Machiavelli had explained—that “the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order … [those]who do not truly believe in anything new until they have had actual experience of it
Quoted by Doris Kearns Goodwin, Historian
I've described what Machiavelli has said -- in past posts -- as: "Any ankle biter can say no; it takes a committed leader to say yes, and make it stick!"
So, apart from the scourge of the ankle biters, what does Machiavelli portend for the project office? Or, for the team leader, or even a team member, who wants to "change the process"?
Answer: lots of resistance from the "old order"; few climbing out on the limb with you as the "new order"
Indeed, what if the "process change" is to do away with the need for the process?
Who's not heard this one (*)?
Instead of investing to make the trains run on time, why not do away with the trains?"
Instead of investing to make vehicle drivers better at driving, why not do away with drivers?
So, now you're in the project office inventing the "computer science" of driving decisions, such as the sundry moral questions of who to save in an accident situation: you, or the person your car is going to injure?
Your office is now the "reformer" Machiavelli spoke about: lots of enemies, as in the hundreds of thousands of professional truck and taxi drivers (to say nothing of Uber and Lyft) you will put on the bread line ... talk about enemies!!
Good luck with that
Let me know how it works for you
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