The Ego of Editing

A Canadian company I work with has been using a system developed by a brilliant person to improve a certain aspect of their business.

During a recent strategy session, we dug into why this system wasn’t working well, and I learned that someone in the company had edited it to make it more suitable to them. This company likes to make sure everything is consistent with their brand and culture but, in the process, they had notably diluted the methodology, the strength of the system.

I had flashbacks to how much I had done that early in my career. As an amateur, I would take the tools of a master and believe that I could add to and improve them. How arrogant was that of me! I’ve since learned to take the tools of a master and use them until I had mastery. Only at that point had I earned the right to edit and modify them – and actually have an opinion about the system – in a way that adds value. That takes a lot of humility.

To do it upfront, you dramatically decrease the investment.

I see it all the time: in Topgrading™, with Scaling Up (Rockefeller 2.0) - which I contributed to - and in coaching methodologies - and then people complain these systems don’t work. In reality, it’s people trying to change the work (of people who are more capable than they are) that doesn’t.

Can you relate at all?

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