Can a small ripple create a tsunami?

In many companies, trying to do our best (even not according to plan) is ingrained in the culture. We reward these people that stepped up from their comfortable chair and did something extra to fix a broken situation. We tell their stories, we use them as examples, and we honor them.

Consider these two examples that we typically consider as very positive:

• The sales person who was able to convince a client to proceed in the sales process by promising something new and exciting
• The software engineer who added a really cool feature

I am not against creativity. On the contrary, I like to think outside the box and push into uncharted waters. In addition, it is difficult for me stick to the master plan once I see something better. Also remember that Israelis are "masters of improvisation". However, I wish to show you in this post the negative aspects of doing so because the impact of such negative is much higher than most of us imagine.

In a book that I am reading these days, there is a great example of such phenomenon.

In one of the chapters, the author describes a big division of Boeing called FOTV (flight operations, test & validation). The general manager of the division says that their culture is of people that are trying their best to save the day. He explained:

We are under immense pressure to test and validate new planes. Now, suppose a flight test went bad but it was not the plane's fault but rather the weather. The flight crew will try their best to go for another flight the same day which sounds reasonable to them (they wished to do their best to stick to schedule). The crew does not understand the impact on the maintenance team that should wait for them on the ground missing another task. They also fail to realize that the the fuel truck will not be available afterward since it needs to be somewhere else and hence the plane won't have fuel for tomorrow's flight. etc. etc. etc.

The analogy is that in a complex organization where many parts are interlinked, a small ripple starts to create many new ripples and they intensify each other until they form a tsunami.

Consider the "new cool feature" that the software engineer decided to add or that the sales person promised in order to try to save a deal. This new feature creates a small ripple in the development plan of the engineer, and

• it needs a new graphic user interface (GUI) which means that the UI designer to stop an existing task and come to help, and
• it needs a new interface with other programs affecting more engineers, and
• it needs a quality assurance test plan and testers time, and
• it messes with the help guide that was already printed out for all new customers, and
• it messes up the demo for the upcoming exhibition, and ...

You get the picture - not sticking to plan disorients an entire organization. the more complex the organization is, the more effect a small ripple has. But even for small companies the effect can be significant. For a startup company a delay of 2 months might mean "wrap your bag and close the doors, game's over"

So, what will you do about it? My guess is - business as usual (or maybe not)