The Importance of Fire in Organizations

Fire can be an agent of destruction, and sadly, we see it too often in these times. It’s important to remember, however, that in Nature, fire can also be an agent of necessary change. Fire is also a powerful metaphor for organizations.

Reframing the role that fire plays in any system (real or metaphoric) is highly significant. Nature knows when a system is ready for a fire. Certain conditions exist in a natural environment where fire is a likely outcome.

The phrase “necessary change” is interesting because we don’t apply it to organizations very often, and we should. We should notice the conditions that are conducive not just to fire within ecosystems but also to their organizational counterparts. It plays a vital role in the process of moving through and embracing change.

Signs an organization is ready for fire

The system is filled with tasks that no longer serve a higher purpose. In Nature, form always follows function. This is just like dead vegetation piling up in an ecological environment. Fire is a necessary change that Nature uses to renew the balance of an ecological system, removing dead vegetation from the environment.

Sometimes, our processes become more important than the higher purpose they were created to serve. As leaders, we must pay attention to the piled-up processes and tasks that no longer serve a purpose. They are the dead vegetation within our own system. We must let go of them to help overcome obstacles that inhibit smooth functioning. The cost of ignoring the pile-up of policies and procedures is usually a marked increase in waste of time, attention, and cost in an organization.

The system becomes too rigid. If an ecosystem is moving, adapting, and evolving, natural change is occurring. A stagnant system, however, often demonstrates simple signs before a storm or fire. This is when necessary change is triggered to help maintain the system’s resilience.

In organizations, system stagnation presents as rigidity. Our time and attention are focused on form rather than purpose, style versus substance.  When this happens, our organizations (and people) behave in more rigid ways. Things must be perfect or “look” a specific way. More and more time is spent getting all the i’s dotted and the t’s crossed rather than concentrating on the meaning of the task. In this scenario, the organization has lost its way and can’t perform at its highest level of purpose or impact.

The importance of fire in organizations

As a result of fire, a natural ecosystem increased its biological diversity and health. Fire reduces the buildup of organic debris and releases nutrients into the soil. It often triggers changes in vegetation and community composition. As a natural example of a necessary change, fire serves a higher purpose in Nature’s ecology. It rebalances the ecology, accelerates the release of aspects that no longer serve a purpose, and adds nutrients that allow new growth and more biodiversity in the ecosystem. All these contributions enhance the resilience of an ecosystem.

In organizations, we need to intentionally pause to look for what may be interfering with the smooth flow of work. We look at processes carefully and objectively to determine which ones help the organization become more resilient. We also seek processes that have become more about form and style. This is where a metaphoric burn can bring about the change we may desperately need.

I’ll leave you with a suggestion from a book I’m reading, The Disciplined Pursuit, by Greg McKeown. McKeown suggests that an essentialist intentionally and regularly removes obstacles to make execution easy. I’m not all the way through this great book, but when I read that phrase, I wondered something. What if “removing obstacles” were part of everyone’s job description? Imagine what could happen if our performance review included a metric based on making execution easier.

What would happen if we were all motivated to seek out necessary change, simplify, and “burn” those obstacles standing in our way?