Dear John,
Although I had not heard the motor/brake analogy before, I certainly have
thought in terms of forces that drive and forces that limit. I have to
say that I agree that it really does make sense to release the "brakes"
before stomping on the accelerator -- with predictable results. As I
problem solve with the teams I work with, it seems to be their tendency
anyway to focus first on the things -- or people -- that present
obstacles. However, there always seems to be a driver present as well --
for example, the need to reduce costs of printing class schedules has
pulled us together to re-examine our production process and our design. As
ideas come pouring in, I notice that they tend to be more along the lines
of "we could stop doing these things," rather than start doing something
else. Bit by bit, though, I begin to see the ideas that aren't so
reactionary, but proactive -- things we could do that we aren't doing now.
I suspect like most things, it's a kind of synergistic push/pull process,
with one force dominating at one time, and the other, at another. I think
you need both -- maybe the analogy would be releasing the brake and easing
out the clutch while pressing on the accelerator? (Driving lessons from
my father!). They are distinct motions but to result in a really smooth
start, they have to be seamless. There's my two cents worth. Harriett.
--Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>