Many of us consider business life as a war, even if it is not brutal enough to be life-threatening.
Institutions and individuals in similar positions see each other as rivals who have turned into enemies. All companies, from the smallest to the largest, and employees in every position from the lowest to the highest, are advised to adopt tactics and strategies.
The head of the team is called the leader. It is expected to capture or protect as much of the business and target customer mass as possible.
In business life and daily life alike, it seems to be a struggle for territory. Although not as violent as in war, this perception of struggle is reflected in our daily language.
Sun Tzu could not have possibly imagined that white-collars would read his book, The Art of War, for self-improvement 2,500 years later.
One of the expressions I hear quite often these days is ‘over the line'.
When our interlocutor's words or utterances bother us, we immediately accuse them to be ‘over the line’. The first implication in this expression is the hierarchical position we assign to the other person: We men that they exceed their authority.
Moreover, a reaction to the invasion of our own, almost physical space is hidden in this expression: This word has become a loud alarm when the boundaries of our authority and action, our ego or our private space are trespassed.
Accusing someone with being ‘over the line’ shows that we want to set boundaries by our own will only. However, the borders are drawn as a result of long struggles and negotiations, with the acceptance of all interlocutors. Even while drawing our own borders, we have to position those borders where the relevant social contract allows.
In business life, is it possible to try another way, and to ensure that people working together see their own fields and the fields of their interlocutors not as topographies to be occupied or defended, but as a line of work to meet on the same line?
Let's align a little, and recap our initial position and future directions.
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