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Workplace Creativity Articles

The latest assertions on how we can bend workplace culture toward greater creativity and innovation.

Organism or Organization?

Do you work within an organism or an organization?

What’s the difference?

If one part of the organism hurts, the other parts feel the pain as well.
An organism tries to keep its body intact. It prefers to heal rather than amputate.
Parts of an organism work in conjunction. The eyes can give guidance to the hands and feet. The hands can shield the eyes. The feet give effective mobility to the rest of the organism. The parts do not act independently.
Change is part of life for an organism.

If one part of an organization hurts, the other parts can be apathetic.
An organization will jettison departments if they’re not deemed “profitable.” It prefers to seal off losses than heal them over time.
Organizations, despite their name, may not work “in organization” from one department to another. The term “right hand, meet left hand” ironically applies to organizations more than organisms. Coordinating departments in an organization is often very difficult work.
Change can seem like death for an organization.

As Seth said, bureaucracy is death. I wonder if our country is becoming less of an organism and more of an organization.

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