Separating business matters from personal issues
Recently, I received the first newsletter of the year from (friend and former colleague) Steve Pavlina. For those of you who do not already know about Steve Pavlina, he founded Dexterity Games (now defunct) and published Dweep, an award-winning puzzle game. He was also the President of the Association of Shareware Professionals and was inducted into the ASP Hall of Fame in 2005. After this success, he left the game industry to pursue a career in motivational speaking and personal development, writing the book, Personal Development for Smart People.
Anyway, the meat of the newsletter, nestled in between the various sales pitches and recommendations from which he earns his living, was a section entitled, “Living by Your Own Rules“. This intrigued me, as it seemed to correspond nicely with my personal plans for 2010, so I read on. However, I quickly discovered that his ideas did not mesh with my own in this case. It had little to do with the actual content of his writings, but his radical ideas of sharing his personal life (specifically, his sexual preferences and desires) in the place in which he does his business.
Specifically, Steve made a blog post with his 2010 goals in which he reveals his personal goal of pursuing “Alternative Relationship Styles” and goes into detail (for which you will need to read his post). I have no problem whatsoever with his choice to pursue this lifestyle, but I do question the wisdom of presenting this in a forum in which he currently (by his own numbers) sells six figures a month; it seems risky to the point of potential self-destruction. More to the point, I wonder what benefit to his business (not to mention personal reputation) he seeks to gain from this pursuit. (I do see a great benefit in finding compatible sexual partners, though.)
Steve is good at taking things to the extreme, completing college in only three semesters, ramping up his healthy eating through vegetarianism to a vegan diet and finally raw foods, and now personal openness to a radical degree. He calls this last part “courage”, which it certainly takes, but I am not sure that courage is always the best choice. Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Mean suggests that the opposite of cowardice is rashness, and this might apply here. The more common idiom is, “All things in moderation, and moderation in all things.”
Personally, I think that it is still wise to compartmentalize to some degree, especially keeping business issues separate from (potentially) controversial personal issues, such as politics, religion, and sexuality. Discussing the particulars of these in a business context has the potential of alienating people with little chance of significant gain. I do not have a problem seasoning my business posts with personal items, and I definitely have business friends with whom I share more, but any proclivities I may (or may not :)) have should remain discrete.
Ultimately, I guess that I am intrigued at Steve’s attempt to alter societal norms, and I wish him the best of luck, but I am also glad that it is he, rather than I, who is taking the risk of falling flat on his face. (Ridicule I could handle; starvation, not so much.)
What do you think?