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BruceHolland

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Wizards

People call me the "Workplace Wizard." To start with I was a little uneasy about this description; however, it does describe what I do according to my main archetype (Wizard) and a classification by Seth Godin in Survival is Not Enough.

Archetype

Wizard or Magician:

• Goal: Transformation of lesser into better realities.
• Response to problem: Transform or heal it.
• Task: Alignment of Self with the cosmos.
• Gift: Personal power.

Seth Godin

Seth Godin, in Survival is Not Enough, identifies four types of people in most organisations: Serfs, Farmers, Hunters, and Wizards.

1. Serfs do what they're told. Note: Serf is not a pejorative term. It is merely a description of the worker's role in the company.
2. Farmers work within the bounds of a winning strategy.
3. Hunters work a winning strategy but expand it in ways that had not occurred to management.
4. Wizards introduce significant mutations into systems, creating opportunities for entirely new winning strategies.

To move closer to the edge, organisations must try to transform lots of serfs into farmers and obtain more hunters and wizards. We need to transform serfs because serfs are used to the status quo, too many are a major impediment to change and slow down your business.

Wizards are unreasonable, they argue, they think differently, they may not be easy to work with and manage. Most wizards that somehow find themselves in large mature organisations don't stay very long. But, if you are serious about moving closer to the edge of order, never let an inventive wizard go. You will not move closer to the edge of order without at least a few.