The Blue-Footed Booby has evolved to no longer build a nest in which to lay their eggs. The modern Booby lays eggs on the ground. Therefore, this ritual is decorative, it serves no practical purpose, it is a remnant of their evolutionary ancestor.So what has this got to do with corporate culture and corporate innovation? Quite a lot, I believe.
Experts believe birds come together in compact masses because grouping together offers safety in numbers from predators, such as falcons. Such predators find it hard to target one bird in the middle of a hypnotising flock of up to thousands. Other reasons for murmurations include include the warmth of a group at night during the winter. They also gather to exchange information, such as good feeding areas. Organisations can learn a lot from such behaviour.
Sycophants are not wondering what is best for the organisation, they are only interested in what is best for them. If you ask them about for a SWOT analysis of your company product or opportunities for disruption, they will spout some generic nonsense. However, ask them about section 2, article 3c, paragraph 2 of the company handbook and they will recite it to the letter. In essence, they know how to survive in an organisation all the way to pension, riding on the coattails of those in power.
When we are experiencing chaos, it can be all encompassing, we can forget that there is order ahead. Our guest on Innovation Show 253 is John Rogers, John reminds us that the devastation of the “Black Death” was the chaos that preceded the Renaissance.
We name a Ponzi scheme after Charles Ponzi, an infamous proponent of the scheme. A Ponzi scheme leads victims to believe that profits are coming from product sales or other means, and they remain unaware that other investors are the source of funds.
The word coach comes from stagecoach. A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys from point A to point B. Most of us will know these from western movies or old TV shows like “Little House on the Prairie”. The concept of a stagecoach is a wonderful analogy for leadership.
“You never know what will be the consequence of the misfortune; or, you never know what will be the consequences of good fortune.” – Alan Watts