I wrote the other day about head nodding at Lehman Brothers and even mentioned it in a change presentation earlier today. I open up my emails and 'The Courage Institute' are quoting Gerstein and Shaw in an article who analyze the demise of the Space Shuttle Columbia, which took the lives of all 7 crew members (including Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, z"l). Their analysis? It takes courage to push back against organizational inertia, or to challenge higher-ups who say, "Damn the torpedoes. Full steam ahead!"
Risk assessment and risk mitigation is not the only area where Gerstein and Shaw see a need for courage to assert thought-leadership rather than keeping your head below the parapets and "just following orders." They also describe the ways that bystander rationalizations and bystander behaviour keeps organizations from seizing opportunities -- or making the most of promising innovations.
Their recipe to counter bystander behaviour? They offer 7 prescriptions which call for:
1) More courage. To step up. Champion ideas. And, in our words, uplift, mobilize, ennoble.
2) Less need for courage. So that innovative thinking -- whether it is about serious risks or promising opportunities -- face a lower activation barrier.
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