GEOFFREY F FOUNTAIN
Quoted:
>"The most important lesson I ever learned about the dynamics of
> organizational change is that it is fundamentally a subversive
> process . . ."
and then challenged:
> I would like to ask a question of all you LOers out there --
> What is the biggest (or one of the biggest) lesson you learned since
> you have begun practicing the LO disciplines ? Put some heart and
> soul into your answer.
He then proposed:
> I have had much better success applying the disciplines to an
> important, recurring problem verses talking theory. Demonstration
> of the concepts through performance and results is very convincing.
> No earth shattering insight here, just a reaffirmation of what
> others have said.
His original quote and the proposition above fits with one of the lessons
that I had learnt when working as an internal consultant in a (very) big
corporation. I was not getting very far with one business manager and was
getting frustrated (and possibly showing it!). The business IT manager
took me to one side and said something like: "Forget the logic, proposing
it is not getting anywhere with X - it is just getting you frustrated
because he seems blind to your quite correct and rationally irrefutable
proposal. Act subversively, find his pain point (relevant to your
proposal) and work emotionally; give him time and he will eventually
demand an "answer", then dangle the solution a little in front of him, -
don't give it to him, make him work towards it and he will then adopt it
as his own". Get your positive feedback from privately noting how this
process works, not from getting the logic accepted." (c.f. Jonah in "The
Goal", Goldratt & Cox)
It seems obvious in 10 point Courier, but in practice ... !
David Faulder
David Faulder, +44 (0)191 222-7344 (Fax 222-8721)
HESIN Higher Education Support for Industry in the North
A voluntary association of the Universities of Northern England:
Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland, Teesside and the
Open University (Northern Region). http://www.hesin.ac.uk
c/o Stephenson Building Claremont Road Newcastle NE1 7RU UK
--"David S Faulder - HESIN" <D.Faulder@hesin.ac.uk>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>