Who was Eddie Willers?

Who was Eddie Willers?

At an event recently I was reminded of the characters in Ayn Rand’s book “Atlas Shrugged” and in particular was reminded of the people I met and counseled who had what I termed “the Eddie Willers complex.”

For those of you who know  - Eddie was no slouch.  He was Dagny’s right-hand man.  Eddie was highly successful  Accomplished.  Competent.

Shmoop describes him as “every man” – but I disagree.  He was exceptional.  Just not as exceptional as the giants who were invited to Galt’s Gulch.'

Why the complex?   Because back in the days when we were all students at NBI there were so many people I met who identified themselves as failures because they were not #1 in their field or occupation.   #1 or nothing.

What does that really mean – if you are not Stephen Curry you are a no good basketball player?  If you are not Barbara Streisand you are a lousy singer?  If you aren’t Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire you can’t dance?

Of course not. 

In the business world we need people with skills at all levels, from the creative genius to the data-entry person.  Not everyone becomes CEO – but what about the Senior Vice-President of Finance or Marketing?  Don’t they count?  Aren’t they successful?  Aren’t they accomplished?

Of course they are.

Yet, even today there are so many people I meet and work with that think they are “nobody” unless they are #1.

Sad.

What do you think?