Rants, Raves, and Rhetoric v4

Bureaucratic Processes Stifle Idea Sex

Yesterday was the TED talk on what happens when ideas have sex. Go read that watch the video. I can wait.
😀

I also read about an issue regarding employees who are frustrated with mediocre performance by their organizations and low expectations which appeared in Federal Computer Week. (I’ve heard about people talking about this happening mostly everywhere.) Plus, I have an aunt who recently retired from federal service with interesting stories.

It seems like some organizations focus on the bad performance and ways of bringing everyone up to certain level. So they set new policies, hire many managers who focus is compliance, and focus on past screw ups not happening again. It’s like they have yet to learn focusing on those past screw ups make them vulnerable to new screw ups. For example, if everyone focuses on their blow out preventer to not have another BP oil spill, then they miss other components so the next accident will be in something like the riser cap containment system.

Okay, sure there was a problem. Our focus ought to be on identifying what people do well and having them do that thing. Then we offload the responsibilities they don’t do well on to people who will.

Comments

2 responses to “Bureaucratic Processes Stifle Idea Sex”

  1. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    You should read ‘First Break All the Rules”

    http://www.amazon.com/First-Break-All-Rules-Differently/dp/0684852861

    Same idea- let people do what they’re good at.

  2. Ezra S F Avatar

    They got the let people what they will do well correct.

    However, they are massively wrong about brains having difficulty changing “talents” or “mental filters” which is just another way of saying “habits” or “personalities”. There is tons of research on how placed in the right environment brains do change. The trick is punishment is ineffective.

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