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THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE ORGANISATIONAL APOCALYPSE

Leadership
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The four horsemen Half Life, Ignorance, Transformation and Leadership are rapidly destroying organisations.  Scientific thinking and scientific action is the only defence against this onslaught.

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Does your organisation suffer from scientific denial?

We are living in a world of science and technology where most of us have no clue whatsoever about science and technology.  A perfect storm for the breeding of the Google genius, twitter trolls, FB bovines, and the explosion of superstition and modern witchcraft.  Basically our crazy genes have gone feral.

And to an extent our 'management science' is right up there with the craziest.

And here is why.

Organisational systems are currently under a combined attack from the four determined horsemen of the organisational apocalypse.  And instead of using smart scientific thinking, we doggedly fall back on superstition and systemic ignorance.

Horseman 'Half Life'  

His job is to reduce the lifespan of organisations.  He has been spectacularly successful in recent decades, reducing the average half life of organisations to less than ten years.

Horseman 'Ignorance'  

His job is to keep CEO's scientifically and environmentally illiterate. Currently his success rate is over 90%.  Clearly a highly effective horseman.

Horseman 'Transformation'  

Ensures that leadership and organisational transformations fail.  Current success rate above 90%.

Horseman 'Leadership'  

Current New Age literature flooding the market on leadership focuses on the need for nice, happy and caring leaders.  The real world, thanks to the fourth horseman, is very different.  Currently 85% of employees think their boss is the biggest problem at work, and over 40% say they want to leave their jobs because of this. (Prof Robert Sutton did write The No Asshole Rule in 2007 to address this with no apparent effect.)

UNDERSTANDING THE HORSEMAN THREAT 

Let's assume that the above numbers, based on a range of different and global surveys are correct.

It is painfully clear and obvious, that viewed together, most organisations (of course there are exceptions - Amazon for one), worldwide are being sucked into a death spiral, where their only strategy is ignorance.

The systemic problem is that the vast majority of managers and leaders have based their past success on experience in a relatively narrow field.  Look at the airline or car industries.  Aircraft haven't really changed in fifty years.  They remain aluminium tubes flying at less than the speed of sound.  Cars have largely remained the same for nearly a century.  (Changing a petrol engine for an electric motor is hardly a transport revolution.)

The threat of the four horsemen above is certainly no secret.  Every behavioural psychologist, business school academic, HR practitioner and manager has been exposed to their threat for decades.  In general and collectively they have failed dismally to address the real issues facing organisations today.

THE ANTI-SCIENCE META-RULE
Feeding trough of the horsemen
 

Over the past three decades we have assessed and consulted to thousands of leaders and their teams and organisations.  

We have learned that every organisation evolves its own system energy level and it is this available energy which determines all performance.  

There are no exceptions.  No organisation can perform outside of its energy envelope.  

If it did this would be a genuine miracle as it would require the suspension of the laws of physics.

Importantly we have also learned that there is always a logic behind everything that happens in a system.  Never mind how stupid or illogical something may seem to you, there is always a logic path, even if well hidden.

QAnon and its rapid emergence is a classic example.  The movement is not built on logic but strong and specific deep feelings.  And paradoxically therein lies the logic.

Thus the logic of a human system is driven by the need to maintain an equilibrium energy level.  And not to implement a strategy, grow or make a profit. To achieve this there are two forces at work. 

CONSCIOUS RULES AND UNCONSCIOUS META-RULES 

Firstly there are the conscious rules and actions built around strategic objectives and business opportunities that guide our daily activities.  

Secondly there are powerful and unconscious meta-rules that the system uses to maintain equilibrium.

The most common and pervasive organisational meta-rule we have found around the world is the "Don't Change!  Don't Innovate!" meta-rule.

Everyone knows that at a conscious level every organisation needs to maximise its energy potential and use this to evolve, innovate and compete.  This is blindingly obvious.

Then ask yourself:  Given this knowledge, why are the Four Horsemen so successful in destroying the very foundations upon which organisational success is built?

(Suggestion.  Ask your management team and HR department this question.  If they can give you a coherent and intelligent answer I will buy you a farm on the Charles Bridge in Prague!)

DANGERS OF THE 'DON'T CHANGE!' META-RULE

Remember that the organisation's real system strategy is to maintain system equilibrium.  This means avoid creativity, new ideas, new thinking.  And most important cancel the mavericks and game changers as they represent a real threat to the system.  They will want to find new and better ways of doing things.  They may even want to use the free energy residing in employees to generate new levels of performance and profitability?  Certainly can't have that.

No, the system must protect itself from such dangerous activists.  

THE ANTI-SCIENCE META-RULE.  CLEVER HORSEMAN SOLUTION 

The 'Don't Change!' meta-rule has a powerful twin.  The 'Anti-Science' meta-rule.

To support this meta-rule the horsemen have unleashed a global fleet of good-feel writers (remember QAnon above) such as Sinek, Sharma, Chopra, Tolle, Byrne - the list is endless.  I recognise that these writers are both smart and successful in delivering to a massive market demand.  What they are delivering however is largely emotional sugar.  What is missing is the hard science.

Every day on social media there is an endless stream of good-feel leadership advice.  But none of it seems to have any impact on the Four Horsemen as they gallop ahead.

The 'Anti-Science' meta-rule has certainly flooded the organisational market.  

It is important to remember that every leader, team and organisation is subject to the universal laws of physics, energy and evolution. See my article, Evolution. The Brain of the Universe.

SUGGESTED ACTION 

If you have the spirit of the game changer, the mind of the maverick, and the courage of the warrior, start thinking deeply about the 'Don't Change!' and 'Anti-Science' meta-rules.

Do they apply at all in your organisation?  Engage with your CEO and management team together with any HR and Organisational Development people you may have on board.

Set up a weekly creative meeting with the real mavericks and game changers in your organisation.  Focus on this question:

"How can we eradicate the 'Don't Change!' and 'Anti-Science' meta-rules in our system.  Focus on the new application of systems thinking, science and the power of evolution."

And focus on new behaviours and actions, the real 'genes' of evolutionary change.


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About the author

John Raddall

John Raddall

 

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