What’s In Is Out

Mitch HobishGrowth, Innovation, Leadership, Productivity

Okay, this isn’t science or technology related (except by a looooong stretch), but it does have relevance for our ongoing conversation (well, monologue, as I don’t allow comments).

My reading is eclectic, to say the least, so it shouldn’t be surprising that I came across this item, describing how fashion in men’s shoes has changed over time.

man's_shoeI was fascinated to note how the height and color of men’s shoes reflected their “position” in polite society. I’m not exactly a clothes horse, so such things tend to escape me. Indeed, I find “fashion” of any kind to be ridiculous, especially given the vast sums of money spent on development, display, and acquisition of what’s “in” today, and particularly that it’s going to be “out” very soon—sometimes before the bills for what was “in” are paid.

I just cannot fathom what keeping up with “fashion” does for the individual, nor for society. But then, I’m clearly not Their target market.

This whole blind spot carries over into management theories: ISO, Six Sigma, etc. all have their uses, but they’re always superseded. It makes me wonder: What do they all have in common? How do they differ? Are there basic principles that convey across all such “fashions”?

Questions: Are you driven by what’s “in”, whether in personal or professional endeavors? If so, what does it do for you? Is the result always beneficial to you? How do you define “beneficial”, anyway? Can you set the fashion?