Business success and The Ship Of Theseus…
Maya Sabina Jennifer
A Classically Trained Chef, Tea Sommelier, And Explorer curating renaissance for self and others
The world of business is always challenged with the pressures of a rapidly changing environment, the uncertainties of the future and the fear of becoming irrelevant. Further the complexity of personal perspectives, inter-personal dynamics and cultural diversity dissipate attention from the big picture lowering effectiveness and slowing down progress.
Randy Komisar in his book The Monk And The Riddle states, “Business isn’t primarily a financial institution. It’s a creative institution, like painting and sculpting, business can be a venue for personal expression and artistry; at its heart it is more like a canvas than a spreadsheet. Why? Because business is about change. Nothing stands still. Markets change, products evolve, competitors move into the neighborhood, employees come and go.”
This reality cannot be more true today than it has been ever before. The situation demands visionary leadership, the capacity to envisage the future, backed by thought leadership, the capacity to build and expand at the speed needed to continue to be in business. These leadership states cannot exist without change leadership, the capacity to define and shape the mindsets of its team of people that must support the organization steer through the mayhem.
The paradox, The Ship of Theseus comes to mind…
When the ship of the ancient Greek hero Theseus began to fall apart, it had each of its wooden planks replaced, one at a time, until all the planks were new. Was there a point when the original ship ceased to exist?
There is a lesson in it for all of us. It raises a fundamental question, ‘If an organization creates a new vision, changes its business and sets new goals does the organization cease to exist?’
The truth is that an organization exists ‘to be in business’. This basic purpose for existence remains unchanged. The values remain unchanged. What undergoes change is the mechanisms of doing business in the new world and the mindsets of its people who are adept to translate that vision into reality.
Change is vital for an organization to continue to be in business and to continue its onward journey to fulfill its new vision. Instead of ceasing to exist, the change offers the organization and its people the opportunity to re-invent themselves, steer a new course and sail to higher levels of excellence & business success.
Service Design Thinker & Business Designer l Venture Architect l Agile Design-lead Innovation Coach l Copywriter
8 年Great post Maya. The truth is that an organization exists 'to be in business'. And the truth, as well, is that everyone talks about innovation and wants innovation as a way to reach that goal. But no one wants to change. The Theseus' Paradox is, as well, the Change Paradox. What does innovation have to do with change and what does innovation have to do with the fact of avoiding business fall apart? What is the deep meaning of replacing each plank, one at a time, of the Theseus ship? May be the answer to these questions is the same.... Innovation is design thinking in action. Each plank was a prototipe itself and was tested before the next one was replaced. May beTheseus' Paradox is the design thinkers paradox....