Two agents who show up every time companies slide into tempting shortcuts — whether to save time or cut costs. They also show up whenever enthusiasm outweighs discipline and completely drowns out basic management tools, like planning.
And yet a simple rule holds true: “Nothing happens by itself.”
The magic of the double negative takes on a very concrete form exactly when it comes to implementing change. If we let ITSELF and NOBODY take the lead (a play on the Czech phrases “it'll happen by itself” and “someone/no one in particular will handle it”), we quickly end up part of an uncomfortable statistic: 70% of change projects are never completed.
How do people perceive change?
When I asked an employee at an IT company, “How do you personally approach change?”, I got a pragmatic answer:
- I WAIT AND SEE: changes come and go. Some happen, most don't. We never really find out why, because change evaluation either doesn't happen here, or doesn't get communicated. I don't want to invest my effort into something that's going to fail.
- I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START: the change gets announced, the goal gets presented, but I have no idea what role I specifically play in it, or what's expected of me exactly. I'm missing action steps relevant to my own work.
- I HAVE NO INTEREST IN THE CHANGE: management expects me to be proactive, but at the same time still expects me to deliver my regular workload. I'm not rewarded for the extra work, so it isn't a priority for me.
ITSELF
“It'll happen ITSELF” — the master of waiting things out, alibis, and dodging blame for failure. Points to external factors and positions themselves as a mere observer.
The most common phrases:
- “It broke by ITSELF”: externalizing the cause, with no self-reflection or accountability
- “It got delayed by ITSELF”: no control milestones, no time planning
- “It'll sort ITSELF out”: a demonstration of passivity, deferred responsibility, inaction instead of action, with no timeframe
It's a similar story when we rely on NOBODY. “NOBODY will handle it” — something, sometime, somehow. NOBODY is faceless, roleless — the invisible worker. The tasks NOBODY works on are the less fun ones, or the ones seen as less important. Exactly the ones that confirm “the devil is in the details” — when they don't get done.
NOBODY
“NOBODY will handle it” — the master of zero ownership and zero engagement. Refuses accountability, and their motivation to get involved is close to nil.
The most common phrases:
- “It'll get done somehow”: passivity, a lack of motivation and engagement
- “We'll sort it out later, send it to colleagues”: no leadership, no accountability, no oversight
- “It didn't get handled, it went wrong”: an ownership gap, responsibility passed around and diluted
- “That's being handled somewhere else”: detachment from a “we” mindset — simply, me, and them.
And how does this look from a corporate culture perspective?
ITSELF feels right at home in a corporate culture with strong CLAN traits — where everything belongs to everyone, decisions get made together, people cover for each other, and nobody wants to hold up a mirror to the group. Harmony outranks goals, and processes are seen as unwelcome restrictions.
NOBODY, meanwhile, tends to visit companies where the culture leans toward CREATIVITY — where attention to detail, rigor, and discipline are seen as brakes on progress: boring, time-consuming, energy-draining admin. Where speed matters more than structure and order. “Just get it moving” beats “do it properly.”
How do you keep ITSELF and NOBODY from visiting?
Process-level steps can include:
- Clearly defining responsibilities, and confirming ownership.
- Precisely defined, time-bound KPIs, with regular check-ins and corrective action.
- Regular space for ongoing feedback: supportive and productive.
- Actively working with risks — anticipating them, evaluating them, and agreeing on prevention.
- Regular communication and transparency — sharing context, and answering the questions: what, why, when, how, what not, and what role you play in it.
On the leadership side, watch out for:
- Involvement in shaping solutions, and granting autonomy.
- Setting meaningful goals and clear expectations, and getting buy-in on them.
- Actively working with motivation from multiple angles, and understanding what demotivates people.
- Room for personal growth, learning, and discovery.
- Openly sharing information.
Don't want to be part of the majority statistic? Don't invite ITSELF and NOBODY in — shut the door on them fast.