Interesting clash of perspectives today.

I’m working on a project at my job (large corporate-type situation) with an internal process improvement consultant. One of the major issues that we’re encountering with this project is the fact that things get done through the herculean effort of certain members of our staff. They get faced with a nearly impossible task, and do it.

Our job is to take that herculean task and process-ify it until it comes with a mission, vision, guidelines, step-by-step guides, and (my favorite) best practices. Basically we’re sanitizing, streamlining, and Disney-ifying it so that anyone can do it. Which is the point, really. We need more of these tasks done. The point is to break it into a step-by-step process so that people can just “go with the flow” and the institution will get what it wants out of it.

But I found myself using the phrase “extreme ownership” in relation to this task (the extreme effort expended I think leads to extreme territoriality over the end product). Now, I haven’t yet read Jocko Willink’s book on the subject, but Jocko is a military man focused on leadership. A hero.

And it occurred to me: there is a HUGE subset of media focused on urging people out of the “go with the flow” mentality into a hero mentality. Gorilla Mindset, Four-Hour Workweek, Extreme Ownership, Unleashing the Giant Within…whatever you want to call it, there a huge demand for people to be coaxed into the hero role.

So why am I fighting to take them out again? Doesn’t a competitive process produce good results, as iron sharpens iron?

Perhaps if there is also loyalty, and the herculean effort doesn’t cause people to break down, hate their job, and quit. But there is no loyalty at a corporate-style institution.

On the one hand, I feel like I’m removing a chance for people to prove themselves. On the other hand, there’s a huge giant problem around this issue that might get fixed with standardization.

Now I feel the need to seize the means of production.

Bonus question: Are people who need a class on how to be a hero really heroes anyway?