Leaders face a multitude of strategic paradoxes—contradictory pressures
that are too often viewed as “either/or” choices. There are innovation
paradoxes, in which the pursuit of new offerings and processes conflicts
with the mandate to sustain the tried and true. There are globalization
paradoxes, which involve tensions between local imperatives and
boundary-crossing integration. And there are obligation paradoxes, when
the goal of maximizing profits for shareholders clashes with the desire
to generate benefits for a broader group of stakeholders. The authors
argue that organizational success depends on simultaneously addressing
such conflicting demands, not choosing between them. Leaders need to
become comfortable with multiple truths and inconsistency. They need to
assume that resources are ample rather than scarce. And they need to
embrace change instead of seeking stability. All of this will help
organizations reach a state of dynamic equilibrium, wherein paradoxes
don’t impede progress—they spur it. And the way to tap the potential of
paradox is to both separate and connect opposing forces: Managers must
pull apart the organization’s goals and value each of them individually,
while also finding linkages and synergies across goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]