Are You A Troublemaker?
I really like this ”essay” that David Nordfors wrote a few years ago and I often use it at my talks and workshops. I like to see the smiles that people put up as they relate to it : – )
“When someone tries to innovate within a traditional organization,
few will understand what he/she is doing,
but everybody will understand who is a trouble-maker.
After the innovation has been embraced by the organization,
few will remember who started it,
but everybody will remember who was a trouble-maker.
This is the dilemma encountered by many intrapreneurs -
they risk punishment for success.”
Credit: David Nordfors, Stanford
But how many people raise issues for change and are simply ignored no matter what they say and how many times they say it? This situation is the origin of the label "Jobsworth." for those who are resistant to even a suggestion of change.
"Sticky Wisdom" by the UK co What If?! is an excellent book on creativity that has an entire chapter dedicated to the foibles of being a creative person in the workplace.
I am quite sure that I've lost a job or two because of my propensity for thinking creatively, which is why whenever I teach a course on creativity I include a section on working with creative people
"But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown." (Luke 4:24)
Entrepreneurs & Intrapreneurs alike, are faced with the same problem.
Fifteen years after developing the concept of texturing existing concrete in livestock facilities to prevent slipping and reduce lameness, I see it rapidly becoming the new standard throughout North America and Europe. Even our competitors that promote traditional grooving are scrambling to figure out how we do it and are trying to imitate. Yet, some government dairy advisors in my own province are loathe to acknowledge we exist.
I heard in a recent talk on innovation… "Everyone would have loved to work with Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein, but no one would have wanted to manage them". That is absolute truth!
This is absolutely my experience. I have many times felt I am proposing change that is years in advance of where my employer is, but that without this change, they will remain very much behind the times and I will be dissatisfied in not doing the best I can to move things forward. Having said that, I also expect most people in my profession of environment/sustainability feel similarly!
Thanks. Helps me realize we're not alone!