‘And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music’.
Friedrich Nietzsche’s quote is a great reminder. The advanced mind, the individual a bit ahead of the game, the team challenging the default position, the company pushing for the unconventional, they all are singing something that perhaps others cannot hear. Or cannot hear yet.
In the famous 1997 Apple add ‘Think Different’, a list of people are quoted: ‘the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers (…) the ones who see things differently’. I agree that we need those minds, but we also need a company environment that can host these ‘rebels’. Above all, we need leaders that can hear.
I have written a few times about my misgivings about ‘the rebels for the sake of it’, or the promotion of the ‘rebel’ category as a major player in ‘change management’. This is all very well, but I am more interested in the creation of environments where the ones who can dance can actually dance, and where leaders are not deaf and can actually hear a different music.
Every time you or your team are about to declare some idea or initiative as ‘insane’, double check your hearing. Perhaps you can’t hear that music. The problem may be you, not those dancing.
‘And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music’. A great quote by Nietzsche, which actually Nietzsche never said. It has been quoted million times. We have heard him saying it. But he never did. You see, still hearing problems.