Replying to LO30541 --
Dear friends, dear At,
This dialogue develops in unforseen directions and I see new areas to
discover.
> This brings me again to the angels. According to the Bible they are
> messengers of God. There is not the slightest information that they can and
> do learn. This make sense in the light of the above why some (a third?)
> developed self-centered pride.
>
> But let us do some Systems Thinking (another LO discipline) on
> self-centered pride. I will focus on only one aspect. It is not only individuals
> who can develop it, but also organisations, sections of society and even
> nations. Consequently, conflict can result between organisations, sections
> of society and even nations.
Dear At, I sense what you mean. However, in my opinion there is nothing
wrong with self-centered pride (is it a pleonasm?). The little red
rooster, or peacock, the freedom statue, or the sun, or the moon, the
lonely succulent in the desert, firm A (see later) - they all could have
self-centered pride. I don't think it is pride which is the fuel of
conflicts. I suspect what your thoughts are: 1. feeling better than others
(this could be pride) AND 2. change others by force in the shape and/or
content of your will.
I think the crux lies in the second condition, and particularly in the 'by
force', it is the injection of more energy than the other could digest.
> Allow me to tell of a completely different case which happened today.
>
> I was in consultation with a director of business A (some 60 workers)
> which experiences conflict with another business B in the same field.
[snip]
> What do you Leo and fellow learners think A should do? I would very
> much like to study your suggestions. I will also submit them to the team
> for careful consideration. Please, do not let me down.
At, this is a very intriguing story. It is difficult and complex. And your
request is an enormous challange.
I think that the focus on customers is indeed the line to think of. I have
some difficulties with suggesting some ideas, since I do not know what
kind of product firm A produces. It makes some difference if it is a
consumption good, like wine or bread, or if it is something for longer
use, such as a washingmachine.
In the first example (the consumption good) the challange will be to
create a regular and continuous sell. This could be stimulated with
'presents' such as bonus cards with increased price reduction after a
certain quantity of bought articles. But of course you know all these
things.
At, I was not satisfied with these types of suggestions. After some thinking
and overstepping the mind blocking thoughts on the kind of product of firm
A, I came to the following:
1. Firm A affiliates with another known quality firm. Both act on
different markets, but they could be stronger together (shared
commercials, shared distribution, etc). The other firm will probably also
suffer from nasty competitors, so both could win.
BTW There is a recent example of this in Holland. The electronic company
Phillips has develeoped a new electric coffee machine in cooperation with
a coffee brand. Both profit from this aliance.
2. the most important drive for life is the care and survival of the
offspring, the future generation. I think that if firm A wants to focus on
its customers and tighten their mutual relationships, firm A should take
part of the care and future of the children of their customers. You may
think of many possibilities - starting a fund for kindergarten, or a free
education (perhaps the future slogan will be: "Learning with At de Lange!"
;-)). Solutions should reach the kids as direct as possible; the
foundation of a new university , like Bill Gates has done, is too far
away, not direct enough. Thinking in these directions is probably in the
line of the firm's philosophy and it sustains their focus on quality and
depth investments.
I will not go deeper in suggestions. I hope that the general line of
thoughts is clear. Generation of detailed lists of ideas and solutions is up
to the employees of firm A. (this could be a nice subject for company-broad
creative-thinking workshops).
(firm B will never follow these lines because they are not interested in
investments for the future)
At ended his contribution with an invitation for a new topic of a
dialogue. I will wait in silence.
A peaceful greeting,
Leo Minnigh
--"leo minnigh" <minnigh@dds.nl>
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