The allure of the maverick

The allure of the maverick

I watched Ford vs Ferrari recently. I recognized the leader who realized their firm had no future. I recognized the polished corporate "yes" people. I recognized the corporate enforcer of old ideas and old mindsets.

In the midst of all that are two people who did not fit in. They shouldn't have been working with Ford. Yet they were necessary to break that stagnant thinking. A few times the characters would say things like "they are not Ford people" and "this is not the Ford way".

This is the allure of the maverick. They are not constrained by group think, orthodox or culture. Companies want the benefits of a startup while maintaining the status quo, and you can't. I have spoken to employees who are are slowly dying inside because they know what needs to happen but are afraid of the impact to their careers or job. I have seen executives who want innovation and new ideas but don't want to let go of control.

The allure of the maverick can be strong, but sometimes the corporate culture is stronger and becomes an environment where ideas and innovation die and eventually leads to the death of the corporation itself.

#maverick #cultureoftransformation #innovation #newideas