The large organisation environment is increasingly regulated and governed. Due process. Follow the rules. Obey, and all will be well.
Discussing this with a senior IT professional in one of the big four consultancies, he observed that those who are performing at an exceptional level are those who are willing to break the rules, and later be judged as having done the right thing.
He also noted that they tread a fine line between highly levels of success and utter annihilation! Get it wrong and they’re out. Get it right and they are hailed as heros – eventually.
And of course, if you follow the rules you are behaving just like everyone else, so it is very hard to stand out from the crowd and be exceptional.
Which provokes a number of questions:
- How do you determine which rules to break?
- What safeguards do you need to take?
- Are there different classes of rules with different ways of testing their limits?
- Do you need to take a very objective approach to analysing the way you are breaking/threatening/stretching the current boundaries?
Let me be clear.
I’m in favour of breaking the rules, but not in a crass and unsophisticated way. Get smart, build your rule breaking skills, and get out there. Don’t be like everyone else, make a name for yourself in a very positive way.
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