Nearing the end of Reza Alsan's book is a great read. He says this of religious fundamentalism:
Fundamentalism, in all religious traditions, is impervious to suppression. The more one tries to squelch it, the stronger it becomes. Counter it with cruelty, and it gains adherents. Kill its leaders, and they become martyrs. Respond with despotism, and it becomes the sole voice of opposition. Try to control it, and it will turn against you. Try to appease it, and it will take control.
The same is true for other forms of fundamentalism too - not just religion. I tried to apply this construct to businesses that are extremely hopped up on their cultural kool-aid or the principles espoused by the founder maybe a century ago. In internet years, the century mark is achieved in a fourth or seventh of the time depending on how you are counting.
So the cultural tenets and prescriptions stop working as do most of the truths held as unassailable by the founder. Yet it is impossible to break bad organizational habits and promote change. Many of the same issues apply in a figurative way to the business though market forces create remedies in the end - CEOs get ousted, leadership and the old-guard is replaced to flush out cultural toxins and so forth.
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