Pragmatism (prăg'mə-tĭz'əm)[1] a practical,
matter-of-fact way of approaching or assessing situations or of solving
problems. It is also one of the most difficult things to achieve when
working to promote 'Best Practice' and emphasise the need to do things the
right way.
Interestingly having
a pragmatic disposition when endeavoring to promote, execute or implement a
given ‘Best’ or ‘Good’[2] practice could be one of the most valuable traits you
could exercise.
Many of us involved
in 'Best Practice' initiatives suffer from the 'Curse of Knowledge'. That
is when "we know something it becomes hard for us to imagine
not knowing it."[3] As a result we tend to minimize the effort it
takes for others to understand the ideas, experiences and consequences of a particular
initiative. It is this particular curse that causes us to
underestimate the effort required to communication. Therefore lowering
our ability to empathise with the recipients of the proposed change.
Consequently any improvement or change we attempt whilst suffering the curse
can go one of two ways; the path of the zealot or that of the Cowboy
In going the path of
the zealot, we have the effort being run by true believers; evangelists or
theorists. . This approach most commonly manifests itself in the form of
very complex and uncompromising ideas that lose sight of and fail to take into
account the original organisational problem to be addressed. One trap
Zealots fall into is the tendency to often overlook the immediate maturity of
the organisation they are working to change, underestimating the effort and
time required to achieve the change.
Alternatively, the
path of the Cowboy tends to take a myopic view of the problem focusing on
‘Quick’ wins that are not necessarily sustainable in the long run.. This
particular path also has a tendency loose focus on the business problem at hand
due to the conviction that doing what is right at any cost will cause others to
realise the folly of their ways. The Cowboy in pursuit of their own
solution will often compromise the practices and behavior’s that are considered
so crucial to the solution or change to be implemented.
Each path has it’s
challenges, the Zealots path will most probably struggle to get started due to
the difficulty sponsors and potential adherents will have in understanding the
what and why of a given ‘Good Practice’. Counter to this is the way of
the ‘Cowboy’; who’s ideas will succeed in the short term due to the energy,
drive and charisma of the lead. Unfortunately success and sustainability
of such initiatives tend to fade when the ‘Cowboy’ moves on.
Who are they?
How do you recognise a Zealot or a Cowboy? Even better how do you
recognise it in yourself? These are the challenging questions.
Zealots I have encountered in the past have traditionally come from the
ranks. Most probably having attended a foundations course and moved onto
mastery of their given practice. So much so that they often see the
methods, frameworks and techniques they have learnt as the actual solution to
all business problems.
A derivative of the
Zealot form the rank is one that has transcended industries, and has a strong
practical experience of ‘Best’ practice at work in their previous jobs.
As they’ve seen it work correctly they become evangelical about how things should
be done, and become uncompromising in what their new organisation should do.
The Cowboy on the
other hand can be an entirely different beast to the Zealot. Possibly a
Line Manager, or Project Manager with the job thrust upon them. Or
someone who sees the immediate application of the Best Practice as their next
career achievement. In reality they may not even understand the true
value proposition of what they are endeavoring to do.
How do I know this
(You may ask)? I have worn the robes of a zealot and the ten gallon hat
of a cowboy over the last couple of years, and have generally found that using
these approaches to embed change are fraught with danger to both your career
and personal wellbeing without the benefit of really achieving the change you
have in mind.
On the occasions I
have worn the Cowboy hat, I have had a lot of fun. I’ve definitely
achieved the change locally and it has been sustainable to a limited extent
within the small group that was affected . Unfortunately from an
organisational perspective; it didn’t even get noticed.
When wearing the
robes of a Zealot I’ve not really been the lead evangelist, but have had the
benefit of observing others strive for sponsorship and success. On all
occasions I can vouch that this has been a resounding failure with the
organisation unable to understand the vision of the Zealot and subsequently
moving to remove the lead evangelist from the organisation or simply getting
frustrated with the low volume (if any) of change.
It is with these experiences
in mind that I have become (?) an advocate of the pragmatic approach.
That is an approach guided by practical experience and observation rather than
just theory.[4] You can in-fact view the pragmatist as someone who can
effectively balance and utilize the skills of both the zealot and the
cowboy.
What if any insights
do you have on Zealots and Cowboy? We would love to hear your thoughts
and experiences. It is our intention in part 2 of this article that we
provide you with some insights on a ‘Pragmatic’ approach, and some tips on how to
dressing in white robes and ten gallon hats.
[1]
http://www.answers.com/topic/pragmatism
[2] Good Practice – Ref
ITIL BOOKS
[3] Chip Heath, Dan
Heath “Made to stick: why some ideas Survive and Others Die”, 2007, Random
House Inc. New York
http://www.amazon.com/Made-Stick-Ideas-Survive-Others/dp/1400064287/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231668295&sr=8-1
[4] LucidIT @ ITSMF 2006
http://www.lucidit.com.au/
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