Last week was about Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde, and how we are all multi-dimensional.  This week we will reflect on Frankenstein like monsters and forcing solutions together.  Shout out to Amy Meadows for the inspiration for this week’s post.  She actually made this comment during a meeting I was in about 1.5 years ago and it’s always stuck with me.

You are probably somewhat familiar with Frankenstein monster kind of stories.  The basic idea is that there is a mad scientist who is obsessed with creating something amazing.  Inevitably the scientist goes too far and ends up combining a lot of things that don’t belong together.  For example, the mad scientist will sew together parts from different bodies.  In some versions of these stories the scientist blends human and animal or human and machine.  Eventually, the scientist brings the creature to life and the creature wreaks some kind of havoc. 

You’re probably wondering what this has to do with anything.  How often have you worked on something that started out as one thing and ended up becoming a Frankenstein monster?  What I mean by that is, how often did you start with a simple idea and then by the time everybody added to it the idea no longer served its intended purpose?  Instead the idea became this conglomeration of stuff.  I know I see this on a regular basis.  Better yet, how often have you been the one who has tried to add and add and add stuff to something, even though it didn’t need to be added?  I know I’m guilty of doing this sometimes.

Over my career I’ve learned how important it is to have a clear vision of what you are trying to accomplish, and then ruthlessly sticking to that vision.  Without that clear vision and the discipline to stick to that vision, I end up going too far, just adding and adding and adding until the idea has become a monstrosity.  This monstrosity is then unable to serve its purpose and becomes unable to help the people we are trying to help.  In a collaborative environment where we work with hundreds of other mad scientists, it’s up to us to be clear on what we are trying to accomplish and why.

The challenge:  Are you clear on what you are trying to accomplish or are you giving life to a Frankenstein monster?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry