Generosity and the "will to know": introspection on business in Asia

"The genuine will to know calls for the spirit of generosity rather than for that of economy...." (Herbert Spiegelberg, The Phenomenology Movement: A Historical Perspective, 1965)

It's an interesting thought. Generosity is easy to come by, so long as there is no competing, vested interest. What can enable a spirit of generosity when there is a real or perceived competition? What can destroy it?

This is an issue I feel increasingly drawn to explore. At a recent presentation, a colleague used a conceptual slide that is virtually identical to our material (by virtually, I mean that our copyright statement was missing). While no one can really claim ownership of thought, and many people may arrive at similar conclusions in roughly the same time through exposure to ideas, even mutual exchange, it was a relationship shifting shock to see someone feathering his own nest without so much as an acknowledgment--which would have cost nothing--or even slight changes in presentation, which would have cost minimal time.

Is this about the spirit of generosity? or generosity of spirit?

Is this really about differences in cultural values? or is that a convenient excuse?

It takes collusion to make such breaches work. Examples of collusion exist in everything from the supposed value of long hours of work to enabling error by "respecting" rank. In my case, it is merely a shift in relationship. In recent health care incidents, the cost is a life.

It takes a different kind of collaboration to create generosity in the will to know. It is a challenge Hong Kong must face, or accept the already visible loss of place in Asia.

Much resistance to change is about rationalizing preference at the expense of others. In Asia's "world class city", we have a long way to go.

Food for thought.