I am going to start blogging on a new topic I've been interested in for a long time, relationships. I am interested in this topic for a number of reasons. Based upon general observation and reading the book Never Eat Alone, I have become convinced that relationships are one of those key things in life. Being married, I have learned this. Through my friends I have learned this. In work I have learned this. This subject is like the elephant standing in the corner of the room, everyone knows it's there but people often fail to recognize it.So, I want to study it and post my thoughts on this blog. The goal for me is to learn more about the subject and to help others learn more about it as well. I hope that I will be able to use some of the techniques I learn in my life, but if I don't that is ok. I'm going to set up a new category so you can track my posts on relationships if you are so inclined. This is one of those subjects for me that has some pretty deep meaning, so I'm really writing this for myself. I invite you to follow along. Please feel free to post feedback and comments; I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on relationships as well.Relationships are weird. I am not sure I really know what that word means, relationship. I've looked it up in the dictionary, but that didn't help very much. Answers.com had more detailed information, but still left me confused. Wikipedia just had a simple definition and some of the root words. Looking up the root word "relation" I finally hit some pay dirt.Relation comes from the Latin word "relatio". I have no idea what "relatio" means or where it came from and Google didn't turn up anything good. A few things struck me about the Wikipedia page for relation though. First, the word relation is considered to be one of the 1000 basic English words. It sort of makes me think that it is a more important word. Looking at other words in that category, it seems to be in pretty good company. The second thing that struck me is that the definitions of the word are sort of spread out. It covers topics in mathematics, story telling and family. Makes me think I am biting off something pretty big here.I did some more searching on the history of the word relation and found the Online Etymological Dictionary. Here's the entry on the word relation: relation 1390, from Anglo-Fr. relacioun, O.Fr. relacion (14c.), from L. relationem (nom. relatio) "a bringing back, restoring," from relatus (see relate). Meaning "person related by blood or marriage" first attested 1502. Relationship "sense of being related" is from 1744; meaning "an affair, a romantic or sexual relationship" is attested from 1944. Finally, I've found a definition for the word "relatio". The definition here is interesting though, "a bringing back, restoring". That is really out of the box for what I thought the word relation means. I am not sure if it makes a whole lot of sense, I'll probably have to come back to that one later. Drilling down to the word "relate", I came across this definition. relate 1530, "to recount, tell," from L. relatus, used as pp. of referre (see refer), from re- "back, again" + latus (see oblate (n.)). Meaning "to establish a relation between" is from 1771. Sense of "to feel connected or sympathetic to" is attested from 1950, originally in psychology jargon. Related in the sense of "connected by blood or marriage" is from 1702. The reference to the word "refer" makes much more sense here. Referring someone requires a relationship (most of the time) and this might be another thing to look into. The first definition, "to recount, tell" also brings up another interesting aspect of relationships, storytelling. More questions than answers I guess.I know I am just touching the tip of the iceberg here, but I feel like this is a great start. Here's a few questions I have after this little bit of research.
- What purpose does storytelling have in relationships?
- What purpose does referring have in relationships?
- Does the definition, "bringing back, restoring" have anything to do with relationships, or is it sort of an outlier?
Technorati Tags: relationships, never eat alone
Comments
Relationships are
Relationships are everything, aren't they, both in business and in life. Our culture really isolates us if we let it. Biznik is a reaction to that, focused on the business slice of the pie. Here's a couple relevant lines from the Biznik Manifesto (which hasn't been published yet, so this is a sneak peek for ya...):
We Believe in Relationships, not Referrals.
We don't care if you never once refer to another Biznik. Do we hope you will? Sure. But we'll take a hard-working, passionate professional over a hackneyed-unethical-referral-throwing-ladder-climber any day of the week. Be a Biznik. Build relationships. And if you've got business to give, go for it.
We Believe in Collaboration, Not Competition.
Competition is an old myth made up by old men with old ideas and no imagination. There's work out there--big gobs of it--plenty to make all of us fat and happy and (if we eat too much) probably a little tired.
Bizniks work together. Bizniks form teams. Bizniks will stage a completely collaborative, non-violent coup of the greater business world.
We Believe in Community.
Business is a social game. Let's play together. Biznik isn't something you go to, show up for, log into or whisper about. Biznik is something you are. Becoming a Biznik is just like joining a family. But without the death benefits, crying bouts and awkward and uncomfortable family dinners.