscribe to "Michael's Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm" at its' internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the "Subscribe to this Blog: How To" instructions page in the right sidebar. If you're reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

~ Send comments or questions to michael@mdyetmetaphor.com .