If your definition of status differs from a given peer group’s definition of status…
- You will never feel a sense of belonging within that group.
- You will never find value in that group’s status dynamics.
- You will never derive satisfaction from within those dynamics.
- You will never be treated with in-group norms and conventions in your interactions with that group.
- You will eventually realize it is “a” peer group, but not one you are obliged to adhere to.
- You will eventually recognize that in-group status exists for its own sake to enforce status-seeking behaviors rather than to confer extrinsic benefits.
- You may eventually notice that endogamy isn’t the move you want to make and may not be strategically sustainable, resulting in pedigree collapse.
These observations don’t just apply to kinship or tribal dynamics. They apply to what choices we make and how we avoid excessive homogeneity or groupthink in business.
The final wrinkle to all this…in business, if your peer group isn’t your buyer, none of these in-group phenomena matter to the bottom line. If you get all the bobbleheads who all already agree with you to nod along, the empty status points typically don’t get you anywhere.
And that’s my Friday “Chris Fox ‘Cut the S***’ Moment™” for 17 May 2024.
