David Marcum: Poem Analysis

In a terrific analogy David Marcum compares the systems of the ego to those of the human body, “To keep our body healthy, our immune system creates molecules called free radicals that fight viruses and bacteria. However, when environmental factors such as pollution and pesticides cause free radical production to become excessive, the molecules attack not only the viruses and bacteria but good cells and vital tissues as well, causing illness, premature aging, cancer and other diseases. Ego is a free radical.” (Page 9) The analogy that he draws being that it is not ego, but ego in surfeit that leads to negative externalities within a business. Ego, when managed is a powerful resource not to be extinguished but to be nurtured and maintained. …show more content…
The second sign is defensiveness, which makes you unable to listen to other people’s suggestions because you’re too focused on your own. The third early warning sign is showing too much brilliance, over confidence and selfishness in the workplace stem from this base sign, A self-centered belief in your own intelligence ends up pushing people away from what otherwise might be a great idea. The final sign to look for is acceptance, wanting praise and recognition often defeats your own power to succeed. The desire for acceptance weakens oneself as a leader and subconsciously depreciates respect in …show more content…
Because humility has the undeserved reputation of being quiet, people often mistake it for perpetual harmony. Harmony however never comes without a bit of turbulence, what must be understood is that in the pursuit of progress there will be intensity, this intensity brings vigorous debate which requires heavy investment into humility to keep that intensity productive or else it will become a meaningless exchange. Sadly for too many companies the pendulum of argument swings to one extreme or the other over compensation on either side over arrogance or over submission ends in stagnating intellectual