Unintended Outcomes Far Greater Than The Intended...

Unintended consequences fire intended consequences. For example, the productivity movement in the United States was facing resistance with the Unions until globalization realities forced them into it. At times, intended outcomes fire unintended consequences. For example, an Ad campaign for an educational NGO Parikrma, was sponsored by Nilgiris. The high quality of the ads over a long period of time made teachers want to work for Parikrma! So a call for donors(intended consequence) manifested as a call for teachers (unintended consequence).

You need to train your mind to look for the unintended. People are often shocked by the unintended. You need to expect the unintended to be greater than the intended and look for it. Look at the positive and not the negatives, and harness the positive. What is fascinating is the quick way you respond to the unintended consequence.

Business is still dominated by assembly-line thinking - here's your title, here's your role, you play in your little box and we''ll tell you what to do. Social media shifts the paradigm, allowing employees to innovate, to re-engineer, to just make things work. Achieving these advantages needs a certain loss of control, and in a conservative risk-averse environment, ceding control is a difficult thing to do. It is wise not to discard an unintended benefit because it never fit into an original plan!

- Dennis Encarnation for Management Next