It was the presenter, himself. The presentation was all about how great he was. His need to stroke his ego for all to see was uncomfortable.

I am certain that his intent was good, and he felt the message that he had was important. I could identify with the guy pretty easily, since I think we suffer from the same disorder of self-importance.

It got me thinking about a term that I had heard from William Taylor, co-founder of Fast Company - “humbition. ” Here is his definition from an article Taylor wrote in BusinessWeek:

“What’s humbition? It’s a term I first heard from Jane Harper, a nearly 30-year veteran of IBM. It is, she explains, the subtle blend of humility and ambition that drives the most successful leaders—an antidote to the know-it-all hubris that affects so many business stars. “The more I know,” she says sensibly, “the more I know there is to know.”

In my experience, humility is not something that can be worked for or forced to increase. It seems like a natural consequence of being an arrogant jerk. After I belittle others enough, I realize that playing the big shot is not having ambition, and, believe me, I am not the first person who notices.

What are ways that we can hope to inspire a humble, yet ambitious spirit in ourselves and others?

Another, more difficult question is (especially for people like me): what are you so insecure about that you need to play the big shot?

I wish I had good answers for you, but that would make me a know-it-all now, wouldn’t it?

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Jeremy Nulik, Creative Energy Officer (CEO), St. Louis Small Business Monthly