The Strong Survive

"The weak are meat and the strong do eat."

I saw Cloud Atlas yesterday afternoon. Spoiler alert.. Tom Hanks plays EVERYBODY in the movie.

A time or two, one of the characters said a little diddy about the strong versus the weak. As I sat at work today I had a realization about what true strength is. 

We were having a discussion about two customers, let's call them Mercury and Venus (note that Mars has nothing to do with this). Mercury and Venus pretty much do the exact same thing and thus hired us to do for them the exact same thing. However, human nature can have a profound effect on exactness. Separate individuals were enlisted to handle the separate but equivalent projects for Mercury and Venus. One individual's ability to handle the Mercury project was stronger than the other individual's ability to handle the Venus project. Thus, Mercury became the shining example of how to do the project correctly. The other? The shortcomings of that project shone through due to comparisons to the well done project.

Here's where things get fun. These individuals and the things they did with these projects will effect the future of our company's ability to help these customers. Fixing problems for the Mercury project are simple or unnecessary. Resolving future issues regarding the Venus project become difficult and troublesome. The individuals that have to deal with problems on both sides are the benefactors or casualties of the work done by their seniors. As these juniors grow into seniors, they will pass on what they learned. Benefactors of the Mercury project will appreciate the company they work for and know how to do things the right way. The casualties of the Venus project will be bitter and potentially pay the problems they encountered forward. 

So.. Strength. The strong are the senior project handlers. Their actions effect the junior project handlers. However, the strong are divided. The true strong will produce true strength. They complete the project in a way that benefits everyone. The weaker of the strong will produce more weak strength. Their project will cause grief and difficulty for all who encounter it. 

That's the swindle. Now let's get political. 

Today's Republicans are that weak strong that I am referring to. They have all the money and the power. They hold all the cards. However they act in a way that does not benefit the future that will ultimately have the money and the power. In their bitterness, the cycle will continue until someone learns to break the chain. I won't say that Democrats are the true strong. I believe the true strong are those powerful individuals like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and (in my humble opinion) Barack Obama who have achieved monumental success but have not lost their sense of humanity and community. The people they inspire will have that strength and continue to pass it on. 

The problem with people is that we assume true strength means power. True strength is exercising power in a way that benefits those affected by it. Weakness is abusing or misusing that power.