Understanding the System

I have been reading some very interesting books lately, and one thing I continue to discover is that good ideas do not necessarily have an expiration date.

Right now, I am working my way through The Essential Deming, a collection of the ideas and teachings of W. Edwards Deming. Deming's work has had an enormous influence on modern thinking about management, quality, leadership, and organizational systems. One of his central ideas is especially important to me as a leader: if you want better results, you cannot simply keep telling people to work harder. You have to examine the system in which they are working.

That alone can change the way you lead.

But another book I recently read took me in a completely different direction.

It is called The Power Elite, written by sociologist C. Wright Mills and originally published in 1956.

Yes, 1956.

And surprisingly, there are ideas in this nearly 70-year-old book that can still make you think about how organizations, careers, relationships, and opportunities work today.

Mills focused primarily on the relationship between major political, corporate, and military institutions in America. Some people have taken portions of the book and stretched them into conspiracy theories. I don't think you have to go anywhere near that territory to get something useful from it.

For me, the more valuable question is simple:

What can I learn from it?

One of the strongest lessons is that power is not always connected to the person with the biggest title or the person receiving the most attention. Influence can come from controlling resources, information, relationships, access, or decision-making authority.

That is an important career lesson.

Sometimes we spend so much time studying an organizational chart that we forget to study the organization.

Who actually makes decisions?

Who has earned the trust of leadership?

Who seems to know what is happening before everyone else?

Who gets invited into conversations where important decisions are being discussed?

That does not require conspiracy thinking. It requires observation.

Another valuable lesson from The Power Elite is the importance of relationships and networks.

Mills wrote about powerful people frequently moving through similar institutions and professional circles. Today, we might simply call a portion of that networking or social capital.

Relationships matter.

That does not mean using people. It means understanding that very few successful careers are built completely alone.

Someone recommends you.

Someone introduces you.

Someone gives you advice.

Someone tells you about an opportunity.

Someone trusts you enough to put your name in a room you have not entered yet.

That is why I believe professionals should intentionally expand their environments.

Join professional organizations. Attend industry events. Meet people outside your department. Find mentors. Stay connected with people you respect. Develop relationships with people who think differently from you.

And most importantly, bring value to those relationships.

Networking should never simply be, "What can this person do for me?"

A better question is, "How can we help each other grow?"

The book also reminds us to pay attention to institutions, not just personalities.

Businesses, governments, universities, associations, boards, financial institutions, professional organizations, and other large systems can shape opportunities and outcomes.

Understanding how those systems operate can make you much more strategic.

That is where I see an interesting connection between Mills and Deming.

Deming teaches us to understand systems so that we can improve them.

Mills encourages us to understand systems so that we can better understand how influence operates within them.

Different subjects. Different purposes. But there is a common lesson:

Pay attention to the system.

If you are working hard but constantly frustrated about your progress, do not automatically conclude that someone is trying to stop you.

Study your environment.

Maybe you need additional skills.

Maybe you need greater visibility.

Maybe more people need to understand the value you bring.

Maybe you need stronger professional relationships.

Maybe you need a mentor.

Maybe you need to participate in organizations outside your normal circle.

Maybe you simply need to understand how decisions are made.

Hard work absolutely matters, but hard work combined with knowledge, relationships, credibility, visibility, and strategic thinking can be much more powerful.

That is the positive lesson I took from The Power Elite.

I don't walk away thinking, "The system is against me."

I walk away thinking, "I need to understand how systems work."

Once you understand the environment, you can position yourself more intelligently within it.

You can become more intentional about your relationships.

You can protect your reputation.

You can develop expertise.

You can become someone people trust.

You can get into rooms where you can contribute.

And eventually, you may become the person who opens the door for somebody else.

There is another lesson here too.

Read.

Not just books written this year.

Read old books. Read books you disagree with. Read management books, biographies, history, psychology, sociology, business, and leadership books.

You do not have to agree with everything an author writes to learn something from them.

Sometimes 25 percent of a book may change the way you think about something for the rest of your life.

Take what is useful. Examine what is questionable. Research what you don't understand. Think critically about all of it.

That is part of becoming a lifelong learner.

And before you ask, no, there is not a Netflix documentary about everything.

Sometimes you just have to read the book.