Here is “The Plan” in case you’ve never come across it:
In the beginning was THE PLAN.
And then came the assumptions.
And the assumptions were without form.
And The Plan was completely without substance.
And darkness was upon the faces of the crew men.
And they spoke unto their crew leaders, saying:
“The Plan is a crock of shit, and it stinks.”
And the crew leaders went unto their foremen and said,
“It is a pail of dung, and none may abide the odor thereof.”
And the foremen went unto their supervisors and said unto them,
“It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide by IT.”
And the supervisors went unto their division managers and said unto them,
“It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide by its strength.”
And the division managers went unto the director and said,
“It contains that which aids plant growth and it is very strong.”
And the director went unto the city manager and said unto him,
“It promotes growth and is very powerful.”
And the city manager went unto the mayor and said unto him,
“This powerful new Plan will actively promote the growth and efficiency of the department and this area in particular.”
And the mayor looked upon The Plan and saw that it was good.
And The Plan became policy.
And this is how shit happens.
This is probably familiar to many of us when it comes to dysfunctional co-creation environments. The co-creation part is the result of window-dressing, ass-kissing, and people-pleasing authority. And hierarchy - tons of it. The closer you are to the coal-face the more blunt the prognosis. As you move up the chain, you get further and further from the truth.
How do you build complex systems of interconnections between people without all the downside? Social Media sites struggle with this all the time. Bullshit travels at the speed of light.
Time to dust off my old copy of Organizational Behavior and systems design.