Fallacy of the Dominant Dimension
By Peter Drucker, refers to the over reliance on one method or approach, at the cost of other equally relevant aspects:
These dimensions of working—the physiological, the psychological, the social, the economic, and the power dimension—are separate. Each can—and, indeed, should—be analyzed separately and independently. But they always exist together in the worker’s relationship to work and job, fellow workers and management.
They have to be managed together. Yet they do not pull in the same direction. The demands of one dimension are quite different from those of another. The basic fallacy of our traditional approaches to working has been to proclaim one of these dimension to be the dimension.
Application to LPO
Frankl used his dimensional ontology framework to illustrate the importance of meaning. But in this article, we will focus on more mundane applications.
Let’s consider two basic questions:
- How do I become more effective at leadership (or any domain)?
- How can my team/organization be more effective?
For the person with a hammer, everything is a nail to be hammered (ref). Similarly, the answers to our questions will depend on which “expert” we ask. This sounds obvious, but we mostly forget this basic fact.
- For the question on leadership it can be: mental models, mindfulness, emotional intelligence, meditation, habits, time management, authenticity, transformational leadership, and so on.
- On the second question of teams and organizations it can be: corporate reengineering, restructuring, value stream mapping, lean methodologies, agile frameworks, OKRs, MBOs, or TQM, amongst many others.
Notice how many of these have overlaps, and often lead to similar solutions — it’s “isomorphism” and “inconsistencies” in play.
There’s always a fad that’s in vogue, and we keep falling for them. Why? Fads become that way for a reason — at some level they work well, until they don’t. The underlying promise is always the same — “we’ve figured it out, so you don’t have to”. Of course, real life application turns out to be anything but.
So, just as Wall St. pushes the latest mutual fund promising easy riches, the leadership industry pushes the latest fad promising to change organizations overnight. Same for the personal development space.
The trick is to recognize that almost always, no one person or approach has all the answer or the silver bullet. Treating them that way, is a sure fire way of being disappointed, or worse, causing regression instead of progress.
Understanding and adjusting for this proactivity ensures that we look for the parts that actually work for us. More importantly, it means paying attention to the nuances and unique challenges of our own experience, and building on them.
We are essentially “dropping our tools” to see things fresh and differently. Instead of relying solely on some expert, we learn what works, and build our own system.
Quote - For a person with a hammer, everything is a nail
Just think of the maxim that when you have a hammer, the entire world turns into things that need to be nailed. Take that one step further. If you drop your hammer, then the world is no longer a world of mere nails. by Karl Weick
source: Viktor Frankl’s Laws of Dimensional Ontology and The Fallacy of the Dominant Dimension source: 1. Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices by Peter Drucker