Read this very interesting article by Mr Sim Wong Hoo, CEO of Creative Technology, entitled "No U-Turn Syndrome ( NUTS )". Here are some excerpts of what he wrote:
What is NUTS? NUTS is when you want to do something and you seek approval of a higher authority. When there is no rule saying that you can do such a thing, then the standard answer is NO ...
In the US, when there is no sign on the road, it means that you can make a U-turn. When the authority do not want people to make U-turns, they will put up signs to tell you not to make U-turns.
In Singapore, it is the reverse. When there is no sign on the road, you are not allowed to make U-turns. When the authority allow you to make U-turns, then they will put up signs to give you that right.
In Singapore, the no U-turn without sign culture has permeated every level of our thinking and every segment of our life. When there is no sign, we cannot U-turn. When there is no rule, we cannot do anything. We become paralyzed.
How can you innovate when you have to get approval of somebody who looks at a rule-book first? Such is the syndrome of NUTS. NUTS is everywhere in the society including schools, offices, hospitals, parks, factories and even in our homes. Yes, in Creative (Singapore) too.
"Creative Resource"- needed approval?
When our corporate headquarters were completed in 1997, we needed to give it a name. The placeholder name was Creative Technology Centre. Made sense, but it was a boring name that everybody had. I wanted a special name, because we are "creative". So the usual names like, "Creative Building, Plaza, Complex, House..." were suggested on the name list. I rejected all of them. Finally we came out with a very good name, "Creative Resource" - the source of all creativity - and everybody loved it. But wait, before we could go ahead, we had to submit the building name for approval. What! I was shocked. I needed somebody else"s approval for the name of my own building. By some faceless committee that I did not even know existed. Imagine having the name of your baby being approved by somebody you do not know. Hey, that is the regulation. OK, we submitted and no prize for guessing the right answer. The answer was NO. The reason given was that the name was not "Centre, Plaza, Building, Complex, House etc..." There was actually a list of approved names in the rulebook and we were only given the impression that we could name our own building. I nearly jumped through the roof when I heard the answer. It was a very typical case of NUTS. "Resource" was not in their rule book, hence the standard answer was NO. I was not going to give up on this right. So we fought back and wrote letters to appeal. Finally, after a long process, our name was approved. Whew!
What is NUTS? NUTS is when you want to do something and you seek approval of a higher authority. When there is no rule saying that you can do such a thing, then the standard answer is NO ...
In the US, when there is no sign on the road, it means that you can make a U-turn. When the authority do not want people to make U-turns, they will put up signs to tell you not to make U-turns.
In Singapore, it is the reverse. When there is no sign on the road, you are not allowed to make U-turns. When the authority allow you to make U-turns, then they will put up signs to give you that right.
In Singapore, the no U-turn without sign culture has permeated every level of our thinking and every segment of our life. When there is no sign, we cannot U-turn. When there is no rule, we cannot do anything. We become paralyzed.
How can you innovate when you have to get approval of somebody who looks at a rule-book first? Such is the syndrome of NUTS. NUTS is everywhere in the society including schools, offices, hospitals, parks, factories and even in our homes. Yes, in Creative (Singapore) too.
"Creative Resource"- needed approval?
When our corporate headquarters were completed in 1997, we needed to give it a name. The placeholder name was Creative Technology Centre. Made sense, but it was a boring name that everybody had. I wanted a special name, because we are "creative". So the usual names like, "Creative Building, Plaza, Complex, House..." were suggested on the name list. I rejected all of them. Finally we came out with a very good name, "Creative Resource" - the source of all creativity - and everybody loved it. But wait, before we could go ahead, we had to submit the building name for approval. What! I was shocked. I needed somebody else"s approval for the name of my own building. By some faceless committee that I did not even know existed. Imagine having the name of your baby being approved by somebody you do not know. Hey, that is the regulation. OK, we submitted and no prize for guessing the right answer. The answer was NO. The reason given was that the name was not "Centre, Plaza, Building, Complex, House etc..." There was actually a list of approved names in the rulebook and we were only given the impression that we could name our own building. I nearly jumped through the roof when I heard the answer. It was a very typical case of NUTS. "Resource" was not in their rule book, hence the standard answer was NO. I was not going to give up on this right. So we fought back and wrote letters to appeal. Finally, after a long process, our name was approved. Whew!
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