In any company or organization – from micro to Fortune 50 – the balancing struggle between freedom and order is constant.
Order is the foundation for continuous improvement. But freedom is the springboard for step change.
In response to an emergency, order becomes absolute. But in any number of other instances it is suffocating.
But when is enough order, enough? And when is freedom too much?
There is a constant dynamic of balancing going on throughout organizations. It never stops. But in most cases it is barely, if at all, conscious.
Every organization has mental muscle memory that governs the balance between freedom and order. It’s never neatly packaged; it’s never on the back of a credenza or in a handbook. But it does define who and what a company is. It’s that important.
Who is the mental muscle memory tender? How does it change and who changes it? How should it change? What should it change to? Where is the balance?
The mental muscle memory of an organization is the most frequently overlooked aspect of a company’s being. Those companies that tend it prosper – those that don’t decline.
