COMMENTARY: Organizations Are Made of People

In the dystopian 1970s film, “Soylent Green,” [spoiler alert] soylent green is a food product that is distributed by the evil corporation that runs the United States. Charlton Heston plays a detective who learns the truth about the food product: It’s made of people! That’s right: The only food product left on a dying planet is people.

Now dear reader, you are thinking, “What strange track is Cecilia going down THIS time?” A fair question since (1) Soylent Green is definitely not a holiday film and (2) I hate dystopian literature. (On a side note: My husband and I often joke about writing a film book called “Charlton Heston and the Cynical 70s” since he starred in Soylent Green, Planet of the Apes, and The Omega Man which is pretty much the trifecta of despair.)

I’m going to stretch my metaphor here so bear with me. Like soylent green, organizations are made of people, yet instead of trying to help each other we tend to “eat each other alive” so to speak by being dismissive, unsupportive, and downright mean sometimes. Think of any toxic coworker or boss you ever had and you see what I mean.

Rather than celebrating each other’s uniqueness, accomplishments, and contributions, we tend to diminish those who don’t agree with us. This leads to group think, oppression, and the quashing of ideas. A lack of recognition of accomplishments discourages innovation and creativity, leading to a dying organization.

Another downside of organizations not realizing they are made of people is that we tend to overlook the importance of investing in our people. For example, mentoring programs (or whatever you call your program where individuals connect to share knowledge and experience) are incredibly valuable, to the point where you can’t put a value amount on it. It is literally priceless. Yet many people say it is too expensive, too time intensive, and this one always gets me: Too Hard.

Yes, doing something well takes time, energy, and commitment. That is the formula for success. However, when it comes to people, we seem to look for the quick fix or the easy way. Cut the education budget. Don’t create a mentoring program (even if your members ask for one) because it’s “too too.” Why won’t the chapters just do what they are told? Ignore those who have different ideas (that’s the way we’ve always done it). Recognize the status quo. Ostracize the different thinkers. Go along to get along. That’s the way the world is.

Could it be the world is the way it is because we made it that way?

During the winter holiday season, I will reflect on my contributions to the world. I will ask myself if I am making it a better place and assess how I can be a better member of the human society. We can’t change the world, but we can change the place where our two feet are planted. And that starts with each of us.