“The Last Samurais” … What awaits the Black Belt community in the new world order?

The movie “The Last Samurai” painted a bittersweet view of how a new world order can affect players. The Samurais were depicted as the elite members of society with mastery of skills necessary to forcibly execute the will of their masters. In other words, they could solve problems too difficult for others. They demonstrated codes of conduct and applied discipline to their charge and responsibilities. They held the view that they were essential to keep societal order and their world in harmony.

The world changed, and change came quickly—so quickly that the advantages Samurais held diminished in relevance, and they could not compete. Their long held and historically powerful traditions, paradigms and values around control and specific tools created a rigidity that was incapable of changing in time. What appeared as agility to their “data supported” world only reinforced their faith that they would persevere. In fact, when change scaled up, many went out on their own, contracting with multiple masters, becoming the Ronin.

Today, we are in the midst of a sea change—perhaps a tsunami. We find that the viability, productivity, and importance of our Performance Improvement Samurais, our Black Belts and Masters, are challenged. Reading commentaries from our Samurais, we find that some need to “blame” poor leadership, bad data, or the business “not getting it.”

What lies ahead when the emerging new business world takes a hard look ahead and chooses who they will need to succeed?