Let's say there's two kinds of work:
- The kind where you take something not good and make it good.
- The kind where you take nothing, and make it into something.
I have spent a lot more time doing the first kind of work, making something better.
I have spent a lot less time trying to make something out of nothing.
A lot of the things I have improved had a life afterwards. A lot of the things I created from nothing fell down as soon as I stopped holding the strings.
There are exceptions, obviously. But they are not the rule.
If it seems easier to start fresh than to make something better, something is wrong.
It's easier to re-arrange the spices in your kitchen, than rearrange the entire food-storage situation. It's easier to add an extra kilometre to a run than start triathlon training. It's easier to cut down than to quit.
I've been keeping my eyes out for this feeling at work. Because "the only way to fix this is revolution" doesn't feel healthy. Healthy cultures are not constantly in revolt, they are in evolution. Nor is "the only way to fix this is if everyone leaves me alone to do this thing". Cultures are emergent, they are not the sum of the single parts.
This can mean a few things. If you're worried about your own work, force yourself into collaboration. Make it very hard to stray, and to start completely anew.
If you're worried your cohort's behaviour, it can mean doing the silent to make gradual evolution the easy default, or doing the vocal work of dampening build-from-nothing, and making it the harder choice.
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