Is every organisation unique?

I was chatting to a potential client earlier this week and they were talking about all the things that made their organisation unique. From the specific 'cultural' issues to legislation to client needs etc etc

Now, I have met many, many people who believe that their situation is absolutely unique and that no one else has the same set of issues and I was wondering why this was the case and propose the following answer.

We know our organisations very well - every lump and bump, every problem, opportunity and threat. Therefore, we can speak with authority about our own organisation.

As for everyone else, even closely aligned or similar organisations we have to make broad generalisations about them and in this process of generalisation much of the detail about the problems and issues faced by others are forgotten. This makes us believe that our activity is unique and that the situations faced by others are different.

This is then used to explain why our performance varies from someone else, it also explains why we feel more stressed than others 'appear' to be and it also explains why something that has worked in thousands of other organisations won't work here.

Perhaps this sort of behaviour is needed - especially if it helps to reinforce how 'good' the organisation is and therefore motivates staff, but for many it just acts as a barrier to making changes.

What is it like in your organisation?

Groundhog Day

I was watching the 1990's film Groundhog Day today whilst at the same time reading the book 'We All Fall Down' by Russ King and Julie Wright.

The story of both are about people trapped in a repeating cycle, working very hard to stand still and failing miserably, until a 'major event' or step change in their behaviours or environment occurs.

For many people working in the public and private sector every day is just about 'coping' and whilst people want to improve they find themselves unable to commit any additional time to the problem.

For some (the Firefighters) this way of working becomes a way of life and they find great professional pride in being seen as the person who 'sorts out the mess' when the 'chips are down.'

However, for the majority it is a tiring, stressful existence that many wish could be made different.

But what if the world tomorrow was not the same as today? What if things were not as chaotic as today and more importantly what would you be prepared to give to make it happen?

If you could see a way out of the hole, the Groundhog Day situation, is that something worth investing just a little more effort in?

It is fair to say that doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the epitomy of insanity!