Yesterday I visited Reebok International headquarters here in Massachusetts. Their facilities reminded me of Electronic Arts' headquarters in Los Angeles -- basketball courts, baseball fields, and so forth. Corporation = Gymnasium?
There I met with some young shoe designers and we talked about the state of the world and so forth. One asked, "Are you optimistic about technology?" My answer was, "I'm not excited about technology." I realized that wasn't an answer to his question shortly after my utterance.
Later during the discussion, we discussed globalism and the eventual Walmart-ization of the world and so forth. Catching my own statement of inevitability of decline as captured in my tone and so forth the young, inquisitive man said, "That's b*llshit." He went on to say that it is people that determine their fate ... and that economic futures cannot be held with the same statement of truth that we ascribe to the laws of gravity. It was then that I realized that B-school had begun to assimilate my brain into the global muck of money, and that this young man's courage had temporarily saved my soul from oblivion. I believe that the change can become permanent. I believe like him, that we should believe.
Posted by maeda at November 29, 2005 07:46 AM