Redefining the Fringe

The fringe elements of our society can be identified with characteristics that are on the tails of just about every bell shaped distribution curve. We make assumptions either consciously or subconsciously that we are the “normal” case and people not like us are measured according to where we think we lie on that curve. We get excited about new ideas that always seem to spring from somewhere along the fringes. We sometimes are terrified by unknown adventures offered by the fringe. We know who they are, we know some of them are good, and we know some of them are bad, but our definition is sometimes skewed by our own perspective. That is what keeps most of us from being on the fringe and creating change.

Change is inevitable. Even mature businesses that have become the standard in stability must change because the environment in which it exists is constantly changing. Winston Churchill said, “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” The alternative to change is to shrug off improvement and suffer the risk of paralysis, stagnancy, and ultimately being seen as irrelevant. Business cannot be irrelevant and survive. Business leaders need to look to the fringes of normalcy and redefine a course of action that will chart the best course toward improvement… meaning a need to embrace change. Change happens in two ways: By evolution and by revolution.

Evolutionary change does not mean waiting for something to happen. Waiting is a decision to do nothing. Finding the progressive change agents and redefining them to be the new fringe helps to cause movement away from centrism by taking it one baby step at a time. This may be the only way to insure that the end results are met without costly mistakes. Psychologically, short spurts of deviation from the status quo are much more palatable by the general employee population than demanding long strides that may put them out of their comfort zone. Evolving into a different way of doing things allows sufficient time for planning, determining the measures of success, and training all concerned to make it happen. It is also a better way to insure that midcourse corrections take place.

When the business climate becomes critical and immediate change is needed, revolutionary change happens as fringe elements disrupt normalcy by forcing a shorter turnaround cycle. This can never mean throwing caution to the wind and ignoring employee needs, but it can mean accelerating training to shave the steep slope of a normal learning curve. In a do-it-or-else situation, the only way to be saved is to redefine the fringe to be closer to the desired normalcy than would otherwise be comfortable to many. Selling the new norm to all concerned is vital to insure that nobody thinks that the old way is still an option. Bilateral feedback keeps the fringe honest and in sync with business needs.

In reality, the dynamics of change may incorporate both evolutionary and revolutionary changers at the same time. Redefining the fringe is a continuous process that keeps the projection of the new normal moving in a positive direction.

Exploring the Fringe

• The Definition of Fringe
• Value of the Fringe
• Danger of the Fringe
• Redefining Fringe (This article)
• Being the Fringe

 
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