Before submitting this article I just peeked on wikipedia, to see whether there was really something new to add on this issues.

And there is. By thinking about personal productivity.

The Not Invented Here “syndrome” – which is a bit of a harsh denomination, is about a cultural effect in organizations where people do not investigate before building something new. So they come up with solutions that have been around for some times and at other places.

Or do we favor own production, because that is what we have always learnt: To produce. If you put it that way, it is much less to do with culture but more to do with the characteristics of your business. Of any business. And nothing to do with a syndrome.

First it is not always important to build something in order to solve a problem. Especially in IT departments, building (software) is a common solution. But it could also be the case that you destroy an artifact to solve a problem. If you are not happy with time registration, just throw it overboard. You can also solve a problem by doing nothing. Not spectacular, but many problems get solved that way.

There was the old economy.

The culture that we have been carrying with us is one of “producing”. First agriculture, than industrial production, and now production is relatively “less important” only recently we talk about … services, information and networking.

Characteristics of new companies differ quite a lot from the old ones. This trend will continue. Personal productivity will shift slowly into a new direction, after which the problem of “Not Invented Here” also will be solved. If you want to manage this process more accurately, you should address this personal productivity aspect.

© 2005 Hans Bool

Hans Bool is the founder of Astor White a traditional management consulting company that offers online management advice. Astor Online solves issues in hours what normally would take days. You can apply for a free demo account.

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