We see what’s familiar as better, more important and more ‘true’. That’s not surprising as it’s a fairly known human behavior. But I do wonder if in business it’s more intentional than that. It’s not that we are just too busy to venture into it, or it’s too expensive to research, or it’s too complex to understand … it’s that we don’t want to. Because we don’t really care. We believe it’s less important because it’s less familiar.

Meet the human being, we are flawed, we are imperfect. We aspire to be and do better, but, you know, not all the time, and not with everyone, and not with every thing. We are complicated.

Our interest in the darkness that lies within human being is very much linked with what we do in our day jobs; however they come, we work hard to really see people. Flaws, contradictions, hypocrisy and all.

Music stimulates parts of our brain, it engages our physical body, it can alter our moods. It is even said that music is at the center of what it means to be human. It’s an interesting claim considering that we often talk about humans as being visual creatures without perhaps exploring how other senses influence what we ‘see’. But it’s perhaps most interesting because of how little we consider, research or leverage music in the consumer good space.

We break plans apart so we can rebuild them stronger. We question things like an outside company would so that our activities stand up to competitor scrutiny. We consider the worst alternative so that we build contingencies for that reality. We pressure test, we rethink, we reassess our plans with positive intent. It’s fun to play the devil’s advocate, sure, it’s easier to spot the negatives than the positives, but it’s also imperative that we do so.

They accept that that openness to opportunity also means an openness to the unknown. And the unknown is fraught with nerves, with a test of your confidence, and with big risks that come attached to dire consequences.

We can debate whether this type of mindset is sustainable or even if it’s brave. But it’s undoubtedly very human.