Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates was fuming over Apple’s commercials that ridicule PCs and Microsoft’s operating system. You’ve probably seen the frumpy, kinda nerdy PC guy appearing next to the cool, slick Mac dude. In an interview with Newsweek he objected to the ads’ tone and took issue with Apple’s claims that PC’s are difficult to navigate .
Gates has been peddling the long-awaited Vista System. In fact, the media shy Gates has been forced into the spotlight while Mac pummels Microsoft with these frump ads. I’m going to side with Gates here. Hey, I own a PC and I’m not frumpy. In fact, I’d like to think I’m kind of cool like the Mac guy. Image Confusion? Well, in a word yes.
The scenario had me thinking about a few things, especially at work as a news reporter. How do I perceive my image as a person? How do others view me? What’s the criteria for acceptance by others? Do I care? I think we all have an innate need for acceptance. It’s not that we can’t survive our day to day lives, but somewhere in our minds and hearts it feels good to be accepted by others. Often at work we are judged by what society or our working culture determines as the norm.
We fear straying from that. We are all somewhat attached to our image of ourselves. When it is tarnished, buttons get pushed, and we get edgy. As a result our personal radar may fight to keep us within the framework of a certain character. But if we are to grow as human beings, it seems we have to break that need for acceptance in favor of being more authentic at work.
That means embracing individuals as human beings, and trying just a little harder to be a bit more compassionate in the face of occasional mood swings, challenges in work relationships and interactions with customers. It means going beyond appearances and not just listening , but hearing with something other than our ears – our humanness.
