Get a life

I'm still thinking about opportunism and evolution as I posted below last week. But, instead of coming to closure, the idea is getting bigger. That is, I'm thinking it could be a philosophical matter that can't be resolved in five easy actions. HBR look out!

A little background. For as long as I can remember, I've been derided by my superiors and peers (and even the odd fast-climbing subordinate) for thinking about the wrong things. In the context of BUSINESS that means markets, targetting, SWOT, finances, need satisfaction, etc., etc. ad infinitum. Look at an MBA core-programme syllabus and you get the idea. Some things are simply assumed in all of this. And, I guess, I've always questioned those assumptions. [Bad boy! Be a good soldier and do as you're told. ed.] So, when I read or hear about business strategy, and focus, and core, and . . ., I begin to wonder if it's really a good thing in the circumstance.

Let me elaborate in a round-about way. Some of the implicit assumptions that permeate the way we think about business are:

that setting then striving to achieve goals is the most suitable approach (note that I've specifically not been specific about what it's the most suitable approach for);

that single-mindedness and unwaivering focus is essential for achieving a goal;

that pre-determined goals are inherently more valuable than goals that emerge from activity; and

that pre-determined goals remain valuable despite self-inflicted change to the circumstance that gave rise to the goal in the first place.

These aren't wrong, per se, because they have a long history of development, an extensive body of work to support them, and it's what we're taught in school and on the job. I do think they're applied too ham-handedly though -- in every situation not just those where they might apply. ("When the only tool you've got is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.") It's the underlying metaphor or frame that's the problem. And, I believe, it makes the status quo approach to corporate (commercial) survival and growth an activity of pushing upstream like a salmon in spring. That may not be bad in and of itself, and there is a judeo-christian suffering about it that resonates well with most of us.

Anyway, these are the kinds of things I think about. In this case, I believe there may be value to reconsidering the way we think about the things we think about. Maybe the implicit assumptions don't apply to corporate strategy and evolution. Maybe we shouldn't really be setting goals that aren't specifically tactical. Maybe we should be thinking about how and when it's right to "evolve around obstacles." After all: while sometimes banging your head against the wall makes a hole, often it just gives you a headache.

There is more to come. Just keeping you up to date.

Posted by Grayson at November 11, 2003 09:48 AM