Dealing with Paradox
Posted on November 11th, 2009 by Paul McArdle – 11 Comments.
In the book “The Myth of 9-to-5” the authors note that it is a mark of growing maturity when an individual can reconcile the truth in two apparently paradoxial points of view.
Given this is aligned with my own personal philosophy, and the fact that I’m likely to need to refer to this point again-and-again, I thought it would be easier to extract this point to a separate post (here).
In our company, and in the electricity market (as in life in general), we confront such paradoxes frequently - such as:
1) The need for a strong & free competitive market whilst at the same time having effective regulation
2) The need to begin with the end destination in mind, whilst at the same time not needing a map that would explain how to get there (as Lars previously noted).
3) The need to plan big, but implement small and incrementally (as noted in the “Tale of Two Systems“)
4) The need to have processes and procedures in place, but not to have them written down - and to have flexibility (at the right times) in terms of how to apply them.
5) In the context of the book itself (“The Myth of Nine to Five”) the authors note that it is possible that (due to the level of maturity of people in a team) a manager may initially need to adopt a more directive focus to management in the process of transitioning the team towards better self-management.
… the list goes on and on
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