Schlagwort-Archive: Let go

The look – the ideal metaphor for the own identity

Since any opinion can be published on the Internet, we have to face a confusing flood of views. In this jungle of standpoints, we have to develop our own identity. It is like deciding on your clothing style. Whereas in the past general fashion waves offered only a few alternatives, nowadays many styles make their waves. Self-consciousness is formed that cannot simply be assigned to the established groups – e.g. left-right, progressive or reactionary, (un)dogmatic, (un)human.

Joining a school of thought takes place in widely varying contexts. Each time it results in the adoption of another thinking – again and again. Role conflicts are thus inevitable. The way out is the convinced decision for a coherent attitude. The following steps offer a course in this direction.

  • You have to deal with the content
    A look at the current fashion trend is no longer possible due to the flood of offers. Even if the long-established fashion corporations stick to the annual shows, buyers are increasingly following new labels outside the mainstream. Influencers sift additionally through the offerings and make their subjective comments for others. The catwalk of business identities also follows this pattern. On the one hand, symposia and trade shows offer news regarding Business Models, IT, or Business Engineering. However, it is necessary to increasingly consider new topics, such as New Work, Diversity, Industry 4.0, and still, Globalization, to evaluate the hard factors of rigid structural and procedural organizations and the concreted system landscape from a different perspective.
  • You need your value system
    In addition to one’s physique, the self-image and internal value system play a role in the choice of clothing. These beliefs have a mainly subconscious effect on the choice of look. Countless media provide ideas for any trend. This also applies to everyday professional life. Filter bubbles have emerged for every task, repackaging the same solutions over and over again. Consulting firms provide a coherent rationale for particular topics that are eventually adopted by the fields. Formulating one’s value system helps in choosing a solution.
  • You decide in any case
    At the end of the day, it is the available wardrobe that defines what fashion you wear. You have two more or less conscious decision points: 1) the arrangement of the closet and 2) the spontaneous choice of the moment. The situation is similar for business opportunities. The groups that are prepared have an advantage, as only the options can be used that are available – the more diverse, the better prepared you are for the particular choice. Actively or passively – in any case, you decide.
  • You need to let go what you love
    Every closet is limited. Thus, from time to time, you need to clean out to make room for something new. It is tough to part with the old clothes you cherish, even though they are often not in the best condition. The same is valid with building blocks of business. Over the years, a company builds up technical and organizational legacies that burden the workforce and the budget more than they help. Unfortunately, when new solutions are introduced, the responsible people forget to dismantle the old ones. This leads to organizational clogging that significantly reduces performance.
  • You must live your decision
    Whatever you decide, wear your outfit with the respective confidence. You have learned about the alternatives, developed your criteria for selection, made a conscious decision – as good as it gets. In business, there are processes that make this examination of yourself possible: strategy, planning of all kinds, and formalized decision-making processes. Once decisions are taken, you should always be backed up by appropriate mentioning and appreciation so that everyone involved understands what is valid.

Bottom line: Identity is an essential element for workforce cohesion. Therefore, a framework that promotes a sense of belonging should be proactively created. To be able to decide, you consider the options based on your criteria and decide. To achieve the desired effect, you must let go of the cherished habits and foster the new approaches confidently and openly. Since the clothing style concerns similar aspects, it is the ideal metaphor for identity.

Let Loose Borders

In times of the classic chain of command, many links wanted more openness. The stronger the participants are concatenated, the longer and more inflexible the companies are moving. With the introduction of computers, the interaction was accelerated by virtuality. However, at the same time, each component was refined more and more and the number of connections increased. As structuring progressed, there was a call for more openness – more flexibility, more contact opportunities and more cooperation internally and externally. Today, digital transformation enables companies, groups and individuals to network globally. In turn, this openness scares many people nowadays – there are no clear boundaries, no opportunities for identification and no framework for action. Stiff does not work and open does not work. What can be done? Let Loose Borders.

Let’s take a look at how stiff openness can be imagined. Let’s work along the words “Let Loose Borders”.

  • Borders
    This word defines a system with certain characteristics that makes some feel committed and excludes different ones. The cohesion is determined by common goals, rules, and beliefs.
    What makes the difference in this case is the permeability of the borders – closeness by insurmountable dividing lines; permeable openness in both directions.
  • Loose
    If you bundle a lot of individual parts lightly, you get a charge that is processed in one swing. This could also be a number of incidents that fluffily rain (un)advantageously down on somebody. Or the starting shot without rigid standards.
    What makes the difference in any cases is the action that is executed decisively – doing something and facing the consequences.
  • Let
    The willingness to get involved in something or to allow oneself to get involved has a great influence on the impression of the close- or open-mindedness of a system. Stress arises when cohesion gets tensed and aggressively defends its boundaries. And also, when the cohesion dissolves through unlimited influx of the unfamiliar.
    What makes the difference is the growth – the healthy balance between content-related stiffness and dissolution.
  • Borderless
    The avoidance of borders goes hand in hand with the loss of identity. The feeling of belonging results from common values and rituals. Without the definition of boundaries, individuals cannot find their place or exchange ideas.
    The difference is the form of demarcation – dogmatic borders create violence; unconditional openness leads to unfulfilled self-confidence, and eventually also to violence.
  • Let Borders
    Simply opening boundaries is awkward, as the members of a group are not necessarily happy about the lack of boundaries (see above). Ignoring the delimitation, we are driven by our genes to defend our territory.
    The difference makes tolerance – walls do not have to be immediately torn down, but only need appropriate passages and rules to exchange ideas.
  • Let go
    One should not stick to what limits thoughts and action or insist on the traditional. A new way of thinking is only possible if one at least allows the familiar to pause. This creates openness and the necessary meeting points to improve and expand due to new ideas.
    The difference arises with the continuous expansion of the system – systems that do not open will collapse; systems that use openness for their own development grow sustainably.

Bottom line: Whether you now let go the boundaries or leave them borderless is up to the reader. The mixing of the words has hopefully made clear that it is about the gray zone between boundlessness and the iron curtain. Systems have no chance to survive, if they encapsulate or fractalize themselves borderless. Let Loose Borders – the interpretation is in the eye of the beholder.

P.S.: Whoever recognizes the limit of today’s drawing has understood.