”Nothing is more disruptive to the current state than a change in reality.”
George T. James
At what point in an organization is imminent danger of disruption, destabilization, collapse, etc. expected? – When denial loses its foothold and reality springs up and exposes its unsettling message.
To some, organizations are like organisms; living creatures. To others, they are like the physical universe; held together by known and unknown forces. Both portray an environment where ‘things just happen.’ In each case, you live within the context of a perspective that enables you to explain away, or deny, the reality of what you are experiencing. It’s not a cold, it is my sinuses. My competitor must be getting cheap components from China to be able to price at that level. Their products will never last. – Denial. Back to work!
I once read a quote that said, “If you don’t know its texture or complexity, you haven’t grasped reality.” Perspectives, without substance, are not reality. I need to watch this cold thing. Do I have a fever? Should I see my doctor? Or, how can my competitor price at that level? I need to find out more details and develop strategies to take advantage of the situation. Yes, I said advantage; reality provides opportunities if recognized in the early stages.
Unfortunately, unannounced reality is, at the very least, expensive to address. How long have you been coughing like this? A little over a week. You have pneumonia! – Two weeks lost. Or, the longshoremen are threatening to strike on the west coast where a lot of our products are delivered from Asia. Should we ramp up production in our local plant? No, they have too many businesses dependent upon the flow of goods to potentially destabilize the economy. How many ships are backed up? Hundreds; it could take several months to get our products off-loaded. – True stories.
On the positive side, a new reality is great if you are prepared to take advantage of it. Otherwise you are going to spend a lot of unplanned resources just to get into the game; or it may already be too late.
Are you denying a reality?
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