Took me a while to come up with the title. What I was going for: a sense of something that was successful and untamed. Perhaps "the perpetual entrepreneur at rest" or "Shiva's Dance" would have worked as well.
I'm a big fan of the problem solvers of the world. The people that see a problem, wrestle it to the ground, and solve it so it stays fixed. I'm amazing by what this individuals accomplish and how we grow as a society because of what they do.
I've recently gained a hefty appreciation for the "neat and tidy" people too. The ones that identify the problems and make sure the solutions don't get out of hand. The ones that say: crack the eggs before you add them to the cake or pass laws to make people wear helmets.
It is odd that I've only recently come to this appreciation. For years I have preached that music is made because we have the confines of notes, that paintings are wonderful because we've established the Primary and Secondary colors, that the rules help make room for creativity. But I am not sure that I was actually getting it. Hopefully I was able to help others realize what I was saying even if it wasn't fully sinking in for me.
At work, I have a series of processes and steps to follow. When I talk about how things are today and the problems we face, I frequently find out that the problem existed in the past and the way we do things today doesn't include the steps we took in the past to avoid the problem. That's a lot of words to say: we stopped testing it because it wasn't worth the time.
Only, it was worth the time. It was worth the time even when what was being tested was right. Even when nothing was wrong, having someone test it means someone has to know HOW to test it. It means there is a right and a wrong answer. It means there is Good and Bad. Not testing it begins to introduce the whole "Is it good enough?" question.
As a customer, are you okay with "good enough?"
Why would you sell something that was good enough and expect your customer to think it was okay? If you have dehumanized your customer to that state, is there any hope that you can recover and regain their trust? Do you frequently seek out people you don't trust to buy "good enough" stuff?
I don't. And, to go farther, I don't want my kid to have "good enough."
How does this happen?
Okay, back to the title: "Why we aren't all still vikings"
Because vikings didn't have enough structure and gave too much power to the powerful. That's all. I like to think I am one of those that deserves "things" because of the effort I have put in. BUT, I know I don't deserve "things" at the expense of other people. The vikings didn't grasp this concept and were unable to have sufficient discipline to extend their rule.
If you have an entrepreneur as a founder at your company, or a first generation heir that can't (or won't) follow rules because they feel the need to be a continuous "problem solver", you will run into trouble. I've seen it more than once, but I haven't seen where these individuals are massively successful yet. Vikings won battles, fought wars, and explored the world. Just think what they might have accomplished with a little Project Management, Process, and Systems Based Thinking. Oh, and Design of Experiments.
Oh, and Shiva's Dance? Because the destroyer follows in the wake of creation. If what you create isn't healthy and strong, if the solution you use today is just a quick fix, Shiva will pull that into Chaos to fast it will make your head spin. Just sayin'.
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