Well, what do organizations lose as they grow in scale? They seem to lose their capacity to innovate. They lose the ability to feel, to care, to act responsibly. They stop serving people — and start serving themselves. As they grow in scale, so they grow in power, and in obligation — and so their purposes come unhinged from their founding rationale... See more
Amazon, famously, has thrived during the pandemic era. But Walmart has, too — and its e-commerce sales in the second quarter were up 97%. It’s actually plausible, and maybe even likely, that Walmart has sharpened and expanded its game precisely because of Amazon. Walmart isn’t really an underdog — but it’s acting like one.
Seek out what magnifies your spirit. Patti Smith, in discussing William Blake and her creative influences, talks about writers and artists who magnified her spirit — it’s a beautiful phrase and a beautiful notion.