Forestry experts used to attack fires as soon as they began, struggling to put them out before they could do what they imagined to be damage to a vital natural resource. As it turned out, though, they had things backward. The experts learned that their remedy was the real danger, the fires the cure.
The fires are a perfectly ordinary – and essential – part of the cycle of life in the forest. They clear out excessive undergrowth, allowing new saplings to compete and grow, keeping the forest alive. They even are necessary to germinate the seeds of some trees. Creative destruction, you might say.
Might not something like this be the case in a capitalist economy? Is it possible that crises of one sort or another aren’t just the inevitable consequences of the non-centralized, free market-based management of the economy, as progressives would understandable have us believe, but natural – and necessary – economic phenomena?
Might not the attempts to smother these outbreaks with the types of solutions now being considered in the US actually exacerbate the underlying difficulty? In suppressing the immediate symptoms of the problem, might not the experts inadvertently be safeguarding its causes, prolonging and deepening its course?
Perhaps non-performers of one type or another need to be cleared out by the normal functioning of the system, freeing up entrepreneurial energy and capital for healthier ventures, more suited to the always evolving economic terrain. Should government attempt to freeze the economy in one state, or find ways to try to ease the passage of citizens through the transition?
If it is not too much of a strain to use the management of forest fires as an analogy for that of capitalist economies, will it bear extension into your daily work as a manager? What stays the same, over time, at work, and what tends to change – cyclically or permanently?
What sorts of resources or processes tend to accumulate to dysfunctional levels, and must periodically be removed in order to reorient energy and effort on prime efforts? What sorts endure the transition, contributing throughout and surviving productively to the other side? Which do not, and must be allowed to go?
Can you organize the evolution of your business amid an evolving environment by assuming you have all the answers, and suppressing crises and conflict when they erupt? Or should you let the fires rage, and manage them as best you can with your primary goals in mind?
How does creative destruction really work, if it does, in your organization? How do you recreate the genius, and manage the tumult, of free market capitalism in the working of your firm?
Tomorrow we will close this series on conceptualizing capitalism. Please do stop by!
—
This post is a part of a series. You can learn about and link to the other articles here: Conceptualizing capitalism
—
Today’s tips: To suggest that symptoms should not be confused for the disorder does not suggest that some symptoms are not themselves noxious enough to warrant suppression. Please see this piece by Frank Roche, at KnowHR, about misplaced concerns over salary caps in TARP-supported companies.
On the same topic, please also view this essay posted by Tom Jablonski, at Servant Leadership, about certain edifying examples of compensation packages by truly powerful, influential figures; consider how they might, or might not, relate to the business world – and why, or why not.
You may also want to look at this fascinating essay by Richard Posner, posted at the Becker-Posner Blog, for its observations about politics and protectionism, but especially about its remarkable ideas regarding charity and the State Department.
And speaking of mixing politics and fire-fighting, you will want to see what Gary Wills, in his Newsweek column, has to say about the meaning behind the stimulus package under consideration in the US Congress.
—
Thanks for stopping by, today. If you enjoyed your visit, please take a moment to subscribe, so you can visit again in the future from the convenience of your email client or RSS reader.
Technorati Tags: expert, resource, capitalist, economy, free market, management, progressive, US, capital, government, citizen, manager, evolution, business, conflict, manage, goal, creative destruction, organization, genius, capitalism, Frank Roche, KnowHR, TARP, Tom Jablonski, Servant Leadership, compensation, Richard Posner, Becker-Posner Blog, politics, protectionism, charity, State Department, Gary Wills, Newsweek, stimulus, Congress
Sphere: Related Content
Post a Comment