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Musings Report #39 9-24-16 Do You Know Any Social Geniuses?
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Do You Know Any Social Geniuses?
Last week I asked, "How Many Kinds of Genius Are There?" and wondered what we might learn if we tested students for emotional intelligence and authenticity/integrity in addition to intellectual intelligence.
Long-time correspondent Bart D. (Australia) proposed another kind of genius: social genius. Here is his commentary:
"If I could choose to be a genius of any kind, I wouldn’t pick any of the sciences or arts. It’s hard to go past the immense value of being a social genius.
The social genius is the person who will put themselves into productive relationships with scientific and artistic geniuses (and many others besides) and make big things happen. What I find interesting is that (as far as I know) no-one has ever recognised social genius in the same way that scientific or artistic genius is recognised. I believe some high profile examples are Richard Branson, Adolf Hitler and Oprah Winfrey. These people are/were very influential high achievers in their chosen fields but had no innate talent of their own (as far as I can tell) beyond striking up and maintaining an amazingly effective web of relationships."
Bart's description of social genius is highly insightful, and I immediately thought of two other examples: Henry J. Kaiser and Steve Jobs.
Kaiser was an industrialist who launched vast projects such as shipyards, aluminum production, non-profit healthcare for his tens of thousands of employees, large-scale housing developments, etc.
The key to his success in building new industries was his ability to attract talented, loyal managers to bring his vision into reality. The same can be said of Steve Jobs, who was not an engineer like Steve Wozniak. Jobs had a social genius for manifesting a vision and then attracting people who were enthused enough about his vision to put up with his incessant demands and prickly personality.
I think this ability to attract loyal, competent lieutenants is the core dynamic of social genius. The example of Hitler reminds us that social genius is a tool like any other, and one that often embraces a vision that captures a moral or inspirational cause. Many well-educated Germans were mystified by Hitler's rise to power, as his delivery and personality were almost cartoonish.
Perhaps what they missed was his ability to attract competent, extremely loyal lieutenants who were able to organize his popular vision of restoring Germany to greatness and his dark vision of conquest and the destruction of entire swaths of humanity.
Oprah Winfrey offers an example of an individual who took her talents in acting and talk-show hosting and leveraged these into a media empire, once again by manifesting a vision that attracted loyal, talented managers who could turn her vision into a profitable organization.
We could say that Branson, Winfrey, Jobs, Kaiser and yes, Hitler, were superb salespeople who were able to sell an inspirational vision/ product /movement--but social genius is more than salesmanship. As Bart observed, it's fundamentally the ability to attract other geniuses in technology, management, media, design, etc. to one's cause, and manage to maintain their loyalty through thick and thin.
Social geniuses get things done by recruiting the management and talent needed to get things done on a large scale.
I don't have any social genius. Like many others, I would love to be in the inner circle of a social genius set on changing the world in a positive fashion. The shared vision, the camaraderie, the esprit de corps--all of these emotions of belonging and contributing something important to a worthy cause are innately appealing to humans. Few of us have the social genius to assemble such organizations, but we recognize this genius in those that inspire us.
The need to belong and to contribute in a meaningful way to a group with purpose is the core of the CLIME system (Community Labor Integrated Money Economy) I propose in my book "A Radically Beneficial World." In effect, CLIME provides a platform for social geniuses to channel their genius in ways that benefit their own communities and the larger community of humanity.
From Left Field
How to Fix America’s Infrastructure -- vested interests the problem, as usual...
Oil Discoveries at 70-Year Low Signal Supply Shortfall Ahead -- oops...
Why 1/3 of all bitcoin exchanges since 2009 were hacked -- basic security rules ignored...
Why the Deeply Held Ideas of the Nation’s Most Elite Economists Were Direct Causes of Extreme Inequality -- right on...
When Hierarchies and Networks Collide: The Emerging Frontier for Organizations
The Surgeon General just sent a worrisome letter to every doctor in America US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy sent this letter to 2.3 million American doctors asking for their help to curb what’s being called an “unprecedented” epidemic of opioid painkiller overdose deaths.
The trouble with philanthropy is that money can't buy equality -- exactly--or even equal opportunity...
Against Charity: Rather than creating an individualized “culture of giving,” we should be challenging capitalism’s institutionalized taking. -- "philanthro-capitalism"
The ‘De Florijn’ currency (via Chad D.) -- worth exploring...
The 35-Year Economic Super Cycle Is Officially Ending -- follow the demographics...
Vitamin B12 as Protection for the Aging Brain -- eat right, the B12 is delivered without a pill....
Peak oil by any other name is still peak oil -- see link above on oil discoveries collapsing....
The Most Entitled Generation Isn't Millennials -- unwelcome to Boomers...
It Takes a Ruling-Class Village to Staff the White House -- meet the new elite, same as the old elite....
"Mistakes are great, the more I make, the smarter I get." Buckminster Fuller
Thanks for reading--
charles |
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