Every organization must choose between order or progress since order and progress are rarely found together. Rules, manuals, regulations, codes of ethics, and bureaucracy restrict intuition and encourage conformity--not creativity.
Creativity, intuition, and excellence are developed when order is lacking. Did Mozart create his symphonies under the direction of another? Did the United States develop as a Super Power under the direction of a king or queen? Did Orville and Wilbur, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, or Nikola Tesla develop their ingenuity under the watchful eye of another? Does most innovation develop in large companies or small, chaotic start-up companies?
If this is the case, why aren't businesses intentionally structured to empower and free the ingenuity of individuals?
How open-book managment, enabling bureaucracy, division of management, participatory ownership, and euphoric purpose are changing the world
Saturday, June 25, 2011
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How Will You Measure Your Life?
I recently read this article by Clayton Christiansen out of Harvard entitled, “How will you measure your life?” It is what he tells his students on the final day of his class.
One of the items that he mentions sticks out to me. It reads as follows:
“One of the theories, . . . . . how to be sure we find happiness in our careers—is from Frederick Herzberg, who asserts that the powerful motivator in our lives isn’t money; it’s the opportunity to learn, grow in responsibilities, contribute to others, and be recognized for achievements. I tell the students about a vision of sorts I had while I was running the company I founded before becoming an academic. In my mind’s eye I saw one of my managers leave for work one morning with a relatively strong level of self-esteem. Then I pictured her driving home to her family 10 hours later, feeling unappreciated, frustrated, underutilized, and demeaned. I imagined how profoundly her lowered self-esteem affected the way she interacted with her children. The vision in my mind then fast-forwarded to another day, when she drove home with greater self-esteem—feeling that she had learned a lot, been recognized for achieving valuable things, and played a significant role in the success of some important initiatives. I then imagined how positively that affected her as a spouse and a parent. My conclusion: Management is the most noble of professions if it’s practiced well. No other occupation offers as many ways to help others learn and grow, take responsibility and be recognized for achievement, and contribute to the success of a team. More and more [people think] that a career in business means buying, selling, and investing in companies. That’s unfortunate. Doing deals doesn’t yield the deep rewards that come from building up people."
I’m sure you can see why it sticks out.