“The thinker without paradox is like a lover without feeling: a paltry mediocrity. (S. Kierkegaard).”
“Only the paradox comes anywhere near to comprehending the fullness of life.” (C. G. Jung)
As part of my academic studies and for most of my life, I have encountered the concepts of paradox and duality at almost every turn. We are surrounded by and constituted of contradictory yet interconnected elements that depend on each other for expression and survival.
At the core of organisational life is an intricate tapestry of paradoxical tensions that owners, managers, and employees must deal with at every level. Tensions exist between profit and purpose, short-term profitability and long-term sustainability, stability and change, and exploration and exploitation, among many others.
Paradoxes permeate our daily lives. Our body metabolism comprises anabolism and catabolism. The DNA is a double-helix with two polar ends. It’s either life or death. We depend on divergent and convergent thinking to solve problems all the time. Our politics is bifurcated. The two sides of a coin come to mind. In general, there are always two polarities that define the existence of everything.
These polarities are oppositional in appearance but interdependent in functional reality. There is a dance between these two opposing…
