Let's Talk about Scalable
How easy is it these days to get annoyed? And how exactly are we dealing with our annoyances?
I trust you all are having as difficult a time as I am being cooped up, and it certainly does not take much to get under one’s skin. But therein lies the lesson we must all apply. We need to find a way to not sweat the small stuff and learn to let go.
Let me give you an example of a little thing that had become a source of irritation. I found myself scratching my head over how the word “scale” (noun or verb), “scalable,” and all sorts of variations thereof (scale up, scale down, scale-out, to scale …) had entered into play. And knowing my penchant for understanding words, their origins, and their significance, I found myself wondering how new words find their way into our conversations. Is there a movement behind it? Who gives them the rubber stamp? But what I really needed to do in this instance was to find my way around my annoyance.
It is important to step back, constructively, and openly, when confronted with bother or confusion. In this case, I did what I always do - Google the words or terms I do not understand. There is often clarification or an aha moment, or else, a perfectly good explanation for the origin of the word in question. When it comes to “scale,” I did not get that epiphany. I found that the definition might be a better substitute than the word itself.
I had to step back further and see it in perspective and remind myself that no one is planning to boycott references to “scale.” It has entered every domain, and people are using it quite frequently. I needed to jump on board and turn annoyance into constructive learning. I understand that this is a process, so I invite you to teach me about how you use words and what significance you place on them.
Our Tourism Cares staff is undertaking its journey around DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion), which we coined as “EBDI” to include Belonging because words matter. We started our journey with the basics – understanding the terminology, developing our vocabulary, and becoming comfortable saying words that we were previously reluctant to say, or worse yet, had been using incorrectly.
Our journey and the safe place we have created has been extremely valuable to me as we tackle some big issues, and in doing so, I’ve learned that if I can apply foundational learnings, expand my vocabulary, and become more secure dealing with sensitive issues, then I certainly can handle the small stuff myself.
I leave you with my New Year’s resolution: I will continue to scale up however needed to create a positive impact in this world. I will scale down on unnecessary wastefulness and support scalable, sustainable models to help our industry recover responsibly and ensure a better future. I will also find a reason to smile when I step on the scale.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
~ Greg Takehara, CEO Tourism Cares
