Switzerland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, California, and Washington State were some of the destinations of business trips I did. In most cases, I was sent for classes on new equipment. I had a reputation as a good scribe and recording every detail. I had the ability of reproducing information in concise written form and I could demonstrate it in a class.
Sharing information has brought me many benefits. My willingness and capability of sharing information often put me on the top of the short list to go new places and learn new things. But I have always marched to the beat of my own drummer.
Even in the most modern corporations, there exists old school ideas. "It's not in my benefit to share the knowledge that I've gained. If they had my knowledge and experience, what reason would they have to keep me around?"
My employers appreciated my efforts to bring everybody up to speed on new equipment or processes. And I always tried to represent my employer well. I did my utmost to be attentive, honest, professional, and fiscally responsible.
When I made the trip to Switzerland, I didn't have a credit card (still don't and never will!) We worked around that and I was issued a cash advance. When I returned two weeks laster with over a thousand dollars left, I was greeted incredulously. "Nobody ever brings money back! Couldn't you find anything to spend it on?"
"There's only so much lobster and wine that a guy can take." I explained.
I tried my best to exceed my expectations. I was usually at the top of the class and gained rapport with the instructors. The "old school" information hoarders were easy to identify. The first clue was where they would sit - at the very back of the class room. I would arrive early and get front and center.
The most exciting part of the class for the guys in the back was the free doughnuts. And the free lunch. This was not high school! This was not public funded education, yet there were plenty of grown men behaving like half interested school children. I felt so poorly for their employers. Those guys would offer nothing more than the bare minimum required to draw a salary.
That typifies the mindset of the information hoarders. Do as little, contribute only what is required to just get by. They believe that the winners in life are the ones that have done the least amount of work.
The fear of failure? Getting zero credit for a maximum effort? I've tried to understand their attitude. It's not been my experience to immediately reap the rewards for every effort that you make. But the laws of averages are such that if you keep doing your best, some day, some body is going to notice!
I was assistant coach for my son's soccer team. Growing up in rural Oregon, American football was king. I didn't know that much about soccer, but I gained interest in it because everybody on the field was engaged during the game.
Those two years taught me a lot about soccer and how well it emulated life. The game is structured to be a low scoring affair. You've got to coordinate a continuous effort to keep the ball on your opponents side of the field. Then you have to overcome a myriad of defenders just to get close to your goal. To make matters worse, there's a player specifically assigned to protect the goal! And the goalie is usually the mentally toughest kid with the best reflexes on the whole team!
So you overcome all those obstacles to take your shot and it gets stopped. Time and time again! "What's the use?"
Imagine the whole team just laying down and giving up. "This is futility!"
But they keep trying. A funny thing happens, and eventually one goes in. The more shots they keep taking, the more that sneak in.
The more the ball is shared, the greater the odds of getting a good shot. It's a team sport. You can't have a player holding the ball every time they get it. Pass it on.
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