“People are born ignorant, not stupid. They are made stupid by education.”
That may sound like a line from a comedian. But it’s actually from Bertrand Russell. You know—the British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, essayist, social critic and Nobel laureate. Not known for comedy.
Intentionally or not, Russell provided a fair description of what often occurs in organizational cultures: Rules masquerade as reason. Sketchy thinking becomes strategy. Hair-brained ideas become products destined for the discount warehouse. Unchallenged nonsense evolves into the status quo. People go along to get along.
Such unproductive environments are rarely the work of a single person. This kind of imprudence is nearly always a group activity, a collusion of silent partners.
Seasoned coach John Brandt, former editor-in-chief and publisher of both Chief Executive and IndustryWeek, offers excellent advice on how to work smarter. He’s author of the book Nincompoopery: Why Your Customers Hate You—and How to Fix It.
The early warning signs of nincompoopery are learnable, and they can spare you a lot of grief.
Command-and-control hierarchies kill motivation and innovation and virtually guarantee nincompoopery.
Asking smart questions—and listening carefully to the answers—is a critical step to identifying and eradicating nincompoopery.
Where do you see signs of nincompoopery in your organizational practices?
What will you do to correct any nincompoopery you find?
What will you do to ensure that nincompoopery does not return?
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