It was six men of Indostan,
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant,
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation,
Might satisfy his mind.
So goes an old
parable from a few centuries back which has many even older variations
across countries with their cultural nuances thrown in. While the object of
curiosity does not change, the number of people in the group does and so do
their inferences. Conclusions derived too have varied by context of the
narrator and the reader or listener though they all end up pointing to one key
aspect of human behaviour, i.e. people jumping to conclusions based on their
frame of reference and global ignorance.
Corporate world experiences elephants in the room, often leading to
embarrassing and hilarious situations for those involved including instances where
the elephant was never discovered. My friends have narrated many instances of
the sum of parts being larger than the whole; differing frames of reference
like the blind men in the fable have frustrated much intent to progress with
incessant harping on their version of truth. Then off course there is the wise
owl consultant who ends up painting a different animal farm.
The project was critical to the company impacting every function
directly or indirectly. There weren’t any alternatives which is why it was a
project that everyone agreed to unanimously. The CIO was happy that there was
consistent alignment and endorsement of the project with hardly any resource
constraints. Mood in the air was exuberant and success was perceived
inevitable; everyone involved agreed that it could not have been done better
with the transparency in decision making and setting expectations.
Few months into the project the CIO met with his peers to get feedback
and inquire if he was missing anything real or perceived. Everyone had a fair
view and appreciation for the flawless execution that had followed the project
kick-off. Satisfied with the responses he forged ahead full steam; completing
one phase and while moving to the next he hit some rough weather. With choppy
seas and a pronounced roll, he again went back to the CXOs to check if course
correction was required. What he discovered…
First stop Finance, he queried the CFO; everything is fine, it is a
great financial accounting tool but… the indirect taxation model is not
suitable and we would like to retain the old solution. Head of Supply Chain
quipped that Sales & Distribution were good to go but… the planning part
was not good enough and he would like to build a custom solution to meet the
need. Manufacturing felt that their needs would be met at the basic level
however… it did not address the stores and repairs current processes which
would require additional solutions.
Marketing was non-committal in their response, master data needs to be
fixed by someone before we can comment. Fortunately the Purchase team took to
it like fish to water; they loved the solution which they believed will give
them wings. Human Resources did not believe that they needed to change whatever
they were doing; they were averse to change and closed. Fearing the worst he
spoke to the IT team only to realize that the team was toiling away to keep
everyone together moving in the same direction.
The disjointed and independent frames of reference portrayed a different
view and plane; connecting the dots provided a picture that was far removed
from reality. Everyone took a view based on what they saw and how it impacted
them; there was no effort to stitch together a bigger or holistic picture. The
original dream and expectation appeared a faint memory. Their views reflected a
myopic vision in their risk-averse mindset and no one felt like challenging it.
I know how to manage my part of the elephant.
The CIO realized the elephantine proportion of the problem where
everyone in the functional teams saw a part of the animal they were exposed to and
made preparations based on their conclusions. The IT team was left holding the
portrait that the solution was expected to be. He contemplated different
options and finally decided to leave the incomplete picture as is; he believed
that he knew the elephant and how to tame it. After all this was not the first
time he was in this situation.
And so these men of Indostan,
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion,
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!
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