Changing things around here

“I hope the bureaucracy of this organization changes things around here.”

Said no one. No one seems to like it, yet we surround ourselves with it. Why? I think (and I don’t think it’s the only reason) is that rules and processes insulate us to justify our jobs. So that when change comes, we don’t get fired. The interesting thing about the work we do is how much we can’t admit that our job is what David Graeber would call “bull shit.” If we really were honest with ourselves, how many productive hours per week do you actually do? The answer is probably more than zero but certainly less than 40. Even the open heart surgeon has to fill out paperwork that they find useless to feed the machine of bureaucracy.

Change doesn’t happen with systems. Systems enable behavior. They can enhance it. But in the end, its action. More accurately, the courage to take action that changes the way things are done.