Hola Todos!
There are times that a word and a word alone can be inspirational – something to the kin of a mini mission statement. New to Nuggetville (but not new to those who had me in class) are KEY nugget dictionary terms. This week’s keyword is Shibboleth.
I came across this word again when I was reviewing the write up on Amazon of Jeff Jarvis’ new book Public Parts. Here’s the quote: “But not Jeff Jarvis. In this shibboleth-destroying book, Public Parts argues persuasively and personally that the Internet and our new sense of publicness are, in fact, doing the opposite.”
The free Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary on the Internet defines Shibboleth as “a widely held belief,” “a truism,” “a platitude.”
Too often in the corporate world, something is “held high” – never questioned – never re-imagined. It’s just a given – it’s a shibboleth.
My challenge to you is to think different or be different. Find those shibboleths at your firm and QUESTION THEM DIRECTLY. Perhaps you do this with yourself as a mind exercise or with a close confident but how can you “think outside the box” unless you first directly challenge the box?
Best
Dr. Dan-o
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