size matters

EmPulse for Week of November 15, 2010

size matters

The innuendos’ of the catch-phrase size matters run the gamut. It has been found on billboards, advertizing new mini-computers, on coasters, prompting us to try a new beer with a richer head, and even on local charter air services that provide the only way to reach some of the Caribbean islands. It’s a wonder the Cooper Mini hasn’t sued the world.

In the world of Business, size matters: the larger the conglomerate, the more resources available to throw at a problem and produce a viable product:  or, in the smaller company, with a more efficient and specialized the workforce, refinement and dedication find their greatest recognition. In Art we find a gargantuan colossus like Leonardo da Vinci’s Horse ;  or the truly diminutive IBM logo impressed on a minuscule plate of electrons. And in Medicine we run the gamut from genetic manipulation to organ replacement. Size matters.

Size matters with people too. Taller men tend to get higher level jobs. Petite women are viewed as frail, needing some form of masculine protection. (Don’t ever refer to my wife as the little woman, if you value your life). The obese are thought of as lazy, unintelligent, couch-potatoes. Too skinny? You have an eating disorder.

When it comes to personalities the stereotyping gets even worse; extroverts are emotionally immature, introverts- thinkers, reflective. Shy people have no personality; BIG people are insensitive to the feelings of others. Quiet people might be considered smart, or devious. Boisterous types- full of themselves, arrogant, and definitely insecure. All of us know somebody who fits in some category of personality typing. Eh?!? And, to be sure, some people are truly unpleasant, if not impossible, to be around. Ugh!

The point is this— if you are a quiet person, why is that? What are you afraid of? What keeps you inside yourself? If you are LARGE…, ever consider being smaller? You might make space for those around you who are quieter that you never even notice. [Confession—  My wife’s entreaty to me for years has been Be smaller.] It’s not that we all have to do a 180° and become someone we’re not. But just a little concession to the personality, to the size, of the other person, or business, or nation, can go a long way to building trust, relationship, and a future.

End-thought—  What kind of concessions do you think God our Creator makes every day, to put up with us?!?

Have a nice week.

Gary