"Status is a very dangerous thing. It's hard to fight the temptation to set yourself apart from the rest of the world."
Why is it so dangerous to become insular? Why is the battle so difficult for many business leaders to fight?
I think it's because when a person separates themselves as unique in comparison with others in their own mind, you lose what it is to empathize with them. Not only in feeling their pain and struggles type of thing, but failure to empathize and know what they need; to put ourselves in their shoes.
If we aren't able to hear those regular, everyday people we serve, how will we ever respond to their concerns or take them seriously? The answer is we won't. It's a major problem at some businesses where leaders consider themselves as elites. These types of business cultures will always struggle to survive.
When leaders in a business consider themselves at some type of high status, they inevitably pass that on to their employees. It doesn't matter if some company at one time had a great name, but what have you done lately? That's what consumers or other businesses you serve want to know.
If business leaders pass on a mentality of they are better than someone because of what they may have done, they'll quit working on what is needed to remain great in the eyes of those they serve.
Status is dangerous because it's the opposite end of the entitlement culture. Some people believe they are entitled for one reason, corporate leaders and businesses can believe they're entitled because they think their perceived status qualifies them for it.
This is why servant leadership is so important. While there's absolutely nothing wrong with celebrating victories and feeling great about a job well done, to think that will bring you to a status where you don't have to perform that type of quality work over and over again, can be a huge deception and temptation.
Separation from the rest of the world is a sure way to cut off all sorts of input and ideas as a person, and as a result, a whole company can begin to feel they're superior to others, and so don't look for new ideas and information from everywhere.
You get the idea. Status, as Grove said, "is a very dangerous thing." Believe it!
Other Andy Grove Resources:
Andy Grove's Rational Exuberance
The Digital Age . . . driven by the passion of Intel's Andrew Grove
The History and Influence of Andy Grove
Andy Grove enters new post-Intel role as activist capitalist
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