By Morf Morford, Tacoma Daily Index

Many years ago I attended a conference on urban development.

One of the plenary speakers emphasized that, based on his research, organizations of all kinds, from government agencies to small (or large) businesses all had one final statement in common as they made the choice for paralysis and near-certain (if not immediate) death; We’ve never done it that way before.

On every organization’s tombstone

This is, as he put it, how organizations choose to die.

No business, no political party, no relationship, no governing body is immune from this determination to self-destruct.

We see this principle at work at every level from local government to federal, even global levels.

From climate change to pandemics to emerging technologies, we see business after business, agency after agency folding up in light of what, for others, is unbridled opportunity.

The baseline reality is that almost every situation, to some degree is distinct from what has come before, and our response certainly better be something we have never done before.

Personal and philosophical leanings offer little protection from this reluctance to respond appropriately and effectively to unexpected and unforeseen demands and challenges.

And if the difficulties of today aren’t enough, politicians and media figures are always willing to come up with more.

And, for many of us, the more shrill and preposterous the better – especially if the real intent is to distract us from coping effectively with actual, pervasive and persistent problems.

In fact our political landscape seems to be dominated by two fringes – both obsessed with culture-menacing problems and the (apparently ultimate) threat of victory of the other political party.

There is nothing new about this, of course.

One writer who died in about 1914 put it this way.

Conservative, n: A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal who wishes to replace them with others. -Ambrose Bierce

Half-full or half-empty

Perhaps like everything else, the phrase “We’ve never done it that way before” can be seen at least two ways.

Most organizations seem to see it as something like a metaphorical stop-sign.

If we have never done something before, we, for that reason alone, should not do it now or in the future.

Another response could be, “If we have never done it that way before – maybe it is time, or long past time, to do it.”

In short, we could see this phrase as an excuse to give up – or as an inspiration to act and respond in ways we, or perhaps anyone, has never acted before.

There is nothing new about this, of course. Many organizations seem to be on a non-stop, full-speed-ahead journey on a dead-end street.

And, for whatever reason, blaming others, if not demonizing them, has become the default reaction – with formulaic talking points taking the place of actual dialog, productive conversation, and good work accomplished.

We could solve our most pressing problems – if we put our focus on solutions instead of following elaborate fantasies of conspiracies and ulterior motives.

Here, again from Ambrose Bierce, is summation of our political poles which shows that they, and perhaps we, have not changed much in all these years.

What is a democrat? One who believes that the republicans have ruined the country. What is a republican? One who believes that the democrats would ruin the country. -Ambrose Bierce

Who knows?

Across the political spectrum, or even just across the street we might have disagreements about the means, or even the goals of our budgets, or our time on this earth, but once in a while we might see a community, or even a family put aside (for a while) its agenda, and work, in good faith, together toward a common goal.

We can do it again – or maybe for the first time.

After all, every decision and act is one that, for someone, at some time, was a thing never done before.

We just have to decide if we’d rather mope and blame, or get things done.