Thursday, November 8, 2012

Systems and Sadness

I'm not sure how to express what I want to say. It's about systems. At face value, many systems seem to be a bother. In reality, though, they are important. So is working through or within a system. Even when the system is flawed.

I'm dealing with opposing perspectives in part of my life. On the one hand, there is a personal perspective of independence, autonomy, and a will to thrive on one's own terms. On the other hand, there is a body, an amalgamation of inter-operating mini-systems, if you will. The two perspectives are not playing well together.


Figure 1: System Error


I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to explain to one the importance of the other--separate entities embody these two perspectives--but if I do, I might use this illustration.

Have you ever seen a person whose muscles are firing involuntarily? Maybe one of their legs seems to have come to life and won't stop even when the person is at rest. As long as the person has no destination, it's no problem. When they need to get up and cross the room, though, it has a much greater consequence.

This physical illustration applies in organizations, too. An organization of any size is like a body. It has multiple systems that must work together for the body to function at its best. I work for a company that employs thousands of people. There are systems for entering time worked, for receiving health benefits, for monitoring performance, and for nearly any other process you can imagine. Without those systems--an agreed-upon way of doing things as a single unit--little could be accomplished.

So what happens when we work around the structured system? In the short term, it simplifies achieving goals. Impediments to progress, as defined by whomever or whatever is avoiding a particular way of doing things, are eliminated. One decides to do something and does it as he or she sees fit. This is the muscle firing involuntarily. It seems harmless, but to the rest of the body it can have an effect ranging from annoying to catastrophic. The affected part cannot be directed. Interactions between it and other systems cannot be coordinated. If the larger body in question is walking, running, or dancing, its movement changes from a smooth,practiced collaboration yielding power and gracefulness to a quaking, jerking, macabre shuffle. This is the unfortunate power of elevating personal will above a common goal.

It's often sad because there is much to admire in the autonomous system. One might find pride of workmanship, passion for an avocation, and caring about a select group of people in that smaller sphere of influence. Those attributes are valued. They warrant celebration--loudly and often. In the long run, though, going it alone rarely trumps the ill effects of operating counter to the body of systems that have agreed to operate in unison. The will of the one diminishes the whole.

The crux of system integration is communication. If you want your system to work with my system(s), we need to talk. And we need to listen. We also need to keep the desired outcome at the forefront of every discussion and plan we have together. Without those three tenets as the foundation of our interaction, we will disagree with one another and we will disappoint whoever stood to benefit from our collaboration.

In one part of my world, systems usually means hardware and software. Unfortunately, in this part of my world, systems means people serving people to create a safe place to gather, to intercede for one another, and to celebrate much that we have in common. It is painful to see it malfunction.