Transforming organisations

All tanked up

We have a fish tank at home comprising a variety of freshwater species from our very own River Wye that flows down from the mountains of Wales.

Some of the fish are extroverts because they are always on show, ducking and darting around the tank, feeding at any level and generally being highly visible at any time. These fish include chub, dace and bleak.

Other inhabitants are introverts because they prefer to keep a low profile. They feed mainly on the bottom and prefer to live life under the weed or away from any light or movement on our part. The fish include roach, loach and gudgeon.

The interesting thing about a mixed tank is that there are occasions when the extroverts will be behave like introverts and the entire population are to be seen skulking together on the bottom. On other occasions roles are reversed and the roach and gudgeon can be seen cavorting around the tank.

Now some weeks ago we had a fault on our pumping system and half the population died overnight. All the extroverts perished died because these are the species that are most susceptible to oxygen deficiency.

Now we have a tank that is so dull and so unimaginative. There is hardly any movement or activity from fish that all behave in a similar way. You could say that the mix of extroverts and introverts, the sheer diversity, produced relationships where one and one makes three or four.

It is exactly the same in a Board Room.

posted by Tim @ 11:44 PM