Among the calls I received after my last piece on the confusion with regard to the role of marketing, was one from someone who had just completed his MBA from Rotterdam.
He said this was the subject of much debate and case studies in the course of their deliberations in class. One would have thought, that 38 years after Kotler and Drucker had started the marketing movement, people would have a little more clarity about the subject.
When speaking on the same theme to a team of sales people who have been operating in this market for many years, it felt like one was talking about some novel idea that has just been invented. This convinces me that much more emphasis needs to be placed on getting the concept across, as we move rapidly from a dynamic trading market in Dubai, to an more organised and sophisticated yet equally vibrant marketing centre.
But the other point that struck me when speaking to the sales team, was how entrenched their habits of working had become, making it almost impossible for any new idea to push through to them.
And I was reminded of the story of the elephant.
An elephant was tethered to a post with a long rope that was attached to its hind leg. It grazed on the grass and trees that were around it, and pushed to the end of the rope to get as far as it could in its foraging. Soon, it had created a circle around itself, which was the extent to which the rope allowed it to wander. After some years of this, the rope began to disintegrate, and eventually, it gave way. The elephant, however, never realised that its tether was no longer effective, and it continued to graze within the circle that it had created around itself, never venturing beyond.
Why is it that so many people in business become like the elephant, unwilling to take a little step outside their familiar circle?
The immediate thought that springs to mind is that people tend to create a comfort zone around themselves. Past experience says that staying within that zone is safe, non-controversial, and adequate.
Avoidance of pain
Others have found that trying to venture beyond the circle has led to disciplining or reactions in the past, and have therefore decided to stay within these limits. This is also often based on the experiences of colleagues, who have warned them, "this is what happened to me, so don't try it!" The colleagues usually do not fill in the details of the context in which the situation had taken place, though they always remember the negative response that they got.
Fear of the unknown
A lot of people are constrained by their fear of the unknown. They do not know what the consequences would be if they tried to do something differently, or more than they were expected to do, so why do it?
Laziness and lethargy
And, of course, there is always the problem of laziness and lethargy setting in over time. As we all know, for many people, the sole aim at work is to do the minimum required, to keep their positions intact. The question then, is how do we get the elephant to go beyond its circle?
Divergent thinking
Organisations must continuously try to re-invent themselves. Especially in a market such as Dubai, which is metamorphosing at a frantic pace, any organisation that remains set in its way of working is doomed. And to achieve this, managements need to encourage divergent thinking, allowing people to take intelligent risks.
Reward experimentation
Employees who are willing to stick their necks out and experiment with new ways of doing tasks, should be recognised and rewarded. These are going to be the stars of the future, and they are the ones who should be developed.
Flexible structures
Often, employees get caught in the web of asphyxiating structures, which choke any kind of variation and movement. Managements could create structures, which will not only encourage, but even force people to think of new ways to achieve tasks. Creating this kind of controlled instability often helps people to discover new wells of strengths and capabilities in themselves.
New people and ideas
Often the introduction of new people with different experiences and ideas helps to challenge established norms. New people are not burdened with the old limitations, and are able to show new ways of doing tasks that old employees may not have considered. The task for management of course, is to allow these ideas to flower and bloom, rather than stamp on them demanding conformity.
No doubt, most readers would have heard that change for the sake of itself, can be extremely dangerous. And this is probably correct. It is also true however, that organisations that do not change themselves or support innovation are sure to find it difficult to survive today.
Besides the need for organisational change, what is perhaps as critical is for each one to sit back and identify the factors that are preventing him or her from doing the job better. Very often, we will find that the restricting reason is more in the mind, than in reality. And once this realisation comes, the next step is easy.
The writer is a senior manager with a large local group.