"He who cannot change the very fabric of his thought will never be able to change reality, and will never, therefore, make any progress."
Anwar el-Sadat
3rd President of Egypt
3rd President of Egypt
It is ironic that this quote came from a Middle East leader; an area where new political thinking can get you killed, which ultimately was the fate of Mr. Sadat.
However along with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Sadat did sign the 1979 Israeli/Egypt Sinai Peace Accord bringing at least partial solution to an area where dogmatic thinking is the rule.
If they can find new ways to view old problems, surely we in business can as well. Are there any issues in your business so difficult that you cannot imagine coming up with a new solution?
Before you answer, keep in mind the obstacles to resolution that Sadat and Begin had to face.
However along with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Sadat did sign the 1979 Israeli/Egypt Sinai Peace Accord bringing at least partial solution to an area where dogmatic thinking is the rule.
If they can find new ways to view old problems, surely we in business can as well. Are there any issues in your business so difficult that you cannot imagine coming up with a new solution?
Before you answer, keep in mind the obstacles to resolution that Sadat and Begin had to face.
I think the first order of business is to acknowledge that there are problems that require new thinking. I don't think companies do that enough or if they do, they certainly do not demonstrate they have. Other than cutting costs, which is not new or creative, what significant "new thinking" are we seeing in business?
ReplyDeleteContinuing with the Middle East analogy; it took decades of war before Israel and Egypt signed that agreement and even with that, that area has experienced uninterrupted war ever since. Even with what you would think would be great motivation, little is different.
ReplyDeleteBusiness is under no such threat (going out of business but not death) so it is no surprise that there is very little change in most companies.
Management often does see the threat but not in its true form. They mistake it for something else to the point where little or no action will save them.
ReplyDeleteBut that aside, what they should have done (as this blog repeatedly says) is to have institutionalized "new thinking" long before they were in crisis.
This brings to mind an old hifi retail story. Years ago, when I was working as a retail buyer, we threw-out a very popular speaker brand. We were a big account. Repeated attempts by the vendor to get us to reconsider brought only rebuff. Finally, the national sales manager called me and asked me to tell my boss, the president: "Even Begin and Sadat sat down and talked." That worked and until this day, whenever faced with a seemingly impossible scenario, I always remember that line. I use it. That and Thomas the Tank Engine pull me through.
ReplyDeleteWhich reminds me of one of my "rules to live by." You can always say no except if you don't first listen to what the other person has to say.
ReplyDelete