I was discussing with some professors at College Leadership Conference about the “Green Movement.” I commented that many colleges and businesses are shifting to green initiatives because it has recently become the “in” thing. While I visit many college campuses, I see litter, little to no recycling, and false environmental Jargon with no teeth. These professors stared at me for a moment, then expressed that many did not know what to do to justify the environmental movement on campus.

I agree we often (this includes businesses with New Business theories) jump into this frenzy of doing the “NEW THING” and have no idea how to implement it or even if it suits the organizational culture and climate. I remember when the “Fish Philosophy” emerged. Many companies I was facilitating and consulting on team goals and team skills wanted their training to be “Fish Philosophy.” I read books and studied about “Fish Philosophy” and created customized training based on the philosophy. Many of the groups after I consulted had no concept of what it meant.

They heard that this was the “IT” thing and thought, “WE have to do this because Betty in accounting said it is great!” These ideas come and pass rapidly, and HR and team managers have very little to no thought about the long-term effects.

This “flavor of the month” creates a culture of false buy-in.

Employees know that if they attend the parties and sit in the consultant training meeting – while creating the illusion of following the new company track – things will return to the way they have always been. In a crying wolf culture, the team soon becomes numb to new ideas and concepts within the culture. Take care when jumping into the new trends – A new one I see that makes me nervous is the

Generation Y wave of fear and training going on – I understand and see the irony – I lead gen-y training myself, and I feel that it is not just a Gen-Y shift we are going through. It is a full spectrum of all generations at the workplace. If you follow the “IT” theory, think about how it can be implemented into the work and college or university culture. These juggernauts often shift slowly – so choose wisely where to spend time and organizational change.