Plato's Cave and 2009

It's been some time since I've posted here. Truth be told, it's been a somewhat turbulent year. Obviously, the economy hasn't helped many recruiting firms out. But we've been very blessed to have a solid group of recruiters who are committed to the cause and have battled their way through these tough times.

But just as we've been forced to battle this entire for every dollar this company has earned, I look back on more important issues like the effect we have on the companies we work with, how we interact with them and most of all, how we've affected the lives of the candidates we've placed this year.

I studied the very the lucrative degree of philosophy while I was in college (much to the chagrin of my in-laws). One allegory learned by just about every liberal arts student and definitely every philosophy major, is the Allegory of the Cave.

A brief synopsis puts a set of people bound inside a cave for their whole lives, while viewing shadows of cut-out shapes that are being cast on a far wall via a fire that is behind them. That's all these people see, that's all these people do and and that's all these people know.

This allegory was Plato's effort to demonstrate various levels of "truth" and "reality." Many have dissected this tale and demonstrated various theories based on Plato's arguments.

This allegory, I feel, offers a great insight on what 2009 has been and what 2010 can possibly become.

During the last number of months we've noticed an awakening of companies to their own senses. They are more aware now of the business landscape around them than they ever have before.

How is this so? Well, without making some laborious philosophical argument, they've freed themselves from the "cave." What does this mean? This means that the world, i.e., their world of business that they reside in, has become "real" to them. They are no longer seeing the shadowy images inside the cave. They are standing in the light of day and can thus, see what really is happening around them.

How did this happen? Their predicament started during the inflated years of economic success (as it always seems to do). Life is always great when you're making money. Few rarely see the stumbling blocks in front of them on their path to success when reaching to grab the dollar bills littered around their feet.

This myopia then led to the protracted landscape of the "cave." We began, especially in the worlds of finance, real estate, mortgages and even technology to think that the business world we lived in was "normal."

An example in the technology sector would be Palm. When they failed to realize that users wanted mobile voice and data coming from the same device they immediately let other would-be solutions take their market share--You ever heard of Apple or Blackberry? As such, since 2005 Palm has steadily declined, with a recent attempt at resurrection via their Pre, and now sit trading at less $12 today. A number which is markedly down from 2000's high of $669.

Why the failure? Palm believed that their products solved the consumers' problems as they were. But what Palm was missing was the empirical information that "being out of the cave" can offer. In other words, they weren't seeing the world as it "really" was--and in this case, missed a huge opportunity to be long-standing leader in mobile voice, data and media consumption.

What 2009 has done for our partner companies is to open their eyes to the world around them. With money for most, if not all, of our clients being a precious commodity, they now are forced to strip off the blinders and free themselves from the cave. They have been forced to try to see what really is going on.

In most cases the transition from the darkness of the cave, and it's scant firelight, to broad daylight, has been an adjustment. But just like going to a matinee movie where you walk outside and are forced to squint hardily without cringing in blindness, your eyes eventually adjust and you soon can see normally.

So to, these companies who have been forced to free themselves from the cave are now fully aware of what has happened over the last 2 years and beyond. They know what they were experiencing wasn't "real," but was simply contrived allusions that were aimed to satisfy our senses in business context.

Sales and marketing are driving this campaign at most companies we see, with engineering also getting in on the action. All parties are looking to find what truly lays at the root of the modern consumers' needs.

One strong example of this recessionary reawakening, as I call it, has been Twitter. Who ever thought 140 characters would offer millions, if not billions, a slice of what is really going on in the world around us?

Not only is the solution functional when talking about reality, but the purpose behind Twitter derives from understanding what people really want and need--connection. They want to communicate and discuss and they want to correspond and correlate. Twitter offers them this in an easy to digest format.

Some might say today's generation doesn't interact anymore, but given the technology available there's more interaction in the world today then there ever has been in the history of the world. And to think about the possibilities of what the world "really" is because of those countless interactions is near daunting to fathom.

Now, I'm not going to Tweet my grandma or offer a status update asking my girlfriend to marry me (although I wouldn't be surprised if that's already happened). But in a business world where information is king, how interesting is it that 140 characters has offered enlightenment to millions on who, what, why and how the world is in reality.

So as we look back on 2009, it might be worth your time to ask yourself, am I seeing the world as it really is? Or am I simply seeing the shadows on the wall in the cave? Can I open myself to the world around me and connect? Can I free myself from the cave?

You might not like the things you see upon first setting foot outside the cave, but as your eyes adjust, you'll see the path that lays at your feet which leads to success. Only when we are taking the time to see the world as it is can we assess our options and make plans that actually impact lives for the better.

Tools to help see the world as it "really" is can be marketing strategies, a sales training, a motivational speech. They might be religion, academia, a heated discussion with a co-worker or simply taking time to volunteer for a local charity. They could be saying hello to that guy in the office that never says hi to you even though you've walked past him 1,000 times in the last year. Or they could be truly listening to a junior subordinate and realizing that she really does have a good idea for the new product launch.

Either way, each instance above begins with you asking the corporate ethereal question: "What is real?" And more often than you'll end up asking the follow up question: "What is really important?" From there, I believe the world of business opens up to a view far greater than anything we could imagine while inside the walls of the cave.

This view gives us optimism in 2010. This view is composed of a worldwide connectivity between people and information and vice versa. And this view is composed of connectivity between one person and another person using technology as one of the main mediums for interaction, despite the grumblings of older generations.

Because of this new found awareness I believe 2010 is going to be a year of "real" growth. Businesses will be leaner, meaner and more adept at reclaiming lost ground. And many will be able to avoid the stumbling blocks that lay at their feet.

I look forward to 2010 and am glad that I've learned the lessons that I did in 2009. It's made me a better person, a better husband and father and it's helped me be a better businessman. I see things a little clearer now that I'm thankfully standing out of the cave.

I hope to remain as such and hope the same for you and your businesses alike. If we do so, then the world will be a much more enjoyable and successful enterprise.

Happy holidays to you and yours. See you in 2010!