When did business stop being personal and become an activity we engage in?

It wasn’t always this way. In 12000 BC when Obsidian was used for trades, business was about making fair exchanges of value based on trust. When pioneer farmers traded labour with their neighbours to make harvesting more efficient, business was about working for the collective good.

When did business become about a balance of power? About adding distance. Drawing lines. Setting boundaries. Vendors and consumers. Them and us. I don’t think we can use the introduction of currency as an excuse.

When did people stop being people and become, traffic, customers, users, members, followers or a target audience?

The people you want to do business with, the ones you want to reach out to and who you are hoping will respond are not just labels in your vocabulary or walking wallets to be transacted with. They deserve to be treated like it’s personal. It is to them it should be to you.

The businesses that make it personal are the ones that are winning now.

Image by Rob Stradling.