Climb the Second Mountain
Anything that starts with “there are two kinds of people in this world” are usually either really inaccurate or really funny, or really funny because they are so inaccurate.
We’re calling this opinion piece in the New York Times by David Brooks an exception. It isn’t inaccurate or funny, and when it did the rounds of our team it was one of those moments where someone else manages to describe something you already lived, but could never really articulate as well.
From the article:
“I can now usually recognize first- and second-mountain people. The former have an ultimate allegiance to self; the latter have an ultimate allegiance to some commitment. I can recognize first- and second-mountain organizations too. In some organizations, people are there to serve their individual self-interests — draw a salary. But other organizations demand that you surrender to a shared cause and so change your very identity.”
Slash hires second mountain people. It’s why CV’s and portfolios don’t mean as much to us as sitting with people and talking about life does.
And it’s why our most exciting work is with second mountain people and organizations, where budgets and the bottom line mean less than impact and making something meaningful.