5 a An age of ambiguity It used to be so simple: managers managed, workers worked. Thinking and doing were separate. People may not have liked it, but at least they knew where they were. Now, no one knows where they stand. We work in a high commitment but family-friendly environment. Passion is in, but loyalty is out. We have gigabytes of data, but no useful information. Organizations are flat, but we are matrixed to two bosses where the old hierarchy gave us just one. We are meant to be empowered, but we have more reporting than ever. We are meant to be entrepreneurial, but are not meant to fail. It's not even clear what we are meant to wear. Conformity of the suit has been replaced by confusion of choice. The gurus have all the answers, but all the answers are different. No one knows the problem. For the brave, ambiguity is great. It creates opportunities to ignore the rules, break the rules, change the rules as it suits. The brave enjoy career acceleration: they succeed fast or fail fast. For the rest of us, we are left searching for the few rocks of certainty and stability that we can call our own as the revolution gathers around us. This book is a survival guide to the revolution. Agreement and argument Agreement is easy, and dangerous. Excessive agreement is positively unhealthy. Human nature dislikes conflict. Managers often pretend to agree even when they disagree. Agreement is safe, disagreement is dangerous. The disagreement only becomes apparent after the meeting when people are chatting around the coffee machine. This is the wrong time to start the disagreement. Excessive agreement is dangerous because: It rarely represents the best solution. When everyone agrees without discussion, this normally shows deference to the hierarchy or lack of interest, rather than enthusiastic support.