1/ Client of mine has a theory that all orgs have phantom heads: they act like long-gone founders are still there. This is a great insight.
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2/ They are cargo cults built around cryptic-magic people rather than cryptic-magic technology
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3/ This means that post-founder organization is not just an ingrained set of habits adapted to founder style of leadership
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4/ Since org embodies *incorrect* theory of its own functioning based on misunderstanding founder, its continued evolution is *irrational*
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5/ Simple example: founder known for being a rageholic will induce fear-based habits, but org may not understand why/how rage was effective
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6/ After leader leaves, fear may continue to shape new habits, but "headlessly" (random rather than effective)
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8/ This means, the new leader must grok the real logic of old leader and actively deprogram it via reorgs before new programming can stick
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9/ Think of old org as a sort of callus that forms in the body as a reaction to the "head" behavior. That deep memory callus must be removed
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