Izgoys: No More No Less

An izgoy is an old Russian term for someone who is rendered an outsider by a flaw which makes them unfit for their social position. I got this from The Guardian on Saturday. They gave examples of an illiterate priest or a bankrupt merchant. What a great concept. Someone who is unfit to be what they are.

This izgoy concept is all rather chaotic and anti-meritocratic compared to the way I am trying to think about work and careers and opportunities at the moment. But it reminded me of a colleague's observation on the office that we were working in at the time: that it would never be functional because the wrong people did the wrong jobs there. And I was on a public speaking course once where the instructor said that the person who wanted to give the speech most was probably the least suitable person to give that speech. And we've all been managed by managers who can't manage. Judges who don't understand the legal system? Yep. Comedians who are not funny? Too many to mention. (0h, okay then. Jimmy Carr.) People who work in sandwich shops who don't want to serve you a sandwich? Yep. Robbie Williams doing a rap album? Vanilla Ice anyone? Short people who think they are tall? Yep. Politicians who...well you get the point.

So are we all waking up every Monday morning with a dread that we will be caught out for the charlatans we really are? Or is the deception and mismatch and chaos sufficiently endemic for no-one to be in a position to question anyone else about their unsuitability for the position they are in? Which I guess you could turn into a positive because it means anyone can do anything, except for maybe a few technical jobs like doctors and airline pilots - although, interestingly, these are two jobs that a lot of people pretend to be trained in right before the nice people from the clinic turn up with the extra restraining straight jacket.

This is all verging on career/life/leadership coaching now, a discipline I am required to have a vigorous cynicism about because 1) I've never had it 2) mrs househusbandnot kind of works in that field 3) mrs househusbandnot is trying to get me to have some coaching, and 4) I absolutely know I would benefit from it but am trying not to let mrs househusbandnot realise she is right about everything all the time. (Hey, it's a couple thing. You know the deal.)

In related - I guess - news, I went to that ethical jobs fair on Friday. It was very cool and groovy with lots of nice people being nice to each other. Very different from what I imagine an IT or financial sector jobs fair would be like. Lots of people drinking fair trade coffee over their free editions of the The Times public sector supplement. I'm sure there were izgoys lurking around, thinking about going to McDonalds, wishing they could work for Alan Sugar, and wondering if date rape drugs are that unethical. But if they were there, they hid it quite well.

On a people doing the right thing conclusion, the bloke in the tower block over the road has been playing the most fantastic music all morning. Everybody wants to be a DJ. No more. No less.

Peace, MC Onday