Divine Discontent

(In which Tim strays semi-cluelessly into the realms of philosophy, ham fistedly applies it to business and then reverses himself at the end of the article inelegantly. Situation normal then!)

Linkedin is an unusual place to find philosophical insights laced with religious undertones.

Posts tend to celebrate being at an exhibition stand in a conference hall somewhere, are thrilled at coming third place in an obscure sectoral awards ceremony or enthusiastically virtue signal support for some fashionable cause.

All well and good, it is a business network after-all. Quotidian posts are gonna do what they’re gonna do. We all play the game.

So my interest was piqued when I saw a video featuring an old boss of mine - now head of a multinational organisation - in which he used the phrase ‘divine discontent’ to describe grappling with a large business problem.

Interesting phrase that - divine discontent. And not just because of the alliterative quality of the phrase, though poetry in written and spoken discourse always attracts being so rare.

An otherworldly dissatisfaction… An innate restlessness with the status quo... I can certainly picture a divine discontent driving a Weber-esque worldly asceticism, powering a Protestant work ethic of ceaseless productivity to be nearer the divine. (1)

But I can think of two other applications of divine discontent which eschew any religiosity; personal journeys and, more prosaically, business problems. Indulge me.

Firstly, and briefly, the personal. A divine discontent implies an uncomfortable gap between ‘what we are in comparison to what we have the power to become’. (2) Put simply, you could be achieving more in all the normal vectors of life - family, relationships, work, personal growth. The discontent drives change in your habits and aspirations. It propels you forward into being more engaged and, presumably, happy.

And Business? I believe this is the context where my ex boss was using the phrase. (3) Here a divine discontent suggests a discomfort with a process, a strategy or product. A feeling that those processes, strategies, and products could be better; that there is a gap between what is offered and what could be offered.

I’m sure we all have this feeling from time to time. Everybody knows that a camel is a horse designed by a committee, and that a fuzzy purpose results in an unsatisfactory result. Or that by constantly narrowing a scope results in timid innovation and lost opportunities.

So, maybe we should engage our divine discontent. Perhaps, as humans, we weren’t designed to be comfortable. Comfort suggests complacency and inertia neither of which are admirable qualities in business life.

Pearls are created by grit. Irritation can develop into beauty. Likewise divine discontent can transform that adequate, mediocre widget into a world beating semiconductor!

There is a potential downside of us all following our instincts though. Imagine everyone obeying their inner voices, articulating their inner discontent! Business life would become a constant and vexatious battle of self righteous bores convinced that God was telling them that the widget has been designed wrong.

Mmmm. maybe then, let me revise myself. Divine discontent is probably best in the religious field. How can I become closer to God, serve him better by good deeds, by engaging in my community? Second, the personal. Why am I unhappy? What can I do to reboot my life so it is purposeful and fulfilling? And then, in the business world, we should have leaders that are always uncomfortable with current successes, products and strategies and are looking for new horizons. Top down.

Or - if you have a divine discontent at work - get the hell out and follow your own dream. Your instincts are often right but are flattened by compromise. Be the pearl, not the mud!

Notes

1) Max Weber - The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905)

2) Neal A Maxwell

3) I remember a time, was it 15 years ago?, when all senior managers at a certain multi national, started using the word ‘maniacal’ as if being paid to do so. Every project had to have a ‘maniacal focus’. We all had to be ‘maniacal’ in signing customers. In retrospect, and at the time, the herd like mentality of a certain type corporate animal appals me. Bellends.