In Chapter 3 of Humanize, we make the case that organizations, in general, are not adapting fast enough to our changing times. And we don’t pull any punches. We actually say that best practices are “evil.” We suggest (citing well-researched books that say the same thing) that strategic planning flat out doesn’t work. We put out there that some of the standard practices in human resource management lack evidence that supports their effectiveness. We even go so far as to say the field of “leadership,” writ large, is misguided in its over-emphasis on the role of the individual.

This was not an easy chapter to write. Not because the content was hard to come up with. I am afraid it is all too easy to demonstrate problems and holes with status quo thinking and practice in organizations. It was hard because in challenging the status quo, we knew we’d be making some statements that would be tough to hear for people in fields like HR and leadership–very, very smart people whom we respect immensely. People who are doing really good things in organizations and making real differences in people’s lives.

There is a very important paradox here. These people are doing amazing things AND they are in fields that are woefully inadequate. That paradox is true for all of us, actually. My brilliant honorary brother, Joe Gerstandt, just wrote a post that talked about this kind of paradox. He notes that organizations have stories about themselves. An organization’s story is ALWAYS made up of “competing narratives.” Different people see the truth differently, leading to different narratives. It is not a problem that there are competing narratives. In fact, it’s awesome:

At the point where two or more competing narratives interface, collide, merge, mesh or dance lives tremendous potential…. In between is where you find the seed of change.

That is what we are doing with our chapter three. We are not dismissing the dominant narrative about HR or strategic planning or leadership in a polarized way. We are introducing a new narrative–a story that acknowledges the shortcomings of these fields and tells a different kind of truth about how we run our organizations. And we put forth this competing narrative very specifically with the intention of innovating management. We need to plant seeds of change when it comes to how we run organizations, because what we have now is failing us faster than we’re changing it. Some of what we say may put you off, or trigger your defenses. But I ask that you keep reading and keep listening and keep thinking about it, because I think there is real beauty in the competing narratives and it is the path that will take us to the next level.