"THE ART OF THE SHIFT"

 

To manage for disruption we need to realize that it is the mastery of one model that hinders our adoption of another; our drive for competence that renders us inept.

• In an age of disruption the only viable strategy is to adapt. Today things move too quickly to stick with old paradigms once their time has passed. Once outdated platforms fail to solve new problems, they will be overtaken with blazing speed and we must either make a shift or get left behind.
• Changing our mental model of how the world works is an exceedingly hard thing to do.
• we need to unlearn old ones. The tried and true, for all of its charms, will eventually be disrupted and, if we are tomanage for disruption, we need to master the art of the shift.

The Making Of A Model

We spend a good portion of our lives learning established models. We go to school, train for a career and hone our craft. We make great efforts to learn basic principles and are praised when we show that we have grasped them. As strive to become masters of our craft we find that as our proficiency increases, so does our success and status.

Traditional models come to us with such great authority that we seldom realize that they too once were revolutionary. And that, strangely enough, is what led to its fall from grace.

The Rise Of Best Practices And The Establishment Of A Mental Model

When the individual scientist can take a paradigm for granted, he need no longer, in his major works, attempt to build his field anew, starting from first principles and justifying the use of each concept introduced. This can be left to the writer of textbooks.

The “Special Case” That Just Won’t Go Away

Thoughtful practitioners realize that all rules have exceptions. Most of the time, these can be worked around fairly easily and the model stays largely intact. We adapt to particular situations with reasonable dexterity, making allowances for distinct sets of facts and then moving on. These, we regard as “special cases” and rarely give them much thought.

Faced with a challenge, we hone our model and redouble our efforts.

The Beginner’s Mind

In earlier times, we could put some faith in the status quo. We could begin a career, rise up through the ranks and attain some level of prosperity and prestige. We were judged largely by our progress through certain stages of life and career: from adolescence to adulthood then retirement; entry level on to mid level, then finally senior level executive and so on.

Once we begin to understand the challenge, the solution becomes clear: We need to learn how to unlearn. It takes a beginner’s mind to see a problem anew, without the constraints of history, doctrine and mental model. That’s when we can shift from a culture of performance to a culture of change and disruption becomes an opportunity instead of a threat.