Mutuality

Abstract

High performance relies on commitment. Commitment is a voluntary quality. People have to choose to be committed: you cannot force it, that would be coercion. There usually needs to be a reason to choose to commit. Perhaps it is the power of the vision, the graciousness of the leader, or a desire to test and prove oneself. Whatever the initial reason, it tends to be sustained only if there is a continued sense of worth and ownership: a sense that the individual is part of something important and worthy, a mutual endeavour with mutual benefits. This notion was brilliantly and simply captured by Sir Isaac Newton, when he wrote in a letter to Robert Hooke in February 1676, ‘If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.’ Some historians believe this was an ironic comment of Newton’s, but we believe it captures the essence of mutuality.

There is no they, only us.

Anon.