Absurdism and Organizational Storytelling

I was today reflecting a bit on Absurdism, which is a philosophical stance that has resonated with me for many years, and storytelling. One of the tenets of the absurdist move is that, while there may be no ultimate meaning or value in existence, the human condition does not allow us to ever really know; however, the pursuit of that happiness, through exemplars and acts of meaning and value, can remain a worthy and noble adventure.

Storytelling reflects this philosophy in that it does not provide certainty in the form of models or truth-propositions to be tested but rather speaks to subjective struggle – the Sisyphus myth is a central reference – reflecting the hero’s journey with tragic or comedic result (in the sense of comedy with the implied message that “all is right with the world and current social ethics are more or less correct). Thus the many different paths one chooses to travel are not necessarily without meaning to the individual but rather reflect the impossibility of choicelessness in an imperfect world without knowable certainty.

In organizational approaches, the philosophy helps to ground the value of the case study/story while providing working examples of the compelling claims of models and methods that as consultants and academics, we strive to communicate to various audiences, organizations and communities.

Now back to my Cool Ranch Doritos.
(This blog is unaffiliated with Doritos or FritoLay, Inc. Though if they'd like to send me a box I won't object.)