"`That's a great deal to make one word mean,' Alice said in a thoughtful tone.
`When I make a word do a lot of work like that,' said Humpty Dumpty, `I always pay it extra.' "
-Alice in Wonderland
Vizzini: HE DIDN'T FALL? INCONCEIVABLE.
Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
-Princess Bride
To Profess: To affirm openly; declare or claim, To practice as a profession or claim knowledge of...and the definitions go on and on. I find it interesting that to profess is not the opposite of confess.
So, Professional is not the opposite of confessional.One is never lauded at being confessional, but people are frequently accused of being unprofessional.
I find that in my exploration of the term Professional I have been laboring under the delusion that it is, somehow, synonymous with principled which it clearly is not. There are Professional thieves, liars and drug lords. One can be a Professional, well, anything as long as they can make a living at it. So when someone says," Oh, he/she was very professional", I now take it to mean the exhibited a degree of skill.However, skill alone, a good person does not make.
Perhaps this blog is about something else entirely.
I had wanted to believe that Professionalism included the attributes of politeness, clarity and good intentions. Perhaps I spent too much time with the Fairy Dust in the early 70's.
I guess I am an Idealist. I can't help but think that it is not a bad thing to be an Idealist, but perhaps it is an impractical attribute to have when trying to thrive in the Business World. Idealism is an expensive commodity that many choose not to invest in.
Many businesses find themselves professing to a Neiman Marcus Ideal but have a Wal-mart mentality.They want to declare Rolls Royce affinities but meet a Ford Pinto production schedule.
As a closing note, a quote by Eric Hoffer ,
"In a time of drastic change, it is the Learners who inherit the future.The Learned find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists."
The paradox of insular language
1 year ago
1 comment:
"I had wanted to believe that Professionalism included the attributes of politeness, clarity and good intentions." - These are commonly referred to as "soft skills"
"One can be a Professional, well, anything as long as they can make a living at it." - you are correct, when i hear someone referred to as "very professional" i assume they only make money from one thing. In addition, i see an imaginary red flag pop over the head of the person making the referral, and some guilt by association.
lastly, "Idealism is an expensive commodity that many choose not to invest in" - this is also correct, and the ratio is similar to those who change the world, specifically for the better, but, commonly for the worst. I find that wisdom is the sum of refined ideals, and wisdom is what defined our nation, many moons ago. Now it's just power and greed, logically it's time for war. I hope those with my ideals win it. However, from the looks of http://cloud.trendreach.com they will not anytime soon.
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