“Have you ever thought of retiring?” she asked semi-seriously in response to his comment that he would like to lie in bed with her all day.
“I don’t think I have the kind of job one retires from,” he said somewhat solemnly while looking straight out in front of him.
Claudia loved listening to the rumbling of his voice when her ear was placed on his chest. She knew she would once again demand he leave before morning, but she wanted to hang on to him for a bit longer.
“I guess I’ve always figured I’d just slowly cut back by becoming increasingly selective about the projects I take,” Austin said continuing his thought.
“You mean you’ll never retire!” said Claudia with amazement.
“Not officially. I thought the less work I did, the less I would be in demand and sooner or later I’d just kind of drift out of sight.”
Austin laughed at himself saying, “I pictured myself as this eighty year old business sage who people occasionally consult with, kind of like that Yoda creature in those old Star War movies. I’d be this eccentric hermit who dedicated young business novices would seek out when they wanted to learn about the force.”
Lifting her head off of his chest Claudia turns to look at Austin and while smiling offers, “Well, come to think of it, you got the ears for the position.”
After seeing his smile in response, she placed her head back on his chest before adding, “I can’t picture people leaving you alone like that unless you officially retire. I don’t care how much you cut back you’ll still be hounded daily with offers and propositions.”
“The business world always focuses on tomorrow, they have little concern for history or even what happened yesterday. The moment I cut back is the moment many will forget who I am. The less I do, the less I’ll be in demand. Sure there will be those who contact me for sentimental reasons or because they’ll figure, since I’m out of the loop, they can get me for a good price. But for the most part I’ll be left alone.”
Claudia felt her head slowly rise and fall with Austin’s melancholic sigh, and then rise high on the deep breath he took in before continuing, “I’ve seen some of the giants of the business disappear almost over night. Just like those old movies about ball players and boxers at the end of their careers, there’s always someone ready to step into the spotlight and take your place.”
“Well, if the up and comers are like our Mr. Platt then I don’t think you have much to worry about,” Claudia said somewhat lazily. Todd had called earlier in the evening when Austin was present. The conversation was short, just allowing Todd to state Austin was no longer the main subject of his piece, and to thank her for her input. He said he likely wouldn’t call again unless he found a need for additional material.
“You remember that discussion we had last week, when I talked about how nature and business were a lot alike?”
“Mm-hmm”, hummed Claudia.
“Well, there’s another aspect of business which is like nature. Every creature in nature survives because it fits into a little niche. Often times the more specialized the creature, the more it succeeds. Their specialization may be in a skill like being able to bury itself, seeing in darkness, or using sound to locate a prey. Or, their specialization may be in how their body has evolved leaving them with a long snout to get into flowers or anthills.”
“First you want big ears, now you want a big nose,” jabbed Claudia sarcastically.
“Of course, other animals become extinct for specializing in being irritating or poorly humored,” retaliated Austin playfully.
“Hmmm, ad men and being irritating,” Claudia countered once again, “how ever do you guys survive?”
Clearing his throat with mock pompousness he continued, “Success in the business world comes from being specialized, from being the best at one thing. In fact, our entire system of free enterprise seems to encourage obsessive-compulsive behavior in all individuals.”
His voice dropped the theater as he continued, “Competition makes it almost impossible to be the best all around anything. The perfect example is professional sports. The all around player usually has a short career, while the specialist finds his niche and thrives. In basketball you have specialized roles based on specific skills. You have the rebounder, the defensive stopper, the shooter, the ball handler, the penetrator, and the go-to-guy. Only the rare person can develop all these skills sufficiently to survive in the pros. In most cases players must choose a skill and excel in that one area.”
“A company makes its mark and survives by being the best at supplying a specialized service or providing a specific product or product line. A worker, likewise, needs a specialty. Almost every person I know who has made a successful career for themselves in public relations has a specialty.”
“What’s your specialty?” asked Claudia as she shifted her head a bit on Austin’s chest.
“I’ll have to admit I’m more generalized than the norm. Most stay in one area, such as sales, marketing, speech writing, networking, consultation, mediation or planning. Each one of those areas could be broken down into dozens of specialties. My area of expertise has to do more with my attitude and style. My focus and belief in the future is my calling card. Where others cave in to fear, I plow ahead confident and determined. I also am an extremely ethical person who considers the long-term effects of each campaign. This allows my clients to feel secure in successfully acquiring the loyalty of the consumer who will never feel betrayed or manipulated by my methods.”
“Yet,” Austin admitted somewhat sadly, “I think I need to become more of a specialist before I can begin to substantially cut back my work load.”
“There are a lot of successful people out there who do not seem to have any particular skill or gift,” Claudia pointed out.
“Some people’s skill is to use other people’s skills, other’s skill is to be a bully. Many people make up for their lack of ability by just putting in more hours. Their specialty is having no life outside of business. Remember, our entire free enterprise system is based on making a profit which is an excess. The goal of business is to have people use their products or services as much as possible. A good consumer is an impulsive and compulsive consumer who buys far more than they need.”
“Our entire society is geared towards creating compulsive neurotics. To be a good worker you must either work to excess or foster one skill compulsively. To be a good consumer you must be a compulsive shopper purchasing all the latest technology, fashion and conveniences. If you don’t do this, you won’t keep up with the others and, therefore, lose your status as a successful person.”
“That’s disgusting”, protested Claudia.
“Yes, but it’s relatively harmless. Our society labels a lot of people as being obsessive compulsive, and as I just said, I think the logistics of our free enterprise system helps create them. Yet, so much of compulsive behavior is based on having a generally good life. Someone starving and living in squalor doesn’t have time for ritual behaviors like cleaning one’s hands or making sure all their furniture is straight or sanitized. In most cases neurosis is a luxury, a sign of a relatively pampered existence.”
“I’m not saying I’m proud to be in a society which fosters neurosis. I think the more aware we become of the role our society plays in creating neurotic behavior, the quicker we will eventually find ways to help people find healthier forms of expressing their excesses.”
“Now your point was that society is mimicking nature. Right?” Claudia interjected feeling increasingly uncomfortable with the current direction of the conversation.
“Right,” Austin answered.
“You said species survive and thrive because they become specialized, but isn’t it also true they become extinct when they become over-specialized?”
“Oh yeah, thanks for bringing that up,” Austin said as if he was being reminded of something he planned on saying. “Most biologists would say that through evolution the animal’s body adapted to the environment making it increasingly efficient and successful. Yet, it’s extinction came when there was a sudden change in the environment, in which a new predator emerged, or it’s adaptations became obsolete. If an animal living at the bottom of the ocean became an expert hunter by using his ears to locate his prey and, likewise, avoid detection by remaining still just think what easy prey he’d be if an underwater volcano suddenly made his world a visible one.”
“The same is true in the business world. A shift in the business terrain can cause a business to fail, or for an entire industry to become extinct. In modern society this usually happens due to an advance in technology or a new invention. The demise of the horse and carriage and steam engine are two rather ancient examples. Just as the calculator replaced adding machines and the computer made companies making typewriters adapt or perish.”
“Very large corporations often diversify their interests by purchasing and merging with companies with different specialties. This does shield them from quick extinction, yet even mammoth corporations can be destroyed if one of their divisions is replaced. The intelligent officers of a corporation anticipate future changes and invest in the very technology which could revolutionize their field, kind of like the oil companies buying out companies which worked on alternative energy sources.”
Claudia rolled off of Austin’s chest and on to her side. Facing Austin she looked deeply into his eyes and asked, “Don’t you think man should start to try to improve nature, rather than mimic it?”
“Isn’t the major complaint regarding modern man that he strives to control nature? Don’t those opposed to industrial society want us to go back to nature?”, Austin asked genuinely confused by Claudia’s question.
“You’ve been pointing out how capitalism replicates nature. You said our competitive system of free enterprise has the same dynamics as the food chain, that the fight for survival in nature is no different than the struggle to survive in the business world,” Claudia said earnestly trying to make her point clear.
“Yes,” Austin admitted still unable to make the connection from her initial question to her summation.
“Well, shouldn’t we aspire to outgrow nature? Shouldn’t we strive to create a society less violent and cruel than nature?
“I think most people would say man is far more sympathetic and compassionate than most predators. Don’t you agree that nature is more cruel and unforgiving than man?
“Yes, even though I still see a lot of evil in mankind, I have to admit he’s come a long way from his barbaric past,” Claudia admitted somewhat excitedly.
“But, that is exactly my point. The further back one goes, the more vicious man appears. Man’s struggle to regulate and improve his behavior is found in the history of religion and spiritualism. Ancient myths tried to answer the basic questions of life including what is the right thing for man to do. Through time, the role of right action has become increasingly central to all religious thought.”
Austin intrigued by her point turned on his side and faced Claudia. Noticing the interest expressed through his body language Claudia steamrolled ahead.
“I remember being horrified when I read the Greek myths. The gods in the myths seemed so petty, so cruel, so savage and immature. As man has evolved and become more humane, so has his gods. While the God of the Old Testament was often vindictive, punishing man through floods, plagues and endless hardship, the God of the New Testament was all-forgiving and advised us to be kind even to our enemies.”
“I never thought of it that way,” Austin admitted, “but, it certainly seems true.”
“Well, aren’t we limiting ourselves if we continue to mimic the baser aspects of nature?, asked Claudia forcefully. “The history of progress is the history of man overcoming his limitations. The telescope and microscope overcame our limits of sight; the radio our limits of hearing; computers our limitations of memory; the telephone, satellites and the internet overcame the limits of communication. Now virtual reality is overcoming the limits of touch and total sensory experience. Wherever we turn man is overcoming his natural limits. Therefore, doesn’t it make sense for us to create a new society unfettered by a need to mimic the cruelty of the fight for survival? Shouldn’t we replace competition and the fight for survival with more humane qualities such as compassion, love and respect?”
Though Austin admitted being very impressed with her argument, he maintained that one had to make a distinction between idealism and reality. It was fine, even noble to dream and to set the highest goals, but one still had to be practical in making even the simplest dream into a reality. Austin said he, too, shared Claudia’s vision of an Eden on earth, but he felt man had a long way to go before he could safely and effectively drop the fight for survival model of nature.
Satisfied that Austin understood, appreciated and respected her viewpoint, Claudia let the discussion subside. Confident Austin would later reflect on what they discussed and give further consideration to her ideas, Claudia then focused on getting Austin out of her apartment.
Austin protested, but she held firm. They kissed and hugged for a few minutes, but Austin finally acquiesced to Claudia’s wishes by getting up, getting dressed and exiting out into the nippy night time air.