Gene Taurman, in LO15788, spoke on the issue of language and mind-set. It
reminded me of an old story the list might find interesting.
Gene had said:
>It makes no difference if we call people resources but all the difference
>in what the manager's mind set is about people. Change the name won't
>impact the mind set.
I think, in reading this, that you will see the importance of language as
it relates to communications and understanding, possibilities and actions.
I also find it relates directly to how organizations learn and respond.
(I do not claim authorship but responsibility since I made a number of
changes to the original text; author unknnown.)
In the Beginning was the Vision
and then came the Assumptions
and the Assumptions were without Form
and the Vision was without Substance.
And Darkness was upon the faces of the Workers
And they spoke amongst themselves, saying
"It is a Crock of Shit, and it Stinketh."
And the Workers went to their supervisors and sayeth unto them:
"It is a Pail of Dung, and none may abide the odor thereof."
And the supervisors went to their managers, and sayeth unto them:
"It is a container of Excrement, and it is very strong,
such that none may abide it."
And the managers went to the Directors and sayeth unto them:
"It is a vessel of Fertilizer, and none may abide its' Strength."
And the Directors went to the Vice Presidents and sayeth:
"It contains that which aids plant growth, and it is very Strong."
And the Vice Presidents went to their Executives
and sayeth unto them:
"It promoteth growth, and it is very Powerful."
And the Executives went to the President, and sayeth unto him:
"This powerful new Vision will actively promote the growth and
efficiency of our departments and the company overall."
The President looked upon the Vision and saw that it was good.
And the Vision became Reality.
-- For the FUN of It!Scott Simmerman Performance Management Company 3 Old Oak Drive, Taylors SC 29687 (USA) 864-292-8700 SquareWheels@compuserve.com
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>