June 11, 2003	Volume 3, Issue 24
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Conventional Foolishness

by Rick Brenner

Every specialization has a set of beliefs, often called "conventional wisdom." When these beliefs are so obvious that they're unquestioned and even unnoticed, there's an opportunity to leap ahead of the pack — by questioning the conventional wisdom.

Everything that we consider "conventional wisdom" was once a radical new idea — the gene, monotheism, and relativity, to name a few. Each innovative concept that becomes a piece of the conventional wisdom either displaces, covers over or extends something that was already there. But often, an idea becomes so solidly accepted that nobody ever questions it again. When that happens in management, it creates an opportunity.

To achieve leadership,
question conventional wisdomWhen people question what we all accept without question, they sometimes create something new, useful, and even powerful. For instance, many once believed that for an organization to be a leader, it needed a powerful mainframe computer, and a terminal on every desk to connect everyone to it. They also believed that people had to work in the office, not at home.

To achieve leadership, first identify, and then question the conventional wisdom. Here are some examples of conventional wisdom in brainwork. They're from different perspectives, but often their adherents believe them completely. All of them are sometimes true, but all of them are questionable.

• People work better under pressure
• With today's technology, there's no advantage to working in the same building (city, country, …)
• We must lower costs because we can't raise revenue
• Numeric performance ratings are meaningful
• Cubicles are cheaper than offices
• This is a young person's game
• Only a seasoned veteran can handle this
• People can't manage others who are more experienced
• We can get this done with 10% fewer people
• We can save money by keeping our computers one more year
• We can't afford training
• Contractors are the cheapest way to go. No, wait, outsourcing is.
• People are most motivated by money
• The most qualified person is someone who's done it before
• Adding features increases market share
• Charging more decreases unit sales
• Being first is more important than getting it right
• We have to because customers are pressing us
• Competition is the best way to stimulate creativity
• If we add people (reduce requirements, increase the budget, announce it publicly) they'll finish sooner
• If we tell them they have to do it, they'll find a way
• If we tell them we can't do it, we'll be fired
• Product Development people are clueless about Marketing and Sales
• Marketing and Sales people are clueless about Product Development
• HR is just clueless
• We need the most modern technology

Although these dogma constrain our industries, our companies, and ourselves, the constraints are effective only to the extent that we don't notice the dogma. Becoming aware of the assumptions we make, and questioning them, is the first step along the path to higher performance and achievement. Sometimes. And sometimes not.  Top    Next Issue

For a careful look at one of the more commonly-invoked "truths" of organizational life, see "Definitions of Insanity," Point Lookout for January 17, 2007.

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More articles on Organizational Change:

Pick-Up Sticks and the Change Game

When we change organizational culture, we often stumble over unexpected obstacles. Sometimes the tangle can be so frustrating that we want to start the company over again. Here are some tips for managing large-scale cultural change.

Beyond WIIFM

Probably the most widely used tactic of persuasion, "What's In It For Me," or WIIFM, can be toxic to an organization. There's a much healthier approach that provides a competitive advantage to organizations that use it.

The Ties that Bind

Changing anything in an organization reveals how it's connected to its people, to its processes, to its facilities, and to the overall context. Usually, these connections reach out much further into the organization than we imagine.

Obstacles to Finding the Reasons Why

When we investigate what went wrong, we sometimes encounter obstacles. Interviewing witnesses and participants doesn't always uncover the reasons why. What are these obstacles?

Reactance and Micromanagement

When we feel that our freedom at work is threatened, we sometimes experience urges to do what is forbidden, or to not do what is required. This phenomenon — called reactance — might explain some of the dynamics of micromanagement.

See also Organizational Change and Virtual and Global Teams for more related articles.

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