Passion versus Obsession

There is a great article “ Passion versus Obsession ” by John Hagel
that explores the differences between passion and obsession. This
is an important distinction to understand in order to make sure you
are hiring people to power your innovation efforts who are passionate
and not obsessive.
The first significant difference between passion and obsession
is the role free will plays in each disposition:
passionate people fight their way willingly to the edge to find places where they
can pursue their passions more freely, while obsessive people
(at best) passively drift there or (at worst) are exiled there.
It ’ s not an accident that we speak of an “ object of obsession, ”
but the “ subject of passion. ” That ’ s because obsession tends
towards highly specific focal points or goals, whereas passion is
oriented toward networked, diversified spaces.
The subjects of passion invite and even demand connections
with others who share the passion.
Because passionate people are driven to create as a way to
grow and achieve their potential, they are constantly seeking
out others who share their passion in a quest for collaboration,
friction and inspiration . . . . The key difference between passion
and obsession is fundamentally social: passion helps build
relationships and obsession inhibits them.
It has been a long journey and it is far from over, but it has
taught me that obsession confines while passion liberates.
Innovation
Passion - based organizations stop at nothing to accomplish their goals
and are able to attract people and resources to their causes. That got
me thinking. The common
denominator, among the innovators I have connected with and the
most successful enterprises I have observed and worked with, is passion.
They started with a passion or cause and then organized around it to
make it happen. Not the other way around.