For several years, I’ve added a responsibility to whatever role I perform for my employer: jester. Now, this doesn’t mean being silly for no purpose (at least not always), but it does mean turning a crazy eye on everything your organization is doing.
Checking the Emperor’s Pants
I hate hate hate “devil’s advocates.” Sorry. I know lots of my friends cherish the role. But what I don’t like about them, so that you know, is that Devil’s Advocates rarely offer you solutions. They’re just there to poke holes in things.
A Jester might start by making a polite jab, pointing out that something is a little off-base, but it’s the DUTY of a Jester to be creative enough to come up with a potential solution, however “out there” the solution might be. Linear thinkers need not apply, because if everyone could see the solution, there probably wouldn’t be a problem to fix.
It becomes important to keep one’s Emperors well dressed, so the sooner in the process a Jester can foresee an issue and fix it, the better.
Absurdity into Creativity into Execution
There are plenty of crazies out there in the world. There are even some who can channel what they do into creativity of one sort or another. It’s the ones who can take that creativity forward even further into something of value that might have a future as a useful Jester. Words aren’t enough. It’s incumbent on the Jester to know some of the craft of their organization, because otherwise they’re simply a critic and an armchair manager.
A good Jester can take abstract thoughts, apply them to the situation at hand, and come forward with a solution that is unlikely to be the A-to-B-to-C path to the answer.
Jokes and Truths
It is often the Jester’s position to engage the visiting dignitaries from other kingdoms. The beauty of a Jester is that they can skirt diplomacy and poise. They are in the position of speaking truth to power, so to say, provided they can do it with a turn of wit. Thus, in several situations, the Jester is in a position to say something to an opposing force or even a tenuous ally that the local Royalty cannot willingly say.
I used this a lot at my wireless tech job. I’d tell the likes of Intel and Sun and HP where their dog died, and in such a way that my employers could feel that I was doing so for the sake of the company, while passing me off as a crazy outsider type. It worked very nicely most of the time.
Outsiders on the Inside
Being able to poke at the innards of the machine is a valuable position. There should ALWAYS be someone at Sony saying, “If you take away those buttons on the outside and force people to use the touchscreen, they’re going to freak! How about three buttons up on top, and that’s it.” Whether or not it’s the right decision in the end, giving the team a jolt of something different is a good thing.
Someone had to decide that all Volkswagen Beetles should have flower holders. Was that a Jester? Because I can’t see the average engineer coming up with that one. Where are the Jesters out there?
Your take
Am I full of it? Is this a bad idea? What’s your BETTER idea for the role?