13.12.10

Organizations are Confusing

We seem to have divided minds when it comes to thinking about designing, running, and leading organizations. Since we spend most of our time tweaking rather than re-formatting, it would be logical to conclude that we are content with the overall structures and processes, the ideas and actions that inform those organizations, and simply need to ensure maintenance is done - reviews, reports, feedback on this or that, adjusted policies, refined strategies, updated plans.

On the other hand, a lot of people are unhappy with the organizations they inhabit. It takes no effort at all to find people with heaps of criticism for the places where they work, learn, worship, volunteer or derive services. This malaise seems to contradict the tweaking behaviour that is common. If we really don't like things, why do we keep doing them? It's kind of a puzzle.

More than three million people have watched this Daniel Pink video/RSA live diagram on what motivates us but I wonder if you would concede that he is framing this tension in a way that promotes discussion about how we organize ourselves and what we might yet need to learn about doing it better.

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