The Dutch town of Drachten reduced their deaths related to traffic accidents to zero after removed most of their traffic lights and traffic signs eight years ago. Intersections previously adorn with traffic lights and directional signs have been replaced with round-abouts (traffic circles). Residents claim that it’s much quicker and much easier to get around town and without all the stopping and starting and signs to adhere to drivers are now fully engaged and more aware.

What does this have to do with business? It’s simple really, THE MORE RULES TO ENFORCE, THE LESS PEOPLE THINK. It’s an automatic response. When we are forced to follow someone else’s rules, there is no reason to think about the best way to get something done. It becomes easier to simply follow the rules. We’ve all had that boss who gave us an assignment and then proceeded to tell us each and every step to getting it done. Generally, that kind of boss will get exactly what was requested, never anything more, and occasionally a little less. Never will they enjoy the full potential of their employees.

Now, consider that truth, and compare it to your workplace and its management strategy. Does your company ask for creativity, collaboration, and innovation while simultaneously providing a rule, process, or procedure for every conceivable scenario that could possibly occur? If the answer is yes, the there is most likely an alignment issue between the desired outcomes and the environment designed to promote those outcomes. This is the most common ailment for corporations today, and one that will largely determine their level of success in the future. The trouble is that it is difficult to self-diagnose. Not because those looking for ways to promote success are daft, but because the diagnosis and the cure fly in the face of everything we’ve ever been taught about organizing and managing a business. It won’t fit in any box, or even outside a box. Also, once acknowledged, the cure will bring a landslide of change that seems daunting, overwhelming, and downright scary. Therefore, it is easier to rationalize that the management strategy is fine, but more training in leadership and innovation is what is really needed.

Companies embracing this new perspective are enjoying phenomenal results. Companies like Patagonia report thousands of resumes for every job opening and ivy league MBA graduates applying for shipping jobs just to get a foot in the door with a company that believes in valuing their employees, customers, and the environment more than anything. Dutch Brothers Coffee is opening stores, while Starbucks is closing them, simply because they focus on relationships and it is shining through to their bottom line. Best Buy, out performed most of their competitors at the same time they were eliminating most rules in their corporate offices. Employees are allowed to come and go as they please and take unlimited vacation, because they changed their focus strictly to an employees output, not how they did it.

Competitive advantages in the future will come more from revolutionary changes in management strategy than they will from more traditional sources.