#29 – Everybody Wants To Rule The World

Inspiration can come from anywhere.

I was having a pretty average day, washing the dishes and wondering what to write this week.

Spotify did its thing. The shuffle landed on Tears For Fears’ 1985 classic hit Everybody Wants To Rule The World. Two lines jumped out at me:

It was like a scene out of a movie. I nearly dropped my sponge.

I had a flashback to Year 12 Literature, writing my essay frantically. I nervously read, re-read and studied the text until my eyes bled.

The teacher marked the essays. Each one simply had a letter grade (mine was a D) and the words “needs more analysis” scribbled in green pen. That day still haunts me.

Fast forward to a legal internship. I had to tell a client some bad news, that her legal matter ran into some trouble.

My supervisor and I told her the bad news. By the end we were smiling, shaking hands and arranging our next meeting.

What was the difference? In a word – clarity.

The teacher gave me nothing to hang onto. No feedback, no rationale, no way of getting better. I felt certain to fail Literature and couldn’t comprehend how I did so badly. It was frustrating.

But when we spoke to our client we ran her through what happened, why it happened and where we go from here. She accepted her situation was a blip on the radar and was ready to keep going.

Clarity is vital now. Living this excruciatingly long lockdown where the metrics are unclear and there’s no telling when it will end is the real-life version of watching Interstellar. Head-scratching, frustrating, surprisingly loud and seemingly endless.

I think we all feel like I did when I got my essay back. We’re waiting for Twitter, or the press conferences, or our mate’s mate to provide some clarity and some assurance that it can get better.

Clarity creates confidence and transparency. It invites trust and articulates an attainable vision or end result. A lack of clarity clouds any direction, making the problem incomprehensible.

So it’s no wonder we search for clarity.

It can come from anywhere: a friend, an inner thought, a news article.

Or in my case, from a song on Spotify.

Next week: Diversity and Innovation