Expanding the Enterprise Through Conformity

con·form Adapt, accommodate. Comply with rules, standards or laws. Behave according to socially acceptable conventions or standards. Be similar in form or type.

in·di·vid·u·al Of or relating to an individual, especially a single human. By or for one person. Existing as a distinct entity.

If you have ever been to a concert, you've noticed them. If you attend major sporting events, it’s evident. You have seen many of them. In school we called them cliques. Each member attempts to be different while acting the same.

Every society honors its live conformists and its dead troublemakers. Mignon McLaughlin

They have a deeper understanding of each other, an almost unspoken confidence. To the untrained eye, they may all have had a sip of the Kool-Aid but they will tell you they think freely on their own.

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority,
it is time to pause and reflect. Mark Twain

Their iPad was a sound choice made void of any peer influence which is evident in their lack of need to tell everyone on the planet about their purchase. The navy suit with crisp white shirt and steel blue tie was simply a gut call. The tattoo and pocket shorts had nothing to do with establishing an accepted image by others.

When you don't control your mind, someone else will.
John Alliston

I had a conversation recently with a great friend who said, “that doesn’t fit the culture here” and my lunch almost made a return visit. Culture is not a sentence in the annual report. Be like him and her and you'll do just fine. Step out and we may have a problem.

Do you ever push conformity aside to share a great idea?

Kneale Mann

image credit: oracle | original post: Dec 2010

Conformity and Individuality

con·form adapt, accommodate, comply, fit. Comply with rules, standards or laws. Behave according to socially acceptable conventions or standards. Be similar in form or type. 
in·di·vid·u·al Of or relating to an individual, especially a single human. By or for one person. Existing as a distinct entity.

If you have ever been to a concert, you've noticed them. If you attend major sporting events, it’s evident. You have seen many of them. In school we called them cliques. Each member attempts to be different while acting the same.

Every society honors its live conformists and its dead troublemakers. Mignon McLaughlin

They have a deeper understanding of each other, an almost unspoken confidence. To the untrained eye, they may all have had a sip of the Kool-Aid but they will tell you they think freely on their own.

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, 
it is time to pause and reflect. Mark Twain

Their iPad was a sound choice made void of any peer influence which is evident in their lack of need to tell everyone on the planet about their purchase. The navy suit with crisp white shirt and steel blue tie was simply a gut call. The tattoo and pocket shorts had nothing to do with establishing an accepted image by others.

When you don't control your mind, someone else will. 
John Alliston

I had a conversation recently with a great friend who said, “that doesn’t fit the culture here” and my lunch almost made a return visit. Culture is not a sentence in the annual report. Be like him and her and you'll do just fine. Step out and we may have a problem.

Do you ever push conformity aside to share a great idea?

knealemann | email


image credit: google images 

UX BizPlan Vending Co.

The vending machine is marvel of retro technology which thrives in our digital hi-tech portable world. Not only can you order items on your cell phone, you can now buy a cell phone from a vending machine!

But let's stick with food for a moment.

Will you hover over your selection just that extra half second to insure you don’t accidentally get black licorice when you wanted cheese doodles?

Dinner In A Bag


It can be stressful when you made the decision to work late and replace dinner with a few handfuls of deep fried potato slices.

Snack food is a multi-billion dollar worldwide industry. There are companies making money hand over chips as we toil late in to the wee hours searching for sustenance.

Conformity and Choice
How can we learn from the vending machine while running a business?

Some say if we are left with too much choice, we make none at all. But if we think we are too restricted, then we are unhappy with the choices presented to us.

User experience must be – by definition – designed for the user. We customize our phone backgrounds and voicemail, we can modify our computer color schemes, choose from the long menu of options for our car and fashion is an individual choice.

Why do we conform in the workplace?

Could it be beneficial to examine the tastes and desires of each member of the team? Is it possible to find a more co-creative workspace by incorporating the choices made by each person involved?

If we all liked the same things, shirts would only be available in blue and the parking lot would be filled with the same make and model of car.

No Rules. No Conclusions.

This is not to suggest you create an atmosphere where everyone chooses and no one makes decisions - that's just as unproductive as a benevolent dictatorship.

If you work with clients or run a business, give some thought to the abundance of knowledge and experience of everyone involved. You may find some surprises along the way and not blindly feed them black licorice when they’d prefer cheese doodles.

What's your selection?

@knealemann
Helping you create your best business
marketing and social media strategy.

image credit: askdavetaylor.com