Bonsai & the BIG boys
Bonsai, the art of cultivating a tree in a small pot. What has this got to do with the big boys? by that i mean large corporations!
I don't myself grow anything green. i've even had a cactus died in my house! i guess that sums up the traces of any green genes i have in my DNA make up... (i do remind myself that they could be dormant, until maybe the next generation... can't really see myself mutating in my life time!) but speaking to a friend this morning, due to the outgrowth of the only plant he displays in a non-plant related shop, he had to change his pot. He also made a passing comment on how you need to shape the plant when it's young such that it doesn't outgrow the pot easily, or rather, make full use of the space in the existing pot.
His comment somehow reminds me of bonsai, how people painstakingly mould the plant into a shape. Initially, the owner of the bonsai (let's call this person the bonsaier for simplicity) has to let it grow and see what kind of shape it'll take. When the growth is to a certain level, the bonsaier will have to mould it with some support (wire frames come to mind!) and trim it now and again to keep that mould. If the bonsaier allows the plant to grow on past a threshold level without any intervention, it could easily outgrow its existing environment.
A large corporation will also need to grow its staff from before a certain threshold level, the infancy stage. A free reign although promotes flexibility and creativity, if undisciplined, will just be wasted and discarded, causing frustration on both the corporation and the employee. The corporation will think it has wasted all the resources on the employee, and the employee will think that all his/her creative energy has been let out in all directions, but nothing comes out on the other end.
So if you ever think of being frustrated as an employee, don't fight discipline as though it restricts who you actually want to be. Think of it as a focus for your creative energies. Suddenly, all your creative energy will seem to flow like the river.
If you're the boss... just think of the bonsai.
I don't myself grow anything green. i've even had a cactus died in my house! i guess that sums up the traces of any green genes i have in my DNA make up... (i do remind myself that they could be dormant, until maybe the next generation... can't really see myself mutating in my life time!) but speaking to a friend this morning, due to the outgrowth of the only plant he displays in a non-plant related shop, he had to change his pot. He also made a passing comment on how you need to shape the plant when it's young such that it doesn't outgrow the pot easily, or rather, make full use of the space in the existing pot.
His comment somehow reminds me of bonsai, how people painstakingly mould the plant into a shape. Initially, the owner of the bonsai (let's call this person the bonsaier for simplicity) has to let it grow and see what kind of shape it'll take. When the growth is to a certain level, the bonsaier will have to mould it with some support (wire frames come to mind!) and trim it now and again to keep that mould. If the bonsaier allows the plant to grow on past a threshold level without any intervention, it could easily outgrow its existing environment.
A large corporation will also need to grow its staff from before a certain threshold level, the infancy stage. A free reign although promotes flexibility and creativity, if undisciplined, will just be wasted and discarded, causing frustration on both the corporation and the employee. The corporation will think it has wasted all the resources on the employee, and the employee will think that all his/her creative energy has been let out in all directions, but nothing comes out on the other end.
So if you ever think of being frustrated as an employee, don't fight discipline as though it restricts who you actually want to be. Think of it as a focus for your creative energies. Suddenly, all your creative energy will seem to flow like the river.
If you're the boss... just think of the bonsai.
posted by Shang Lee at 7:29 pm | Article's link
2 Comments:
Well said. But it really depends on the type of employee you are dealing with. Some employees need the space and require less direction, and their creative energies flow much better. When bosses/managers start to impose rules and build walls, the rebellion starts. I've known people who leave their companies because the company started being inflexible. And it truly is a loss for the company.
I guess by saying that the bonsaier will let it grow and see what kind of shape it'll take, i implied that the boss will do the same. of course, not all bosses are like that, that's why they should grow a bonsai.. ;)
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