Transcript
Welcome to Iconoclast Insights – the podcast for people who prefer thinking to following.
I'm André Daus, and today we're diving into something that sounds like common sense but is rarely spoken out loud in corporate corridors: What we call "right" is often just what feels comfortable because we've always done it that way.
And here's the kicker: "wrong" is usually just anything that breaks the pattern. Not anything that actually fails to work.
So buckle up. Today we're questioning the holy grail of organizational life: the assumption that following the rules equals doing the right thing.
The Beautiful Lie of "Right"
Recently, I stumbled across this statement that stopped me in my tracks:
"Wrong is wrong, even if everyone does it. Right is right, even if only you do it."
Sounds powerful, doesn't it? Like something you'd put on your LinkedIn profile. Very principled. Very moral. The kind of thing that makes you feel like you have backbone. By the way, if any of you listening know the author of this quote, please drop me a line. I was desperately seeking the source but was unable to find them.
But, anyway, in reality, that quote rarely sounds that noble.
In reality, it sounds more like this:
"That's just how we do things here." "It's company policy." "This approach has proven itself."
Or my personal favorite: "Someone with sense and intelligence designed this process."
Yeah. Someone. Somewhere. Usually an external consultant who spent three weeks in your building and left behind a 200-slide PowerPoint deck that nobody reads but everyone follows.
And suddenly that becomes "right."
Not because it works. But because it's system-compliant.
Here's what nobody wants to admit: Most of what we call "right" in organizations isn't about effectiveness. It's about conformity. It's about not having to think. It's about covering your ass when things go sideways.
My Report Was Wrong – But Required
Let me tell you about my own descent into this madness.
For months, I had to create a monthly report for an international headquarters. The template was globally standardized – one size fits all, from Tokyo to Toledo. And we had to deliver exactly what was requested.
(Here is a small remark: While I actually was in that situation, I made up the city names, so you cannot guess the clients name. But if anyone from that client listens to this episode, they will definitely know whom I am talking about.)
OK. Back to the story: Problem was, we didn't have half the data they wanted.
But did that stop us? Of course not.
We estimated. We extrapolated. We performed mathematical gymnastics that would make a circus performer dizzy. We approached those numbers like ancient Greeks consulting the Oracle at Delphi – with lots of creative interpretation and the fervent hope that nobody would look too closely.
And here's the insane part: Everyone knew it was garbage.
The people creating it knew it was garbage. The people receiving it probably knew it was garbage. But nobody said anything.
Because the report was "right."
The system demanded it, so it must be correct. The process required it, so it must be necessary. The template existed, so it must be filled out.
Never mind that it consumed hours of productive time every month to produce fiction that masqueraded as data.
When "Right" Actually Means "Routine"
And this is the real problem we're dealing with here.
In most organizations, "right" has been quietly redefined. It no longer means "this makes sense" or "this produces results."
It means: "This is in the procedure manual." "This is how we've always done it." "This is standardized across all departments."
And most importantly: "I'm not responsible for the outcome – I'm just following the rules."
This isn't individual failure. This is systematic thinking abdication.
We've created environments where following process matters more than achieving purpose. Where compliance trumps competence. (Haha, „trumps competence“ - no pun intended intended.) Where being predictably wrong is safer than being unpredictably right.
And we call this professionalism.
The Uncomfortable Truth About Your "Right"
So - as always - let me ask you something uncomfortable.
Right now, as you're listening to this, there's probably something you do regularly at work that you know – deep down – doesn't make sense. Something that exists because it's always existed. Something that survives because questioning it would be inconvenient.
Maybe it's a meeting that could be an email. Maybe it's a report that nobody reads. Maybe it's a approval process that adds six weeks to a decision that should take six minutes.
You know it's inefficient. You know it wastes time. You might even know it actively harms the outcome you're trying to achieve.
But you do it anyway.
Because it's "right."
Here's what I want you to consider: What if your "right" is actually wrong? What if the thing you've been trained to see as correct is actually the problem?
What if the reason your projects take too long, your meetings accomplish nothing, and your team feels frustrated isn't because people aren't following the process – but because the process itself is broken?
The Questions Nobody Wants to Answer
I'm not going to give you a step-by-step guide to fix this. That would be just another process to follow blindly.
Instead, I want to leave you with questions. Questions you probably can't answer immediately. Questions that might make you uncomfortable. Questions that could change how you see your work.
What do you do simply because "that's how it's done"?
If nobody was watching, if no one would check up on you, would you still do that task the same way?
What part of your job feels simultaneously right and wrong at the same time?
Where are you part of a system that has replaced sense with conformity?
When was the last time you asked "why" instead of just "how"?
And here's the big one: What would you do differently if you had to justify every action based on its actual results rather than its adherence to rules?
Quite simple, right? - but not easy!
The Courage to Disappoint the System
Now, I'm not advocating for chaos. I'm not suggesting you ignore every rule and become some kind of corporate anarchist.
But I am suggesting something much more dangerous: Think.
Ask questions. Understand the purpose behind the process. Distinguish between what works and what's merely written down.
Sometimes "wrong" is only wrong because someone in a conference room decided it was. And sometimes "right" is only right because nobody had the courage to change it.
The question isn't: What's allowed? What's prescribed? What's been approved by three committees and signed off by management?
The question is: What works? What helps? What actually moves the needle for real people dealing with real problems?
The Price of Being Right
Here's the uncomfortable truth: Doing the right thing – the actually right thing, not the procedurally right thing – often comes with a cost.
You might be seen as difficult. You might be labeled as "not a team player." You might face the organizational antibodies that exist to eliminate anything that threatens the comfortable status quo.
People who question systems rarely get employee of the month awards.
But here's what they do get: They get to sleep at night knowing they're not part of the problem. They get to look at themselves in the mirror without seeing someone who checked out mentally and decided to coast on autopilot.
They get to be part of the solution instead of part of the machinery that perpetuates the problem.
The Rebellion of Common Sense
I don't have romantic notions about "changing the system from within." Most systems are remarkably resilient to change, especially when that change threatens comfort and predictability.
But I believe in something simpler and more powerful: The quiet rebellion of common sense.
The person who says, "I know this is the process, but it doesn't make sense."
The person who asks, "What problem is this actually solving?"
The person who points out that the emperor has no clothes – even when everyone else is complimenting his wardrobe.
These people don't wait for applause. They know that doing the right thing can be risky. But they also know that continuing to do the wrong thing – just because everyone else is doing it – is even riskier.
Closing Thoughts
So here's my challenge for you: Next time you catch yourself doing something that feels "right" according to the rules but wrong according to reality, pause.
Ask yourself: Am I doing this because it works, or because it's what's expected?
Am I solving a problem, or am I just following a template?
Am I thinking, or am I just complying?
The answers might surprise you. They might even change how you approach your work.
And if you're really brave, you might discover that "right" isn't about following the manual. It's about having the courage to close the manual when it stops making sense.
Thanks for joining me for this episode of Iconoclast Insights.
If you're working on something that feels right-wrong or wrong-right, take this episode as permission to question it. To think about it. To maybe even change it.
And if you do, I'd love to hear about it. Because maybe you're not alone in seeing the problem. Maybe you're just the first one brave enough to say it out loud.
Until next time, remember: The truth doesn't need everyone to believe it. It just needs someone willing to speak it.
Keep thinking. Keep questioning. Keep being the person who asks "why" in a world of people who only ask "how."
This has been Iconoclast Insights. I'm André Daus, and I'll see you next time.
