Herding Cats, Seeding Clouds

My own picture: Our kittens sleepy after a full day of mischief. Proof that cats are liquid.

Yesterdays post/A by Bard Papegaaij/A talked about the often used statement “Culture eats Change for breakfast”. And that got me thinking about the term I use often. Professional Cat Herder. Like there are levels to that endeavor. Maybe I use it too often?

In my day-to-day balancing act both in work and private life I do often feel like a cat herder. It’s a delicate dance of aligning agendas, selecting strategies and managing change. While grappling with our own unpredictability and basic human behaviour. Also we have four cats at home. Ok, we have more animals. But somehow herding chickens does not speak to our imagination like cats do. Never mind the goats. They are evil.

The Constant Flux

Change is the only constant is also one of those often used statements. And not only true for the world of business. Anyone with kids who just turned 18?

Yet, despite its inevitability, we all struggle with change. Parents try to raise their kids as best as they can. Just so they can let them go. Leaders should strive to steer their teams toward new horizons. Be a spring board for your kids and talents. In both cases bureaucracy, resistance, inertia, and fear of the unknown often impede progress.

Cat Herding: Managing the Unmanageable

Coming back to my giant herd of cats. If you’ve ever tried to corral a group of cats, or putting one into a travel basket, or give it some sort of medicine. You’ll understand the true meaning of trying to control the uncontrollable. And the learning experience only scars can give. Similarly within organisations and my family and cats. Individuals possess unique personalities, motivations, and agendas. Attempting to herd them feels like an exercise in futility. So to aim for just short term success while doing something very challenging is not the right approach.

Cloud Seeding

Cloud seeding is the practice of inducing rain by making the water molecules stick together to form rain drops. Either by launching rockets to distribute substances into the atmosphere or by drones with electricity.

Many countries have been actively involved in cloud seeding research. All with different motivations and approaches.

It is said that Russia does it to prevent rain on their parades, literally! China also has very extensive cloud seeding programs, driven by the country’s ongoing water resource challenges.

Cloud seeding is not without risks. Experts believe that the blizzard in 2009 was caused by such cloud seeding. The same experts have debunked the Dubai floodings/A as a result from cloud seeding.

Short-Term Gain vs. Long-Term Success

What do these have in common? While we may use broad sweeping statements to try to communicate that change is difficult. In our drive for immediate results, perhaps due to our shareholders demanding ever more growth? We tamper with complex systems that can have long reaching effects.

Be it implementing a new Target Operation Model to better align with the new strategy, or trying to change the weather because of the effects of our human nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06879-8/A.

We prioritize short-term gains, sacrificing sustainability and resilience in the process. We need to balance the urgency of the present with the foresight of the future. For example: the current hunt for AI talent almost at the same time where all the big tech laid of thousands.

Finding Balance: Embracing Complexity

Although cloud seeding has for me the same feeling as flying a kite in a thunderstorm. I like to use the term to demonstrate on what you need to do, to create and foster a culture. Innovation requires intentional efforts. You cannot change the culture by planning it on Tuesday at 3:00 AM. You need to spark creativity and foster a culture of experimentation. Similar to how cloud seeding aims to create favorable conditions for rain, we must create an environment where ideas can flourish and innovation can thrive. And that begins with trust, but that is whole other series of posts.

Perhaps we can create such a rich and robust culture that sudden big strategy changes are not necessary. Parts of the organisation where already doing Gen AI, so pivoting towards the newest buzzword is easier. Okay that one is a bit farfetched. But being more resilient as a company, experimenting and evolving requires great leadership. And not just growth numbers, or shareholder attention.

Like the uncertainties surrounding cloud seeding’s effectiveness (let alone the environmental impact), outcomes of innovation initiatives are unpredictable. Yet we can learn and adapt our innovation strategies based on feedback and shared insights.

So, let us not merely herd cats but scatter our knowledge, cloud seeding our environments and cultivate a culture of adaptability and innovation for our own benefit.