The Box Enforcer looked confident as it stepped into the alley behind the unassuming office building. Quietly, it slipped unnoticed through the lobby and into the myriad maze of identical cubicles. Waiting for its moment of opportunity, it lurked and listened to the surrounding clicking of keyboards and ringing phones. Suddenly, it perked up in excitement. A manager was in a heated dispute with one of the workers:
“So you sent a direct response to the customer without first getting approval?” the manager was angrily asking.
The Box Enforcer moved closer in anticipation.
“The customer had a very simple question and I already knew the answer,” the worker replied. “It would have been very time consuming for everyone to fill out all of the request forms for something so small. The customer is happy not to have spent the additional two hours for a two minute question. Maybe we don’t need the forms for some of our requests.”
The manager looked thoughtful, momentarily considering the worker’s response. Concerned that the manager might be slipping, the Box Enforcer moved in and took over.
“That’s not part of our process.” the Box Enforcer spoke flatly in the guise of the manager. “You were told that those forms needed to be filled out every time you spoke with a customer. No exceptions! That’s the rule.”
The worker abruptly screamed as a heavy box slammed down from the ceiling and trapped the worker inescapably inside.
Carefully picking up the shaking box, the Box Enforcer smiled and moved away to its next destination, satisfied that it had saved yet another company from the evils of innovation that day.
You might also like:
Rebecca -
Wow. It’s incredibly interesting to read this right after reading a blog about ‘systems’ – the good and the bad…and in this case, the very ugly! This is a great example of a system gone completely bad and is why so many of us struggle with systems. They seem to do exactly what you said – they become the box enforcers. Yet, systems done well can help us be even more productive, more creative. I still have to convince myself of that at times. Thanks for the very visual example!
Hi Carma,
It’s funny how that balance seems to work between the good and the bad systems. Good systems can keep things running smoothly and free up more time for the fun and creative stuff, but should they become inflexible or outdated, or even just don’t fit the people using them, then they become stifling! A lot of problems also happen when we assume that the same systems that work great for us should work equally well for everyone.