Thursday, January 5, 2012

Power, Social Media and Tron

A new Tron movie - "Legacy"-  came out a couple of years ago and I thought it was awesome. (Yeah, I used the word awesome.) It combined a fascinating digital world of technology (a.k.a. gaming/social media/web) and the real world into a dangerous society focused on power and dreams of a better life.

Wait, that was just a movie, right?


Power, Everybody Wants Some
In this good versus evil science fiction flick the twist on power is an interesting one. Partners who originally dreamed of creating a Utopian society that would take care of people in a positive way gets all mixed up. Where once these two worked together toward a common goal, now they were at odds with each other chasing ultimate power.

Wait, that was just a movie, right?

Art Imitates Life
So how does Tron apply to the world of work? Easily. Right now in your organization people are maneuvering to gain more power, to cover their bases, or both. I'm not judging it, I'm simply saying it's happening. For the shrewd leader, being aware of these behaviors among employees, and their peers, allows for inappropriate power-plays to be reacted to immediately. We like to think we're all rowing in the same direction, but to ignore the fact that many sub-plots are going on constantly is simply naive.


How About You
How do you balance your career aspirations, dreams of a better workplace and desire for power? Are you pushing your social media brand, leadership authority, and ideas for change in an ethical way? I'm going to try and answer these questions too.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.




pic courtesy of paris-confidential

2 comments:

  1. I try to balance all those issues, but inevitably one gets out of whack and I need to back off the ledge.

    Ethics, hell, that's the double edged sword. Yes, being a former healthcare pro it was beaten into my psyche, but I would be lying if I didn't say that at times I stopped and asked what if I didn't do this? Would anyone notice?

    So to me, I always remind myself it's what I do when no one is looking (or cares).

    When I get called an ass I love it, hell I agree with it 100% of the time. Call me an unethical ass and we're gonna have some words.

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  2. Great stuff John...thanks for opening up on this issue!

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