“Status quo” at work almost always seems to win. But, must it?

The idea of how to challenge the status quo at work is a fairly fraught one. Most organizations have a tremendously deep belief in company hierarchy, and if hierarchy is the game, well … good luck with any attempt to challenge the status quo. In a lot of companies, managers tend to view new ideas more as a threat than something that could drive the business forward. Ultimately, this attitude becomes super frustrating for most people. (It becomes more frustrating when you consider that most middle managers are just revenue-sucking gatekeepers anyway.)

But still, the work environment is very different now. Technology, digital, mobile, etc. — a 62 year-old exec knows not these things. He wants to get back to the age of revenue streams he understood. Cold-calling. Brick and mortar. Relationship-building. Elements of those things still exist, but the landscape around them is very different. There are elements of truth to this idea of “disruption.” As a result of all this — business models need to shift. How do they shift? Someone needs to challenge the status quo.

We’re back at Square 1, though. A lot of managers tend to withhold information down a business chain — it protects their perch in the process. And, sadly, many managers believe that organizational breakthroughs can only occur at their level. At this…