PARKINSON'S LAW IN MASONRY
by W:.Tim Bryce, PM, MPS
timb001@phmainstreet.com
Palm Harbor, Florida, USA
"A Foot Soldier for Freemasonry"
"You get out of it what you put into it."
- Anonymous
"There is nothing more unproductive than to build something efficiently
that should not have been built at all."
- Bryce's Law
"Parkinson's Law" was devised by C. Northcote Parkinson, noted British historian
and author. His original book, "Parkinson's Law: The Pursuit of Progress," was
introduced in 1958 and was a top-selling management book for a number of years
(it is still sold today). The book was based on his experience with the British
Civil Service. Among his key observation's was that "Work expands so as to fill
the time available for its completion." Basically, he suggested people make work
in order to rationalize their employment. Consequently, managers create bureaucracies
and superfluous work to justify their existence, not because it is really needed
(aka, the "making mountains out of mole hills" phenomenon). As an aside, CEO's
clearly understood Parkinson's Law, which became the driving force behind the
flattening of corporations during the 1990's.
We see this same phenomenon occurring in Freemasonry, particularly in our Stated
Communications and in the general operation of the fraternity. For example, in
a Stated meeting we invent routines to fill the time. This becomes somewhat habit
forming and we continue to say the same tired things over and over again, thereby
putting the Craft to sleep. Administratively, we manage membership records and
finances using techniques from a bygone era. Our rationale for doing so is
typically, "That's the way it has always been done." Is it possible that Freemasons
can no longer innovate? Let's hope not.
In my consulting practice, I preach a simple concept, "Productivity =
Effectiveness X Efficiency." Whereas efficiency addresses the speed and accuracy
by which we perform a task, effectiveness addresses the necessity of the task
itself. Here's another way of thinking of it: Effectiveness asks "Are we doing the
right things?" and Efficiency asks "Are we doing things right?" Let me give
you an example; on an assembly line, we may elect to use industrial robots to
perform a weld (which is a very "efficient" means for performing the task), but
if we are performing the weld at the wrong place or at the wrong time
("effectiveness") it is certainly counterproductive.
In Freemasonry, there is little emphasis on effectiveness or efficiency, just
Parkinson's Law. To illustrate, our degree work, lectures, and charges are certainly
important, but are there better ways to teach these lessons? After you have gone
through a degree, your mind is full of thoughts and ideas in terms of what you have
just experienced. You then have to sit through a lecture and charge which teaches
some important lessons. Unfortunately, you tend to be overwhelmed by the amount of
content and do not really absorb the concepts and principles (I call this "buffer
overload"). A few years ago the Grand Lodge of Ohio put their lectures on a DVD
which I thought was a rather imaginative way of conveying the information in a
professional manner. Masonic purists have a problem with this and prefer the
tradition method of lecturing. I ask what is more important: the message or
how it is presented? To me, it's the message. Maybe a DVD is a good way of
presenting the material and maybe it's not, but it shows some initiative in
terms of presenting the material in an effective and efficient manner.
Administratively, Lodges have been using paper logs and journals for a number
of years. True, many Lodges have started to use the computer to help in this
regard, but there are still many more Lodges using manual methods to handle
these tasks simply because, "That's the way it has always been done."
I am certainly not suggesting we turn Freemasonry on its ear in terms of how
we implement it, but I would suggest we routinely challenge the status quo
in order to make progress (which doesn't exactly endear me to traditionalist
Masons). Nonetheless, I encourage all of us to reexamine the "effectiveness" and
"efficiency" issues. In many cases, we have been doing things wrong so long,
we think it is right. Instead, I ask "Are we really doing the right things?" and
"Are we really doing things right?"
Keep the Faith.
NOTE: The opinions expressed in this essay are my own and do not
necessarily represent the views or opinions of any Grand Masonic jurisdiction
or any other Masonic related body. As with all of my Masonic articles herein,
please feel free to reuse them in Masonic publications or re-post them on Masonic
web sites (except Florida). When doing so, please add the following:
Article reprinted with permission of the author and www.FreemasonInformation.com
Please forward me a copy of the publication when it is produced.
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Copyright © 2007 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
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