INSTITUTIONAL MEMORY FADES WITH NEW TEAM

I’m a fan of institutional memory, the part that solves nagging problems that don’t go away on their own.

Unfortunately, the people who hold it can be a part of the problem.

In small business, the new fixer comes in with knowledge gained in a good school, and experience from the last job they fixed, or the last job they said they fixed.

Either way, they come in with great expectations.

“Things are going to change, it may be uncomfortable and I understand, but it’s best for all of us,” becomes the new mantra, along with a personalized box for your personal workplace stuff and last check on your way out.

You might reflect on how you started.

 

 

The old bastard who’s been with the company 36 years, refuses to retire because he hates his family and refuses to talk to you until you’ve been there for 5 years.

Who they always send the new hire to shadow, and still vibrantly remembers an issue they had with a prior subcontractors test results, on a minor project, which caused a 6 month delay, as an example of why trusting the idiots at the prime contractor without verifying is a mistake.

Fictitious example, but anyone in aerospace knows exactly the type of person.

 

 

A different ‘old bastard’ ran a family business that included brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, and their husbands and wives.

It looked like the gold standard, growing so successful they opened new stores across the American west.

The men were pilots and truck drivers and warehousemen with advanced degrees, the women ran the business side in the office.

It was a well coordinated money-making enterprise with generational upside.

As an astute businessman, the Big Boss associated with others in his orbit for drinks and good humor.

One of his buddies shared a secret:

“Hire a team of Ivy League MBAs and you’ll go nationwide, then worldwide, building a brand so big you’ll get seats for any special event you want. We’ve been to Super Bowls, the World Series for years, Wimbledon, Fashion Week in Milan shows, the Met Gala. I’d love to see you there. It’s where you belong.”

 

“I’ll buy the next round.”

 

The Big Boss fired the family, hired his friend’s recommendations, and lost his company to bankruptcy on a massive scale.

One day they were everywhere, the next gone, and the college boys moved on to their next big win with a new resume item:

‘Restructured. Reorganized. Positioned for success.’

The solutions to the nagging problems the family worked out over the years to build a dependable supply chain left with them.

Scaling up with too much expansion broke the chain.

That wasn’t included on the MBA resume.

They did the job they were trained to do.

It’s like closing up a patient after a successful heart surgery, only to see them die of something else before leaving the hospital. (Hey Abe)

 

PS: We remember things through rose colored glasses. ‘It wasn’t that bad.’

PSS: The account books mouldering on the file cabinet in the corner tell a different story.