I recall my first business trip to Geneva. The Swiss have of course always been known for their excellence in class, quality and elegance. I felt like I could smell that in the air, it’s been their culture for years and it was an experience being around that so closely. After spending a week working in some of the nicest offices even to date that I’ve been in, that realisation around the Swiss and quality was re-affirmed. The Asset Manager had a Michelin 2 star menu in their executive suites which they kindly treated us to before we left. It was a pleasant trip and a nice goodbye and we headed back to Geneva airport at the end of the week. I was with the Managing Partner of division and I’d been into my career for a few years. Our flight was delayed by 3 hours so we had a while to wait. The Partner told me he was fine just sitting and finishing some work. I said fine, I will walk around. As I walked around seeing the various watch shops, converting and comparing the duty free prices, my mind became full of such thoughts. After an hour I kind of had enough, and went back to Richard. I asked quite innocently, Richard there’s so many watches to choose from here, which one do you have? I was expecting that he would show me a nice Tag or Rolex given his role etc. He looked up and smiled. He pulled his sleeve and said, I’ve had this for the last 15 years. It was a rubber Casio. Such a simple model, almost like something I had when I was 8 years old! As he smiled, I am smiled in slight shock. I said, Really? Wow. He said, they both tell the time! I’ve met Partners with incredibly nice, very expensive watches, and now one of the Partners for whom I have a lot of respect given his character and way of doing things in the right way, had a cheaper, simpler watch. Both Partners behave in a respectful way, and their mannerisms are similar. Do I think having a cheap watch as opposed to a expensive watch is a huge indicator of personality? Not really. But it’s an indicator of a principle and statement “It’s ok to have certain part or parts of you or your life that are normal, or average. There’s no need to be on a high horse all the time.” He was successful, he was real, and wasn’t afraid of being judged.
I was recently invited to the personal residence of the British Consul
to Hong Kong for an evening reception. The reception was after the Offshore
Remnimbi Exchange Forum hosted in Hong Kong to discuss large currency swap
agreements in place between the UK and China. Amongst the guests were Lawyers,
Bankers, and Policy Makers involved and affected by these flows. As we
discussed, the topic of the effect of the weather came up, and how more
sunshine seemed to make people feel happier and have a more positive outlook on
everything. We jovially shared that the conclusion was that we like to think
we’re so sophisticated and balanced in our outlooks, but actually throw in some
sunshine and everything is ok! Whilst a jovial example, it also shows the
acknowledgement that people may do so many things to legitimise their thinking,
their conclusions, their outlook, etc, but actually it often boils down to a
very simple thing; how you ‘feel.’ We often see it in the office. When people
are happy about going on holiday etc, they may overlook things. And on the
contrary, if they’re in a soppy mood about personal things in life, it may
affect their level of engagement. Don’t underestimate the potential for this
dynamic to affect senior people, and in fact anyone; it can, and often does.
When on the high horse, we like to think we’re sophisticated,
objective, etc. That’s part of the definition of the high horse position. If
someone in a great position of authority makes big decisions driven by
sentiment and subjectivity, their position would be questioned. Often driven by
fear of losing position, people may want to make a decision driven by a
subjective or improper desire. And to do that, they use a set of objective
actions so it seems to be robust. In this way, we may use the objective to
justify the subjective or achieve the subjective. For example, I want to do
something, I have one type of motive, and I will substantiate this using many
undefeatable arguments which I have immense experience in forming over the
years. This dynamic is very common, not only in the workplace. People want to
make money on selling blueberries. So they advertise the health benefits on
mass, perhaps even exaggerate them. It is a dynamic we must be aware of as it
affects us first hand. We may be affected by others subjective plans through
their objective decisions. If we’re analytical, we can zoom up and see the
subjective which is actually really driving the objective. This is why it’s useful
to know reporting lines of people you work with. This enables us to understand
priorities, and what others are charged for doing, and therefore how they will
likely engage with us also. Being conscious of this dynamic will help us
prioritise our efforts intelligently. Whilst it’s obviously a very important
tool, and one of the first things we think about before engaging deeply with
people, it’s also important that this doesn’t receive our undivided attention
as these things are never more important than the higher goals we should really
be focussed on achieving.
In conclusion, if we stay simple, not be afraid to express ourselves as
we are, then we will be less prone to this confusion of the objective and
subjective motives and actions since these will all align with a real view.
This is something I really appreciate in Muay Thai and the martial arts. When
we train, it’s real. You put on the gloves, guards, get in the ring and get on
with it. There’s no hidden agenda, there’s no faking it, everything is out in
the open. As the things we deal with become more complex, the intentions,
motives, and also actions become more complex, and therefore whilst it’s not
impossible, we need to do more to maintain a balanced and real outlook through
being intelligent about what and who we’re dealing with, without losing our
being ‘real’.
