99. Role models
Compared to strict rules or protocols, an exemplar leaves room for
interpretation according to context. Thus it leaves room for individuality in
work, and takes the variability and complexity of contexts into account. Such
room for variety of practice is important especially for innovation, where
ideas need to be adapted to novel challenges and opportunities.
Entrepreneurs, in business (Henry Ford), science (Einstein) and
politics (Ghandi), are examples. They were originals, and what they did was
difficult to reduce to strict prescriptions. It was more a matter of style. In
retrospect one can reconstruct elements of it, such as efficiency from
uniformity (Ford’s assembly line), unity of time and space, in four dimensions
(Einstein), non-violent protest (Ghandi).
But variations upon the theme arise. Assembly lines developed into new
forms of production (just-in-time, demand pull,
self-regulating teams). In nature, four dimensions developed into eleven.
Protest adopted social media, and standing silent for hours on Taksim square in
Istanbul. What is imitated and improvised upon is not just a logical principle
involved but also a spirit in which forms of thought and action are found.
As a result, the imprint on practice of the original inventor can last
a long time. In the economy we see this in family firms that parade the
founding father. Imitating the exemplar becomes part of the culture of an
organization. And then it can atrophy, becoming a myth, ritualized, and can
then become rigid, dogmatic, inflexible and brittle, to ultimately crumble in
the winds of change.