As often happens during the summer, I have immersed myself in the exploration of new subjects by reading as much as I can. I have become fascinated by the subject of the "synthetic worlds." Synthetic world are crafted places created by software designers that are designed to accommodate huge numbers of people. They put ordinary people in a strange environment, where they can act as they do in the real world, or in a totally different manner. And interestingly, what they do inside this world can gave effects outside of it.
The author that seems to have the best handle on this subject is Edward Castronova. He has written "Synthetic Worlds" and "Exodus to the Virtual World." It is fascinating to read how thousands prefer their online world to the real one. For them, the online world is more real.
By analogy, some business leaders live in their own virtual world. They create their own reality They bend the facts to their own view and perceive things in a way that satisfies them. The essentially create their own customized vision of what is going on. But their connection to the real world, the one unhabited by their companies and their employees, may be tenuous.
In my role as an entrepreneurial mentor, I have seen many company owners go through life thinking all is well. They have constructed their own stories - and they don't let the facts get in the way of their happy story. Is this any different from living in a virtual world where we fight dragons, conquer Black Knights and capture the heart of the damsel in distress?
Some CEOs don't even listen to direct evidencer that contradict their view. In retrospect, everyone can see that Bernie Madoff was running a scam. Why was everyone blind to it, even when evidence was so strong? We believe what we want to believe.
If you believe your employees love you and will be loyal forever, you will not listen to those who tell you they are not engaged or not productive. If you think your customers have a great personal relationship with you that can survive anything, you won't be on the lookout for dissatisfaction. You are living in a very dangerous world.
Business leaders have to test their assumptions and beliefs. They must be in touch with the facts. They must look at what is happening in the world and must question how that impacts them and their businesses. They must learn to accept that their virtual world is a nice aspiration but not the reality of paying the bills, feeding the family, building a nest egg and developing something great.
Rose colored glasses have their place. But that place is not in the day to day of running a business. Business leaders need to choose the real world for their business. They can exist in alternative realities in their time off, be they online or purely of the mind. An owner can not afford to be a guru on a mountaintop spouting visionary epithets unless there are others managing the business in reality and yet others translating the language of the alternate reality into something strategically or tactically based.
They used to say "pick your poison" in the old movies. Now it is "pick your reality." Choose well, because there is a lot at risk.





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