REVOLUTIONS AND REORGANIZATIONS

"Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy."

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) Czech writer.

Take away the guns and bullets and there's a lot of similarity between revolutions and corporate reorganizations.

A lot of movement ending up at the same, or worse, place.

OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE OLD

"The new organization is edgeless, permeable, amorphous . . . constantly reforming according to need."

Unknown

This sounds like something an organizational consultant would say to their client.

As if all "new" organizations are this.

Not so.

Because resistance to change is as strong as it is, new or old, this does not happen way more often than it does.

Reorganization: Why?

"Reorganizing can be a wonderful method for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralization."

Gaius Petronius Arbiter

Roman Courtier

Reorganization that leads to effective organization is valuable whereas reorganization for the sake of putting one's stamp on things is not.

If you've ever worked in a company of any size, you've likely lived through one or more reorganizations.

How much better were things when done?