Follow the Money Patterns

Patterns / Group 6

6 Fight, Fold, or Leave

These patterns are for when none of the levers will move. They come from Chapter 18, “”, and deal with recognizing a system you can’t change, letting go of the time and money already spent, and choosing between the exits open to you, from the cheapest (changing your goal) to the most expensive (changing your employer).

They are as much about the person trying to make the change as about the organization. Leaving with a diagnosis is not failure: the next organization’s money flows can be read before you join it.

Pattern 6.1

Recognize the Unwinnable System

Learn the signs that the money flows around a change will not move, so that you can decide what to do about it rather than keep pulling levers that don’t respond.
Pattern 6.2

Ignore the Sunk Cost

Judge whether to keep going on what the next round of money or effort will return, not on what has already been spent.
Pattern 6.3

Change Your Patron Before Your Employer

When the system won’t move, try the cheaper ways out before leaving: change your goal, then your role, then your patron, and only then your employer.
Pattern 6.4

Set Yourself a Deadline

Decide in advance how long you will give a change, and what would make you change your goal, role, patron, or employer.
Pattern 6.5

Read the Money Before You Join

If you leave, take the diagnosis with you: read a prospective employer’s money flows before you accept the job.