The State of the Collaboration Union
The State of the Union was last Tuesday. And the more you watched, the more it felt like hope and whatever loose change was left was slipping away. And not for the reasons you think.
I tuned in last Tuesday to the State of the Union. As a voting individual in this great nation, I take interest in the politics and policies enacted by those that I elect to office. The event is usually a festive one in Congress, with the President addressing all elected officials as well as the rest of the country.
Its usually one of the fluffiest things you can watch. The President makes comments about policies and tasks that he’d like to complete for the year, and the rest of the nation watches on.
One of the more disheartening things of course, is the Republican response to each and every one of these declarations. And while the Republicans are not fans of Obama as well, the impression given during speeches like this shows not only a lack of unity as a nation but also a lack of an interest in one of the most important tenets of business and social media - collaboration.
Its often noted that Republican representative Mitch McConnell has said that he will do everything he can, if possible, to prevent Obama from being a successful President, and will block anything and everything possible to make this happen. In the eyes of private and public work, this is the antithesis of collaboration. When one is usually hired in a company, they are brought in to work and help reach organizational goals. In the case of the United States Congress, this seems like the exact opposite - the goal here is to make the President fail.
In general, the consensus of the citizens of the United States is that nothing is getting done, and partially, that’s because of the US government is refusing to collaborate. If anything, the State of the Union showed us that gridlock and a promotion of failure seems to be the way to go. While the nation moves more towards a socialized and collaborative framework with collaborative technology, the government moves the other direction.
What’s your take? Tweet me at @albertqian or comment below.
