7.22.2006

The Three "A's"


I love this post from re:invention! The author has correctly identified three distinctive characteristics in business in my opinion. Kirsten, great post!
My kind response: "P'shaw. There's a remarkable difference between an activist, an advocate, and an agent."

an activist is a warrior:
By definition, an activist is an individual who uses direct, confrontational action such as a demonstration or a strike in support of opposition of a cause. Activists often have exaggerated and overly negative qualities that make them less credible. They attack rather than portray the positive. Activists willingly burn bras, mark time with hunger strikes, sleep in the rain, and break fingernails. Nothing wrong with that. They have their place in this world.

an advocate is a voice:
By definition, an advocate is someone who speaks, pleads for a cause or on another's behalf. Advocates are interested in pursuing equity and have a clear value base of social justice. Advocacy can change community attitudes and misconceptions, providing a voice for those who have gone unheard.

an agent is a professional representative:
By definition, an agent is someone who is empowered to act as a representative on behalf of another. They have specific professional experience, knowledge, contacts, and training that they can put to work for you to help you achieve your goals. An agent is proactive; they do not simply act in response to their environment, they exhibit goal-directed behavior and take initiative to examine and explore opportunities for others. Here's the whole post ...


2 Comments:

Blogger reinvention-marketing said...

Thanks for the shout-out, Dave. What category do you fall into? Great blog!

kindly,
kirsten

August 02, 2006  
Blogger David Stone said...

Hi Kirsten,

Thanks for the great article!

Which category?

When I started writing here I think I was an activist. I came to realize that my writing was doing little to affect the profession at large. Though it may have been therapeutic for me personally, it was not exhibiting any redeemable leadership.

Today, I seek to be the agent. I am probably somewhere in-between the advocate and agent characteristic.

Dave

August 02, 2006  

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