Busyness

In Middle English, business was the ‘state of being much occupied or engaged’. In late Old English it meant ‘what one is about at the moment’. When did it start meaning ‘that thing that makes us lots of money’?

Short answer? 1726, when the ‘trade and commercial engagement’ flavour was stirred in and it became business as we know it today.

I don’t struggle with the idea that businesses make money, nor that trade or commercial engagement are valuable; I struggle with the idea that the definition - and the journey - ends there.

We busy ourselves & create value with companions in that journey.

‘Companion’ - by the way - was in Old French ‘compagnie’, meaning “society, friendship, intimacy”. A large group of people, or company.

And we work all day, sometimes very long hours, which is quite a journey, literally. The French root ‘journee’ which was “the distance you can travel in a day”, means a days travel or work. (Think of it like how fish de jour is fish of the day.)

So. I busy myself on a journey, doing what I am about at the moment, with companions.

That sounds better.

Personal trajectory

At the time of this writing, I busy myself for half an hour with my companions at work. We talk about many things, though the focus is always that particular individual’s personal trajectory.

I think of it like a bunch of little rocket ships zooming into space. We share parts and tools and lend power when our own engines fail. It works best when we’re all zooming in a similar direction.

I also spend an hour with the other Director, checking our personal trajectories to check how they match the company and one other.

We figure out what problems we are busying ourselves with that week.

It’s practical, kids

I believe this is actionable stuff, not just word-play. Industrial age thinking doesn’t cut it for post-industrial problems.

Treating teams like companions every day. The challenges we face daily require a busy kind of play, with helpful companions on a shared journey.