The death of a culture, or society, is not a pleasant thought. Yet, looking at history, it can also be seen as an evolution of people. From world wars, civil wars, civil unrest, and demonstrations, we have been witness to major influences upon the course of history through cataclysmic events of varying degrees across various levels.

In our culture, of self-improvement, performance measurement, education, business, and politics, there has been a shifted focus from people to systems. With systems and improvements we strive to simplify and streamline life, and in doing so, put people into the boxes that make the streamlined system go. The round pegs are filling the square holes.

Getting people excited about change is difficult, and initially we have done well in our history. As we focus more marketing, motivation, mentorship, education, and relationships based upon fear, lack, and respect, we lose the value-add element of the creative human. Looking over the past decade or two, I can see the increasing levels of conflict in the human psyche. There is a cost to making people conform to a system.

The flaw is simple. Humans are evolutionary creatures. Creative by nature, creative by design, and creative via the creator, the human animal exercises its creative imagination to the process of survival, which has long-since included the discoveries of tools and systems that increase abilities and efficiencies.

Traditional thinking about business, management, and leadership, generally adhere to the premise of people aligning themselves along one path and towing the line indefinitely. The smartest and most successful leaders have learned something contrary to this long ago. People are what co-actively bring about change and make change easy or difficult. Knowing and understanding this makes a world of difference.

Rather than creating a system that forces adherence, create systems that can grow and evolve with people. The whole foundation of every organized system, whether an organization, technology, or process-flow, came about from the original desire in man to create something of value that makes life easier in Community.

Who is serving who?