The Authentic Organization

I recently read (and reread) a short book by Jerr Boschee called From Innovation to Entrepreneurship. Despite some misgivings about some early assumptions, I rather liked this book and I consider it an important contribution to the future of civil society. The book presents a number of “critical success factors” for entrepreneurship and one of the first (if not the very first) of these factors is candor.

In 1998, Boschee writes:

The first raw material for social entrepreneurs is candor, and it’s probably the toughest thing for any entrepreneur. Starting a new venture, or even an earned income strategy, is difficult enough therefore you must be honest about your product or service, your market, your competition, your resources, and numerous other factors that help determine success or failure. The mantra here is very simple: “Beware of yourself!”

Self delusion is the antithesis of authenticity and candor is indeed a cure. I like Boschee’s choice of the word ‘candor’. There is kindness and wisdom in the word. It especially suggest self-awareness, especially as Boschee uses it.

As organizations and their leaders mature, I believe they can settle into one of two paths. The conventional one involves safe routines and can sometimes devolve into an almost hypnotic but stable state of (sometimes just mild) anxiety. The other path is the one that we might associate with people who have deepened as a response to the hardships of life. As Boschee points out, this is a highly creative path, suited to entrepreneurial endeavors. That is the path of candor.