Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Embarrassment will get you somewhere

Some people get embarrassed easier than others. Some don't mind walking around naked in public (usually in places like the Cote D'Azur), or don't mind being in the immediate vicinity of one. Some people will gladly try everything once, likely fail and fall flat on their faces, and get a great story out of it. Others take offense to everything that is uncomfortable to them, and get embarrassed just by you walking into their home with your shoes on.

It seems to me people who don't fell embarrassment at all are the ones with the greatest stories, and often the greatest successes. They just seem to take so many more actions, that others would simply not do. These are the opportunists, the positivists. But if you lean towards the other end of the scale, that's great too. People who are easily embarrassed are also people who tend to do what you ask, for risk of losing face. They will also not stab you in the back, for fear of getting caught.

In a sense, when I have to assign a financial post to someone in my team, I pick the person whose culture endures the most shame, and who is most easily embarrassed.

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