An interesting article in Computerworld about the dangers of an IT “culture of convenience” got me thinking.Not so much about its effect on IT (although it’s enough to keep you awake nights), but about the role convenience plays in so many management screw-ups and how much worse it becomes when it takes root in the company culture and managers MAP.

Think about it. Convenience equals easy and easy is rarely good. It’s easier to

• zone-out watching TV than to help with the kids homework/exercise/do housework/create something/read a book;
• kill the messenger than fix the problem;
• play favorites than develop a meritocracy;
• fight fires than develop strategic plans;
• fire employees than develop them;
• instill fear than build trust;

large or small, the list goes on forever.

And convenient/easy doesn’t equal simple. Although simple things are usually easy to do, making them simple, AKA, easy, in the first place was most likely difficult and took time, effort and patience.

But the simple/easy that comes at the end of that process is totally different from the easy that results from convenience. In fact, they’re polar opposites, just as the results of each are—one positive and the other negative.

Convenient/easy or simple/easy? Which do you choose for your MAP and the culture for which you’re responsible?

As I keep saying—it’s your choice.

Please choose wisely.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 25th, 2007 at 10:36 am and is filed under Business info, Culture, Leadership, Motivation, Retention. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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