I asked a professional friend the other day about why a specific group/profession/organization/company would be so frustrating to work with. The answer was a short, but poignant email containing this multiple choice answer selection:

A) Entropy B) Fear of change C) Lack of imagination D) Not in my job description E) All of the above

I was flabbergasted! While it was a funny answer, it made me think. And not only think, I had to actually pull out my dictionary and look up entropy. Learning the definition made things worse as "entropy" basically refers to a measure of the unavailable energy inside of the system and it leads to a breakdown. As a visual example, think about a simple faucet and sink - energy (water) flows from high potential source (faucet) to lower potential (sink.) Once the water gets there, the energy in the sink is unusable and therefore it's called entropy because there is no way to get energy to spontaneously flow "up hill." You have to use the "system" of opening the drain to create energy and only energy can be used to do WORK. Can you imagine if that described you? It doesn't of course, but I'll bet you know someone that it does describe fairly accurately. I wonder how it's possible that this sort of a description can be widespread for people that are in high level positions inside of our corporations as my friend suggested. How does something like that happen?

The questions we need to ask are...can organizations continue to be viable if they value discipline, but offer little to no reward for creativity and space to think differently? Is it possible we are still breeding organizations with only "do" managers rather than "think/add value" managers? Are we breeding mediocrity instead of nurturing thought leadership in our organizations? Nothing that I learn about 21st century companies tells me that, but I do seem to run into it with more "aged" organizations or companies that seem to hold the belief that a very conservative approach is best. I've experienced that many like to put forth an image of being open to new ways of doing things and even a little dissent, but behind the gates it's not the real culture.

If like me you really enjoy the challenge of change because its invigorating and forces one to always be striving to find the best tool, solution, process or plan, then you too must get frustrated when you've met with organizations or people in them for whom answer A, B, C, D or even E is the only fit. I'll never give up trying to find those who appreciate the importance, potential and leverage of encouraging the practice of taking calculated risk for positive change in order to spur sustainable growth. Are you with me?
Come join our discussion on our blog, or I welcome your feedback through email.