The Waterline Principle
Western companies struggle to cope with contradictions. Our language is typically bipolar: right and wrong, true and false, black and white.
By contrast, Eastern cultures see opposites not as contradictions but as complementary. Edward de Bono talks about a Western stone culture and an Eastern water culture. Physician Barry Johnson talks about similar issues in his book ‘Polarity Management‘.
Hermann Simon, in his book Hidden Champions of the 21st Century talks about how hidden champion Gore, the world leader in Teflon based products has included specific polarities in its company’s philosophy.
The principle of freedom allows each employee to do what he or she considers is right. This freedom has limits. It is restricted by the “waterline” principle.
As soon as a decision could hit the corporate ship below the waterline, a colleague must be consulted to share the responsibility.
As Simon puts it, “while the freedom principle encourages all employees to make use of their full potential, the waterline principle is intended to guarantee that the company does not suffer any serious damage.”
Profound advice!
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