Frameworks - Friend or Foe?

There’s an affliction that affects some of our smartest and brightest workers.  I blame our school system of course (though not our teachers) – but that’s a whole separate topic, which doesn’t really apply here.  And the issue I see is that we, a collective we, often don’t feel that we’re doing something right unless we’re following a set of rules, a formula, or an algorithm.

It’s as clear as can be in academia where everything is a model with inputs and outputs to the system.  I also see this in my work with other consultants, where everything is presented as an acronym or a cute set of “Three Rs to Remember”.  And I see it with promising employees who feel the need to get an advanced degree or a certificate in something in order to show that they do indeed know what they know.  

But we don’t know things because they fit a certain formula or even because an expert tells us.  We know things because we experience them and because we use them and tinker with them until they work for us.  We gather knowledge and mash it together and mix it around, each in our own way, and we learn where that knowledge can be applied—and how and when it will be effective.

There’s nothing innately wrong with models, if they are used to inform or as a kind of checklist to make sure we’re considering core facets of an issue.  And acronyms or “Sets of Three (or Four or Five)” can be helpful in the short-term for remembering key ideas.  But we need to not let these tools get in the way of our thinking and of allowing us to apply what we know, and what we have learned and experienced, to what we are doing.

No system is entirely closed.  No model will every work perfectly.  There are always circumstances of what’s going on in an industry or in the world at the time.  And there are always people involved – people, each of whom is unique, who bring their own personalities and backgrounds and skills and experiences to what they do.  People really muck up a beautiful model with all of their humanness.  And that’s life.  That’s real.  That’s where we’re doing our work.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t have models and frameworks, but I am saying we shouldn’t rely on them.  There is no one Right Way to solve a problem.   And companies need to stop making decisions based on who has a catchy model or a really good sales pitch and start looking at what makes sense for them and for their people, for their situation and for their culture.  Get to know the consultant who will be working with you.

·      Do they understand your business?

·      Do they understand why you run it the way you do?

·      Do they understand what is truly important to you – what makes you “you”?

·      Are they willing to listen and to learn from you?

You are the expert in your organization.  They are (should be) an expert in their field.  To solve your problems, you’ll be working together to craft a solution that works for you – with their input.

And, if you’re that person who feels you need a model or a formula to follow or a degree to prove what you know, take a deep look inside.  You know more than you’re giving yourself credit for.