Page 61 - MS Year in Review 2020

Antipathy to Anything “Not Invented Here”

Closely related to “resistance to change,” a generalized antipathy to anything “not
invented here” tends to inhibit change and innovation. The company may be
resistant to adopt practices that are being used by others to increase efficiency or

effectiveness (as was the case at Chrysler before Lee Iacocca’s arrival). There may
also be excessive (and unnecessary) resources (including time) invested in

developing in-house solutions to problems when a more cost-effective approach
would have been to adopt “proven” systems and processes developed elsewhere.

Extreme Sense of “We Are Different”

Carried to an extreme, when this is a dimension of an organization’s culture, it can
lead to the notion that we cannot learn from anyone else. As is true of “not

invented here,” this can contribute to the crisis and can significantly lengthen the
time that it takes to address it.

Failure to Challenge Authority

In organizations that have had very strong leaders who do not tend to tolerate

dissent, people are sometimes virtually “trained” to not challenge authority. One to
the authors actually heard an exchange between a COO and another senior
executive in which the former said: “When I say jump, you need to say ‘how

high’”! Faced with that attitude, people learn not to challenge authority.

Similarly, when one of the authors was starting out his career, he did a research
project at the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.” He was

hired by the Associate Director of the Research Division and was presenting the
results of the research project to the Director, a former partner of one of the then

so-called “Big 8 CPA” firms. Thrilled with this opportunity and also inexperienced,
he presented the result of his summer study to the director and made the “mistake”
of providing his interpretation of the data. He saw the blood rising in the Director’s

neck toward his head, and the Director boomed out in a loud deep voice: “The

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