Forler Massnick
For about 90 years the leaders of society have been implored to THINK, most notably by IBM which adopted it as a slogan. That’s not good enough for today’s tumultuous times, according to the author of a book on the subject. The imperative watchword today is RETHINK. It keeps showing up in business, government, education and healthcare. Think is reflective and passive. Rethink implies challenging everything and shaking it up, says the author.
In his book Rethinking the Corporation, author Forler Massnick contends that businesses satisfied with the status quo are doomed to extinction. The central issue is the fact that science and technology are advancing exponentially while business methods and practices loll around in”business as usual”.
Massnick says there is a yawning gap to be addressed by challenging all of society’s ways of doing things. He points out that shakeups like this have occurred every 200 years for the past one thousand years. The last time it was the Industrial Revolution in the early 1800s. Do the math, he says.
Massnick offers examples of rethinking, department by department and function by function, as a guide to leaders who are challenged by the stark reality that advances in science and technology can blindside them, suddenly and without mercy.
To illustrate his point he sprinkles interesting vignettes throughout the book that remind readers of the humble ways in which inventions have popped up unexpectedly and changed the world dramatically. Often they obliterated existing companies and created new industries and enterprises.
Massnick identifies three major obstacles to rethinking: A not invented here (NIH) attitude that blocks innovation from outside; Middle management resistance to change as a way of protecting its turf; Emphasis on coping with the economy resulting in ignoring the 800 pound gorilla of advances in science and technology.
Dr. Dick Judy, retired dean of the business school at the University of Wisconsin, said if he were back in the classroom he would make Rethinking the Corporation required reading for all of his students.