When you have seen one city, you have seen one city.
This phrase is said to consultants and service providers again and again and again.
It means that every city is different.
Because every city is different, you cannot take a service from one city, replicate it in another city and expect it to work the same.
Except you can.
Every city is different. Yet, every city is the same.
While reading Atlas of the Heart by Brene Brown last year, I learned about the idea of “Terminal Uniqueness.” It’s also known as “personal exceptionalism.”
Terminal uniqueness is the false belief that you and your experience are unlike anyone else.
That you have somehow moved through the world unable to connect shared experiences with others.
It is a term used in recovery programs to describe an addict’s experience with their addiction – how no one is the same or has experienced the same things.
Where, here is the thing. Someone, somewhere, somehow has experienced the same thing as you.
It doesn’t matter if you are recruiting in Denver, Boise or Miami. It doesn’t matter if you are recruiting for government, hotels, or hospitals.
The recruiting process is similar. Permits, purchasing, health records…all similar.
But as employees we like to demonstrate it is different here. We say things like, “this is DC, it is so political or, this is Miami, it is so political. Or my favorite of all time, “you wouldn’t understand you are from Denver…you all are different.”
When we do this, we are creating our exceptionalism and uniqueness when we can learn from each other and recognize each other.
A town hall is a town hall. A permit is a permit. Payroll is payroll.
Each time we refuse to learn from others we create new variables in our process. We create new roadblocks in our bureaucracy because we try to serve everyone uniquely.
Creating new slightly different things or services for everyone creates massive amounts of rework and overwork for the team.
However, restaurants have this down to a science.
You can order what they have on the menu and they will make it to your liking. (Or not all…but stay with me here)
Instead of trying to be unique, maybe reduce the menu of options and learn from your neighbors.
They may have some advice or even let you use their systems. Their experiences and shared suffering is a great way for you to create powerful relationships.
But at the end of the day you are still eating cake. Your cake may just be gluten free.
Want to learn more about how you can help innovate your workplace? Drop me a line here.