The Power of Paradox

Chapter 3

Identifying Paradoxes in Any Organization

“A lot of people never use theirinitiative because no one told them to.”

—Banksy, British graffiti artist

When you’re learning to play the piano, you need to learn the fundamentals before you can play a song. This is analogous to the process of identifying paradoxes in your organization: You go through the process so that paradox thinking can come alive and have practical value for you.

Exploring the Paradoxes an Organization Faces

Identifying paradoxes is a process of simplification. You start with a collection of competing needs, and use paradox thinking to understand the relationship between them and organize them for practical benefit. There are four basic ways to identify paradoxes, and ...