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Amwelladmin (talk | contribs) Created page with "{{quote|{{Power versus strength quote}} :— James P Carse, {{br|Finite and Infinite Games}} }} There are many gems in James P. Carse’s masterwork (almost all of them missed by Simon Sinek’s threadbare cash-in, {{Br|Infinite Games}}, by the way) but the distinction he draws between power and strength is fantastic. Think of power as accumulated, finite resource; a ''historical'' acquisition that is depleted by use, the way a battery loses its charge or a hydr..." |
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{{quote|{{Power versus strength quote}} | {{quote|{{Power versus strength quote}} | ||
:— James P Carse, {{br|Finite and Infinite Games}} }} | :— James P Carse, {{br|Finite and Infinite Games}} }} | ||
There are many gems in [[James P. Carse]]’s masterwork (almost all of them missed by [[Simon Sinek]]’s threadbare cash-in, {{Br|Infinite | There are many gems in [[James P. Carse]]’s masterwork (almost all of them missed by [[Simon Sinek]]’s threadbare cash-in, {{Br|The Infinite Game}}, by the way) but the distinction he draws between power and strength is fantastic. | ||
Think of power as accumulated, finite resource; a ''historical'' acquisition that is depleted by use, the way a battery loses its charge or a hydro-dam runs out of water. | Think of power as accumulated, finite resource; a ''historical'' acquisition that is depleted by use, the way a battery loses its charge or a hydro-dam runs out of water. | ||
Strength is prospective: it regenerates energy rather than using it; is somehow anti-fragile, a muscle that grows the more you exercise it and give of it. There is a good word for | Strength is prospective: it regenerates energy rather than using it; is somehow anti-fragile, a muscle that grows the more you exercise it and give of it. | ||
The personal sacrifices one makes in the name of a wider cause; the good deeds you do when no-one sees, without asking for return; the reputation you build for honest dealing: There is a good Maori word for this sense of strength: ''mana''. | |||
It is also the time and effort expended to acquire skills, expertise, experience and resilience: the callouses you’ve grown, the toughened hide, the give in your frame, the system redundancies you have acquired. These confer ''strength'' not power. | |||
{{sa}} | {{sa}} | ||
*[[Power structure]] | *[[Power structure]] | ||
Revision as of 10:31, 25 July 2023
“A powerful person is one who brings the past to an outcome, settling all its unresolved issues. A strong person is one who carries the past into the future, showing that none of its issues is capable of resolution. Power is concerned with what has already happened; strength with what has yet to happen. Power is finite in amount, strength cannot be measured because it is an opening and not a closing act. Power refers to the freedom persons have within limits, strength to the freedoms persons have with limits.
Power will always be restricted to a relatively small number of selected persons. Anyone can be strong.”[1]
- — James P Carse, Finite and Infinite Games
There are many gems in James P. Carse’s masterwork (almost all of them missed by Simon Sinek’s threadbare cash-in, The Infinite Game, by the way) but the distinction he draws between power and strength is fantastic.
Think of power as accumulated, finite resource; a historical acquisition that is depleted by use, the way a battery loses its charge or a hydro-dam runs out of water.
Strength is prospective: it regenerates energy rather than using it; is somehow anti-fragile, a muscle that grows the more you exercise it and give of it.
The personal sacrifices one makes in the name of a wider cause; the good deeds you do when no-one sees, without asking for return; the reputation you build for honest dealing: There is a good Maori word for this sense of strength: mana.
It is also the time and effort expended to acquire skills, expertise, experience and resilience: the callouses you’ve grown, the toughened hide, the give in your frame, the system redundancies you have acquired. These confer strength not power.