The Authentic Organization

In describing a long road taken to getting a vision off the ground, Dave Allburn writes:

Along the way a ’scarcity-culture’ has set-in. Do we use up the funds bailing the boat, try to set-sail, or both? Seth Godin would advise scuttling the boat and renting a jet. It’s hard. The founder is a sailor, not a pilot, loves the boat he built, knows scuttling it scuttles him too. What now? (My answer: scuttle the boat, learn to fly.)

The moment you’re describing is so challenging and I like your metaphor. I’ve been there and I’ve made what history would say is the wrong decision, probably more than once. What is to be learned? I would say there are at least three things I take away from from your story.

First, the way you describe the phenomenon, it’s almost as if scarcity is a hole from which it is difficult to climb out. Once it’s taken hold, it has a life and power of its own, requiring much more effort to escape its grasp than just avoiding it in the first place.

Secondly, avoiding the grip of scarcity isn’t just something we choose. Circumstances matter a great deal. What does it take to maintain a practice and posture of abundance in the midst of the engines of scarcity? I do actually think there are answers to that question.

Third, your metaphor expresses the challenge of letting go. There are no easy answers to that one. We are all vulnerable to the attachment to sunk costs, as a nation, as organizations, and as individuals. We avoid loss and grief until we are stuck in emotional concrete. That doesn’t provide for the best organizational decisions, does it….