One of the interesting ideas presented in Jim Collin’s books is the concept he calls “the genius of the and”. The other side of this is what he calls the “tyranny of the or”.

He talks about how the companies they studied figured out how to put together two things that seemed like they were opposites or at least heading in different directions.

Instead of saying profits or customer service they figured out how to deliver profits and excellent service.

Instead of thinking low cost or high quality they figured out to how to deliver high quality products and a low cost.

This thought has been popping into my head a lot in the office lately around some of the discussions I have had with others about areas we need to improve at Mavidea. As we work through difficult problems like increasing client retention, improved margins and profitability we must remember the genius of the and.

Maybe more importantly is how you could apply it in your personal life.

Some areas I thought of as examples:

Living for today and building for the future.

Being assertive and putting yourself first and doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Being driven towards goals and accomplishment and being happy with what you have.

Being patient and being action oriented.

I would love to hear some examples from all of you, so share them today if you have a chance. What is a “genius of the and” you are working on?

Make it a great day.

Jake