“You didn’t build that” is a phrase Barack Obama uttered during the 2012 election campaign. It was then used by his political opponents during the 2012 presidential campaign as an attack by Obama upon entrepreneurs.
It’s time to revisit Obama’s idea. Did they actually build all of that business? Enter A.J. Jacobs, who decided to thank every person responsible for his morning cup of coffee. This project led to him reaching out to more than 1,000 people, far more than the woman who poured his cup of coffee and far more than the man who delivered the coffee beans to the coffee shop. Jacobs has created an upbeat reminder that the world is intricately inter-connected. We all depend upon each other to a mind-blowing degree. Yes, you built that business, but who “built” you and who are all the people you lean upon to keep your business going? Start counting.
A thoroughly delightful talk that ideologues need to hear and study. We can call it globalization or a complex system, but what it really is is civilization as we know it, entrusted to us to preserve, nurture and grow. Obama understood that we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, but did not appear to understand that we are obligated to them and to civilization to preserve and grow it. That is addressed by Jacobs in a fascinating sermon. I can’t view it any other way.
Jacobs buys into neither “You didn’t build that!” nor “You’re a self-made person.” His understanding is nuanced, for he raises up the value created by those who came before us, while encouraging us to appreciate the many complex systems that must interact flawlessly to deliver his morning coffee. He describes Adam Smith’s unseen hand in the thousands who have contributed to getting his morning coffee, right, on time, properly prepared, every day. Jacobs doesn’t preach; he lets us draw our own conclusion.
My primary conclusion is that we are on the edge and may fumble the civilization entrusted to us. Cancel culture, identity politics above all, utter disrespect and hatred for those who do not agree with us, all create a dangerous path as we try to preserve what has been entrusted to us, let alone grow it.
The exercise he went through reminds me of a lesson I tried to teach every MBA student and graduate. You can never know everything, yet need to acknowledge that in the simplest of items and processes there are complex systems you will affect. Be humble.
Bill, I’m glad you enjoyed Jacob’s TED talk as much as I did. Your comment reminds me of this gem from Carl Sagan:
“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”
― Carl Sagan, Cosmos