This lands because it treats character, clarity, and connection as disciplines, not traits or aesthetics. Especially strong is the distinction between fluency and thought, contact and connection. That line about sanding ourselves smooth for compatibility names something many feel but haven’t had language for yet. What you’re really pointing to, I think, is the cost of speed on interior coherence—how compression erodes cognition before it ever shows up as moral failure. This is a needed reminder that becoming whole still requires friction, time, and the courage to stay unfinished longer than the system rewards.
Thank you Michael, for this incredibly thoughtful response. I’m glad the 'sanding smooth' metaphor connected, it felt like the hardest truth to name when I first wrote this and then gave the speech. You are exactly right about the cost of speed on interior coherence. It takes significant courage to resist that pressure and stay 'unfinished' in a system demanding instant polish.
Amazing!! There are SO MANY TRUTHS in this presentation / post = so many “quotable quotes”!!
Thank you so much for this link back to humanity in the face of all the AI Technology we have today! I’m in awe of your thinking & the substance of this post: Put simple - I think it’s about “doing the right thing” & “being a good person who is true to themselves and others”!! 👍♥️
Thank you! Gail I really appreciate this perspective. You hit on something crucial: as technology accelerates, the 'discipline' of being fully human, being truly authentic to ourselves and others, becomes our most important work. I’m so happy you saw that 'link back to humanity' in the post. You are absolutely right, it is about the simple, difficult work of being true to ourselves and others.
I am so grateful to you and your high-energy and enthusiastic comment.
If character is resurfacing as a theme, it’s probably because speed finally ran out of credibility. Hard to build anything durable without it. I’ll be interested to read how you approach it.
True. But profit without durability is a liquidation strategy, not a legacy. It works right up until it doesn’t—and then the bill comes due all at once.
Thank you Ross. It is such a difficult thing to practice in the moment, but I truly believe it changes everything when we manage it. I truly appreciate you highlighting that specific line.
Thank you for that powerful compliment. It means a lot to know these words 'shook things up' a bit. This is such a true observation. Cynicism is cheap, while building something original is expensive in terms of effort and vulnerability. I appreciate your own honesty here, we all fall into that trap, myself included. It is a constant practice to choose the harder ... better path.
This lands because it treats character, clarity, and connection as disciplines, not traits or aesthetics. Especially strong is the distinction between fluency and thought, contact and connection. That line about sanding ourselves smooth for compatibility names something many feel but haven’t had language for yet. What you’re really pointing to, I think, is the cost of speed on interior coherence—how compression erodes cognition before it ever shows up as moral failure. This is a needed reminder that becoming whole still requires friction, time, and the courage to stay unfinished longer than the system rewards.
Thank you Michael, for this incredibly thoughtful response. I’m glad the 'sanding smooth' metaphor connected, it felt like the hardest truth to name when I first wrote this and then gave the speech. You are exactly right about the cost of speed on interior coherence. It takes significant courage to resist that pressure and stay 'unfinished' in a system demanding instant polish.
Amazing!! There are SO MANY TRUTHS in this presentation / post = so many “quotable quotes”!!
Thank you so much for this link back to humanity in the face of all the AI Technology we have today! I’m in awe of your thinking & the substance of this post: Put simple - I think it’s about “doing the right thing” & “being a good person who is true to themselves and others”!! 👍♥️
Thank you! Gail I really appreciate this perspective. You hit on something crucial: as technology accelerates, the 'discipline' of being fully human, being truly authentic to ourselves and others, becomes our most important work. I’m so happy you saw that 'link back to humanity' in the post. You are absolutely right, it is about the simple, difficult work of being true to ourselves and others.
I am so grateful to you and your high-energy and enthusiastic comment.
So much to contemplate here. In a society that pushes us into conformance, the effort to become whole seems almost untenable.
Excellent word, I shall claim it!
untenable :-)
Carney vs Trump
Fabulous as usual
haha brilliant :-)
Great piece. I've got one coming out on character too. It's a trend! And not a moment too early!
If character is resurfacing as a theme, it’s probably because speed finally ran out of credibility. Hard to build anything durable without it. I’ll be interested to read how you approach it.
Something needn't be durable to be profitable!
True. But profit without durability is a liquidation strategy, not a legacy. It works right up until it doesn’t—and then the bill comes due all at once.
Absolutely.
"To really listen is to momentarily suspend the self, to admit that the other person exists in a reality as vivid and demanding as your own.."
Nailed it so simply and so few words, Colin. Thank you.
Thank you Ross. It is such a difficult thing to practice in the moment, but I truly believe it changes everything when we manage it. I truly appreciate you highlighting that specific line.
It's so much easier to be critical. Super critical.
It's much harder to be and offer originality...and yes I am also guilty of that action.
Cheers for shaking my small world asunder, once again.
Thank you for that powerful compliment. It means a lot to know these words 'shook things up' a bit. This is such a true observation. Cynicism is cheap, while building something original is expensive in terms of effort and vulnerability. I appreciate your own honesty here, we all fall into that trap, myself included. It is a constant practice to choose the harder ... better path.