A Letter from Chris Suarez
“The World Looks Different”
There are a few new phrases popped up in the last year that seem to be overplayed:
“You are muted.”
“Where’s my mask.”
“I’ll take that to go.”
Another phrase that has gained traction, slipped into our everyday language, and is dramatically less comical however is: “The world looks different now.”
It’s easy to say that, easier to hear that, and easiest to just accept it. But by accepting it, we almost minimize, allow, and acknowledge that it’s ok that it looks different. I’d challenge that by allowing that to slip into our language, it also allows that to slip into being more readily accepted.
In reality, the world shouldn’t look different.
We are all still human beings, treating others like humans. Perhaps it feels different because we are bombarded with photos and videos and newsreels of human beings treating others inhumanely. We’ve seen it happen politically, we’ve seen it happen socially, we’ve seen it happen economically. It seems almost daily we hear about tragedy, shocking mistreatment of human beings, or just shocking language and rhetoric against another person, group, or community. When we see something daily, hear something daily, or read something daily, it no longer shocks or surprises. We almost just accept that the world looks different now.
As we all know, when something happens daily it can easily become a habit. It becomes routine. Mistreatment of others can become routine. And when what used to shock us no longer does, those that enjoy or get value out of shock, are tempted into redefining it. This has filtered into potentially allowing us to think its ok to mistreat or not address mistreatment.
How do we counteract that? How do we make sure the world doesn’t “look different”?
We can actually control what we “see” and what things “look like” quite a bit more than we may realize.
The environment we place ourselves in creates a backdrop from which to reflect on the past. The environment we place ourselves in creates a world from which to consider the present. And the environment we place ourselves in creates a vision from which to see the future.
This statement - “The world looks different now” - is an interesting reminder that how we treat people, what we say or post publicly, and what we share, is all part of the environment we are creating for those around us.
I believe our environment is our calling card. We will attract those that are looking for the environment we create. We will also lose those that choose to be in a different environment. That’s ok, and it's healthy, as long as we recognize our power and control over the creation of our environment.
Let’s bring this down to a business conversation. All business has elements of competition. It’s what creates a free economy, it creates opportunity, it creates commercialism. But competition need not automatically bring with it negativity.
Talking negatively about someone else’s environment is much like the pre-schooler who after looking at their neighbor’s art project, scribbles on it with the black magic marker. Why? Well, they are preschooler’s. Why else? I don’t know. But clearly a temporary lapse in judgement took place. And, I repeat, they are preschoolers.
Our hope? They grow out of that by about age 5 or 6.
For some reason though, it seems we may be regressing as a human race back to pre-school.
I was sent a screenshot of a post this week where someone referred to another company’s culture with an emoji of a trash can. Now we all love our emojis. However when did that become ok? A company is not a “people-less” or “human-less” entity. Companies are built by human beings. And whether that company is a competitor or not, it's inhumane to refer to any person or group of people as a trash can. And sadly, that post was shared. Why? Was it funny? Was it just shocking enough? Was it in the name of healthy competition? Well, it wasn’t funny, it was shocking, and it was unhealthy. When did it become exciting and funny to share negativity on social media and attack people personally? I suppose the day that media became social.
We somehow tend to dehumanize in order to make our actions acceptable. You see, a company is built with people and for people with real hearts and real hands and real husbands and real partners and real moms and real dads and real children. And words and seemingly funny emojis are meant to make one side of this polarized world laugh… while the other side, made up of real people, is in pain. Corporate America seems to be as polarized as the geographic America.
The only real need for that trash can emoji is to throw the post away. To throw away the pain that it caused to those that built and work at the company it referred to. To throw away the pain and hate the post was built around. To throw away the regret I hope is felt after posting it, and the regret that even I felt after having read it.
Instead of standing on either side of an industry or the country or the world with magnets, polarizing a group to the point of indecency, we could meet somewhere in the middle. The world looks no different in the middle. The world looks pretty much the same right there in the middle. Because the middle is where we can learn and share and treat each other like, well, humans. And yet, at some point “the middle” got labeled as weak.
So, I’m sorry to have been sent that post from someone in pain, and to have to read it and feel that pain myself. I am sorry that now, thousands of years after humans were created and put on this planet to occupy, we are still challenged to treat each other as, well, humans.
And if we are not careful, what we do, what we say, how we act, and how we treat others will create our environment. An environment that could slowly make your world look different, but not a good different.
I'm grateful though, that this random social post reminded me that the world does not have to look different.
We all say and write things we wish we could have back. I am going to believe that is the case. Because I choose to continue to believe that humans desire to be kind, intend to be positive, and also make mistakes.
And I will continue to choose to believe the world doesn’t look different.
But I have to go grab my mask and pick up my to-go order. And if you read this far, well, I guess I’m not muted.
Chris
