Journey to IT Misarchy (Part Six)

Robert just got off the phone with Simon Geetz, the new fashionable guru who has been invited all over the world for prestigious conferences. He's ok to meet this startup that everyone is talking about, he's very curious to share his speech but also to know how it's going. In fact, Robert briefed him on what he saw, and he was impressed!

So Robert picks up the phone and calls Sara:

"Sara? This is Robert, how are you?"

"Very well, thank you. How about you?"

"Very well, thank you. So I've suggested you meet with a guru from the organization, and I've got Simon Geetz who'd be willing to meet with you!"

"SIMON GEETZ????!!!!"

"Uh, yes, Simon Geetz, perhaps you've heard of him?"

"But of course! He's a rock star in his field."

"Mmm," grumbles Robert as he imagines Simon Geetz's little potbelly. "Yeah, well, he's known in his field... Would you be available to meet him next Monday at, like, 4:00?"

"Oh, yeah, sure, can I ask the other employees to be there to meet him?"

"Uh, yeah, I don't see a problem with that!"

"All right, let's do it!"

Sara was so excited she could jump for joy! She had to wait until she calmed down to talk about it. She then saw John from the Stream of Wisdom on the terrace drinking mate. She thought it would be a good idea to go and see him; a chance to calm down and talk to someone she could trust.

"John, Simon Geetz is coming to see us next Monday! Simon Geetz!"

"We?" John replied that he didn't understand why Simon Geetz wanted to meet Sara and him.

"Yeah, well, our company, at least me after the last audit, but it would be okay for him to meet everyone."

"Ah yes," John finally realized. "The best thing to do would be to ask the CEO what he thinks and whether it would be okay for him to meet everyone or not. It's not a small thing to have someone like him around."

"Yes, you're right, and he's more used to meeting people like him than we are."

"Yes, that makes sense"

Sara then left as quickly as she appeared. She then sent an e-mail to the CEO telling him about the situation. Not even five minutes later, she got a reply:

"Absolutely! Ask the whole company to meet him in the big conference room; it'll be great to meet him."

Monday came, and the whole company wanted to meet him! The conference room was prepared accordingly. At 4pm sharp, Simon and Roger rang the bell at the entrance:

"Hello, it's Roger and Simon!"

"Yes, of course, the whole company's waiting for you."

"The whole company?!" Roger didn't believe it.

"Yes, yes, come in!"

Everyone settles down, Simon goes into the conference room, and begins the discussion in a completely informal tone. The employees answer him in a very orderly manner, describing the different streams to him. Sara stumbled around asking him the question she was obsessed with. Finally, Sara managed to ask him the question: "What is the secret of a successful business?"

The question had never been put to Simon in these terms, so he took a breath to order his thoughts.

"I think there are three keys to success. The first is the 'why' of your company, the second is commitment, and the third is a mixture of courage and luck. In fact, I think you have to know why you work to hope for commitment, and commitment will help you have courage and luck. Because luck is nothing but the ability to get opportunities. 

The 'why' is what will get you up in the morning and have employees aligned with goals. And get me a real purpose, honest and ambitious. Please don't change the world, just find a reason that is realistic, credible, and shareable. The world is changing with all of us anyway. And that reason for being must be shared, even voted for, but be aligned with your reason for being. Your goal could be to be of service by and for your clients. Quite simply, please don't change the world! And it's when you have your 'why' that you will know how to do it, and what to do it for. Otherwise, you'll be working out of alignment with each other, and that's not going to do it.

Once you're aligned, everyone needs to be empowered and empowered to be engaged. And the three go together. We're not kids anymore, and we always do better when we're accountable for what we do. It's almost common sense, but we need to explain to managers that their purpose is no longer to give orders in command and control mode, but rather to be coaches. And the results are astonishing, whether in innovation, resilience, or even productivity. 

And finally, courage and luck. It takes everyone. All the advice I've just given you will contribute to that. It's as simple for me to explain as it is complicated to implement, but if you want to be a successful company, that's what you have to do."

There was a great silence throughout the room. Everyone realized the relevance of his words, and at the same time that they had no real reason.

Sara then turned to her colleagues: 

"Maybe we should find our why? I feel like that's the only thing we are really missing!"

All her colleagues answered positively. We have to stop trying to change the world; the world is changing with or without us anyway.

Parts 1-6:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6

Further Reading

Agile Patterns