Three Million Moments

Yes, you are a super star (and so is everyone else)

March 7th, 2007

Get the sense that what you have to say matters? That it matters more than ever and your actual being is a stake? What about your neighbor? Does what they have to say matter… to them? What about your virtual neighbor from another distant time zone?

The World Values Survey Association is a network of social scientists studying the evolving values and beliefs across 80 countries on 6 inhabited continents. Among their findings is the Ingelhart-Wezel Cultural Map of the World and a quick and dirty 20 page powerpoint presentation (unfortunately, no direct links, but you can find these and more on the WVS website). The net net of which is that despite wherever one culture falls today on the clever 2×2 culture map (from traditional to secular-rational values and from survival values to self-expression), all cultures have moved from being more traditional and community-dependent, valuing ‘constraint’ to being more secular-rational and individually-confident, and valuing ‘choice’.

The authors contend that the growing emphasis on choice and self expression around the globe stems from economic, intellectual and social prosperity. More material wealth means more independence in consumption. Increased access to information and knowledge creates independence of mind. And as barriers between people dwindle and social networks open access to endless relationships, we gain independence from old, limited means of connectedness via geographical proximity or familial status. All of these things result in people acting more independently, demanding more choice, and with more choice they gain more ability and desire to self-actualize.

Chip Conley, founder of Joie de Vivre Hotels and author of “Rebel Rules: Daring to be Yourself in Business” and “Marketing that Matters”, is launching his third book “Peak: How Great Companies get their Mojo From Maslow” in September. Chip is an inspiration and a messenger from the future. To quote Chip quoting Abraham Maslow, “What man can be, he must be.” Conley’s book provides cultural insight into a modern workforce that is in the midst of self-actualization; one that demands respect and is seeking a way to create a meaningful life on this planet for themselves, through work (Chip also provides experience and guidance to other leaders who are committed to valuing the self-actualized worker and their needs). Our colleagues at the WVS are discovering and validating this modern social shift on a global scale. And Maslow, after all this time is more relevant than ever before.

As successful mavericks like Conley help today executives learn to adapt and create environments that honor people’s self-actualization and choice, they usher in a new age of collective individualism. By collective individualism I mean a genuine appreciation of (and trust of) the individual in the context of society at large. And as opposed to the 1980’s style, ‘everyone out for themselves’, power-driven belief-system this is a more mature belief system that honors our connectivity, our value to one another, to ultimately reveal and nurture one’s own individual capacity and value.

This is not to say that we will all share the same likes, dislikes, tendencies, attitudes and behaviors. But it is to say we will honor that we each have a right to decide and live these things for ourselves, co-exist, and mutually benefit. The WVS concludes that the shift toward self-expression creates a stronger desire for democracy, and at the same time leaves people more critical of democracy’s performance (let’s call it the paradox of democracy). The result is a democracy that protects all of our collective individual rights, and creates a pedestal for every individual; ultimately a globe of people on pedestals. Sort of like a massive, pervasive reality TV show.

It may not be anything new for you to feel like a confident, self-expressive individual seeking a meaningful life. But what may be new is the awareness that this is indeed a global, cross-cultural phenomenon. And you are not, by any means, the only super star in the room. How can you better love your own super star within… and the one you’re sitting next to at the same time?

Entry Filed under: Future of Good