Lost Causes Are The Only Ones Worth Fighting For: Case Reflection On Organizational Behavior

In a Famous Frank Capra movie from the thirties, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” James Stewart was offered a paradoxical advice by his father, “Lost causes are the only ones worth fighting for.” That absurd line has always stuck in my mind and now I have begun to understand its meaning.

Lost causes are the ones most worth fighting for because they tend to be the most important, most humane ones. They require us to live up the best to perfect ourselves and our world. Lost causes cannot be won because they are so crucial to us, we nevertheless must try. Some of the examples of lost causes could be marital strife, parental rejection, alienation, redundancies within the organizations, erosion from community and so forth.

When I was working in HRSG, Pakistan, I asked that question to my BPO colleagues if they could identify “lost causes” in their work, goals that they were pretty sure they could not reach. Instead of being stressed out or discouraged by recalling difficult problems or stubborn associates or out-of-reach objectives, the group members seem relieved, even exuberant. In fact, they would break up in laughter as together they recognized for the first time the absurdity of efforts that had absorbed so much of their time.

Surprisingly, I identified that these lost causes did not basically lead to their abandonment. Instead, the group members simply shared the realistic appraisal that their expectations could not be met and then set about to work on them anyway and they also exhibited the fact that those tasks meant the most to them.

Organizations (which I sometimes refer pejoratively as “Valley of the Absurd”) and management ought to be guided by this advice. In fact, when organizational managers’ have the audacity and arrogance that they can reform people, they get nowhere. But when they fundamentally recognize that they cannot possibly accomplish those reforms, they can move ahead with a more humble posture and, paradoxically, perhaps then there is a chance that the situation can change. The absurd lesson is to recognize that management is also a lost cause and we have to work on it anyway.

Employee engagement thrives in an environment where employees feel their efforts align with meaningful causes. Embracing “lost causes” can enhance engagement, as employees are more likely to invest in tasks that hold personal significance. Organizations that acknowledge the importance of seemingly unattainable goals and provide support can boost employee engagement by fostering a sense of purpose and commitment.