Gordon tells a awesome story about two boys who pretend to be sick to get out of attending Church. They soon get board, and come up with a little game. First they draw a line with chalk in front of their house. Then, they go and grab a chicken from the chicken coop and push its beak down to the line... after about a minute the chicken is released... but it will not remove its beak from the line... it is paralyzed.Well... they repeat this process for the rest of the 70 chickens in the coop... and the boys are so delighted with their efforts that they fail to notice their parents returning, with the preacher following.... obviously they get into great trouble....
But here is the real point:
The same thing that happened to those chickens can happen to you. When you join an organization, you are, without fail, taken by the back of the neck and pushed down and down until your beak is on the line --not a chalk line, but a company line. And the company line says things like:
"This is our history.
This is our philosophy.
These are our policies.
These are our procedures.
This is simply the way we are."
If you are not careful you will be hypnotized by the line. And what a pity if this happens. (MacKenzie pg. 51-53)
This is maybe the point where this book went from cute, to a little profound in my eyes. I have experienced the equivalent of the "Chicken moment" in nearly every social, vocational, educational, and religious organization I have ever been a part of.
Usually I get in trouble because I find the moment a great time to share why the line is misplaced, and then waste a lot of time trying to negotiate about moving the line, or changing the lines.
I just have never been good at staying in the lines...
MacKenzie goes on to say:
"There has never been anyone quite like you, and there never will be. Consequently, you can contribute something to the endeavor that nobody else can. There is a power in your uniqueness-- an inexplicable, unmeasurable power... a MAGIC"
That sounds almost like this
"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
~Ephesians 2:10
This chapters most excellent point is simple... don't allow yourself to be hypnotized by the company LINE. It will rob both them and you of your best creative and innovative ideas.... ideas that come from your unique background, perspective, and personality.
(The Chickens which I borrowed from google images were not harmed in the writing of this post.)
