Sharing

Nothing is as valuable as sharing. Most of us were raised in an age where you kept things to yourself. You also liked to possess things. The new times, that really are here, have challenged and changed a lot of these stances. In the larger cities of Holland we even share cars, unthinkable ten years ago.

I lived in San Francisco to run our startup Respectance in 2008-2009. Our office was next to the new startup Twitter. But they were just one of many startups in our hood. One way or the other all these startups were involved with and influenced by one another. Personnel knew each other and out of the technologies they made mashups and profited from each other. Everything seemed intertwined. Such openness and trust that give and take will bring everybody further in the end, felt as a relief.

Back in Holland the changes had not caught on. More dramatically, they still do not take place. The logical co-operation between parties and specialists is not happening (a lot) because we tend to see each other as competition. I believe that this age should be used for real sharing. That is: sharing your knowledge, your experience, your dreams, your technology, your network, your skills. That will make you a winner.

Sadly the biggest mistake people make, is that they think the age of SHARING means “I have more ways to share about me, so all know about me”. That is sharing for your own benefit. It’s why you would avoid most congresses in this country because people are hunting for opportunities and are often not interested in really sharing experiences.

Perhaps this is a very drastic way to put it, and of course there are many more colors than just black and white. Still I dare to say that we have a lot to learn when it comes to actual sharing.

Why I write this? Ironically, we did our first episode of IIZTV last week. Our ambition is to share relevant and deeper insights about our industry (in Dutch mainly) and about the practical challenges we all meet during the day and how we deal with those. During the try outs we found out that sharing is still hard. What do you want to reveal, and what is of use for other people in your industry. We believe that the best result comes from showing as much as you can, because most people meet the same challenges in their (professional) lives.

One is just as strong, as the vulnerability he dares to show.
Soon we’ll tape our new episode of IIZTV. If you’re interested in sharing your experience with us, please contact me and we offer you a professional platform. It’s only for the strong at heart.

love

Richard Derks – IIZT.com