Leverage

Reading the news is a staple in the commuter’s daily routine. A good article with that first cup of caffeine can brighten your mood and ignite your mind.  This morning I read a particularly fascinating article about something that’s possibly definitely been plaguing the world for years maybe.  At this point we’re like 99.99% sure that we’ll be sure soon that it’s a problem, definitely a big problem too, not just like one of those small potentially probable problems.  Yes, global warming is still out there and the discussion about it is almost getting to the point where it might start getting somewhere like really soon.

The interesting part of the article, though, had nothing to do with global warming itself, it was the approach used to stir society to action.  There was mention of environmental impact in connection with humankind’s responsibility to preserve mother earth, no polar bear on a three square foot ice patch surrounded by endless ocean, and certainly no images of ice cliffs sliding dramatically into the abyss.  This article addressed a report that addressed a research study which, in-turn, addressed the purely economic implications of global warming.  It was leverage.  The four or five well-known businessmen spearheading the effort leveraged the insatiable hunt for profit and the information available to them as a means to bring a new aspect of consciousness to the existing efforts and develop the resulting industrial implications. The person sitting next to me turned the page before I could finish the whole thing but I absorbed the lesson nonetheless. 
Space is tight on the commute, I get it, but this guy was crossing the line.  He had his paper fully opened so wide that this article was actually sitting directly in front of my face.  I really had no choice but to read it.  That and the fresh cup of caffeine had me ready to test out my freshly acquired skill.  I mapped the simple 5-step path in my mind:

1.      Research target

2.      Discover pressure point

3.      Acquire asset

4.      Leverage asset

5.      Bask in newly acquired space

I turned and stared at the man intently, searching for anything, everything about him I could use as a pressure point.  He was roughly 50 years old, gray haired, male, enjoyed reading the news, did not enjoy folding things.  It wasn’t enough, I needed more caffeine.  He was reading the Financial Times.  He was a money guy, possibly English with a proclivity for subtly hued newspapers.  Still not enough. 

As he turned the page his hand brushed my thigh and, as it turns out, there are certain situations in which the only leverage you need is the mood you’re in at 6:30 on a Monday morning commute.  Soon after the incident this man was in possession of the most tightly folded copy of the Financial Times in existence as he continued his voyage through the wonderfully mind-numbing monotony that is the daily commute.