Are you stuck in a paradigm paralysis?

As the dominating way of thinking and doing things ages, it can best be described as gradually losing its relevance. At one point or the other (when its relevance, usefulness or competitive advantage has been eroded), it is then replaced with a new generation of technology, or a new way of thinking resulting in a new S-curve. How does this work?

As a paradigm grows and matures, different alternatives—new ideas, technologies and ways of thinking—pop up. Some never spread or gain traction in relevant parts of society, but some do—even though they tend to be ridiculed at the outset by those representing the dom- inating paradigm. As Arthur Schopenhauer famously put it, “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as self-evident.” Hence, what is today evident was not so evident just a few decades ago and will not be so evident in another few decades from now.

Again, for an idea to evolve into a new paradigm, it needs to gain traction in relevant parts of society. And as the old pattern of thinking reaches maturity, it sooner or later starts to collapse. In parallel, however, isolated alternatives have slowly begun to arise and give way to the new ideas, practices and/or technologies that are evolving by those exploring and pioneering the future. This new curve develops slowly in the early beginnings, accelerates quickly, matures and, finally, stabilizes and comes to a flattening and decline of the curve, as it is again replaced by a new paradigm—i.e., new ideas, practices and/or technologies.

The process in which the dominant paradigm gives way to new paradigms to emerge and grow is simply called a paradigm shift, which is “an important change that happens when the usual way of thinking about or doing something is replaced by a new and different way”.

Paradigm paralysis can then best be described as being ‘stuck in the middle’ between the old thought pattern and the new one that is trying to emerge, especially when the new pattern is not completely clear yet.

What if this describes our current situation? The new is emerging, but we still seem to be stuck in the past view of ‘how things are done’. Let us imagine that we are evolving from a maturing and declining paradigm where the sole purpose of business is to create and maximise its short-term profits, into a new paradigm where long-term stakeholder value and more sustainable (and even regenerative) business practices seem to be the cornerstones of the new dominating thought system. In this development, a sense of being stuck in the middle — in paradigm paralysis — is, in my experience, what many business leaders currently experience as they stumble on the edge between the old paradigm and the emerging future (see the figure below).

Figure. The old and evolving business paradigms, and the paralysis that can appear in feeling stuck in the middle, with both new and old practices and mindsets co-existing at the same time. From Better Business Better Future, by Elisabet Lagerstedt (2022), p73

This is, of course, especially challenging for business leaders who have been “brought up” and fostered in the old paradigm and see a huge gap between the old and the new. The good news is that even those stumbling between the different paradigms have a lot to learn from those companies and business leaders who are already in the frontlines.

What about you? Do you feel stuck in business as usual? And what do you feel hinders you in adopting a new mindset and an updated set of practices?

Read more in Better Business Better Future, by Elisabet Lagerstedt, 2022, where all sources and references for this article are available in the endnotes.