Richard C. Holloway wrote:
>We live in both worlds, that of conflict and of peace. That seems
>natural, and the learning organization can perhaps best integrate both
>worlds by balancing competition, strategy, acquisition with profound
>respect and love (philos? agapos?) for their world and a highly defined
>sense of the differentiated self.
I agree with Richard, but suggest that the choice is not between conflict
and peace, but that: peace is the byproduct of well managed conflict.
In the 1980's I conducted a study of the impact of an interstate road
project on our region. The goal was to identify positive and negative
impacts. As it turned out, whether or not a factor was positive or
negative was a matter of viewpoint. My positive growth in real estate
sales is your negative on more taxes to build schools. You do want more
goods and services, so population growth will expand the market for more
shops, perhaps a Starbucks.
The goal of most planning is growth. What we experience in our lives and
organizations is constant change. Some growth, some decline, some neither
when first experienced. Much of it is caused by externals - but we can
generate alot ourselves just to keep from being bored.
Change puts us off balance and we and our organizations must rebalance. If
we and our organizations remain alive and prosper, that is growth. In some
organizations, management creates stress - throws the organization off
balance in order to stimulate growth. If it ain't broke, break it.
That change requires rebalancing we expereince in our own biological
organisms - our bodies. A child in its teens can have physical "growing
pains." In bodies, the rebalancing is called healing. It seems that
organisms/organizations need healing/rebalancing constantly in response to
internal and external events.
In my view, an appropriate vision is what I propose as "Peace Dynamic" -
a peace which is aware of the ebb and flow of life, the occurance of
conflict as a result of choices which may be either positive or negative
to a variety of persons and organization, and the mitigation or resolution
of conflicts, where life of persons is maintained, though organizational
skins may pass.
The attitude of peace, the wisdom that can manage complexity, comes from a
knowing that scarcity is created and not a permanent condition. Choose
life that you might have abundance.
P.S. Besides, without conflict - consultants wouldn't have any work.
Thomas J. (Tom) Christoffel * TJCdesigns * E-mail: tjcdsgns@shentel.net *
Box 1444 * Front Royal, Virginia (VA) 22630-1444 *
"Design with re-use in mind for `Peace Dynamic' !"
--Tom Christoffel <tjcdsgns@head.globalcom.net>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>