Replying to LO26792 --
Replying to LO26793
Dear Alfred, felLOw miners,
thank you for your additions and sharing your experience. Visions become
clichés when you do not walk (bare footed) your talk. The problems and
issues behind this have been told by Chris Argyris in "Strategy, Change
and Defensive Routines". If i understand him correctly, people tend to
have a vision espoused (he calls it a theory but you may call it a method,
philosophy, paradigm) and a mission-in-use (he calls it a theory too, but
it can be called strategy or tactics). THE PROBLEM is that we've developed
routines that:
1. if this vision and the mission are not the same (and it sometimes
happens that this is the case)
2. people act as if 1 is not the case (cover up)
3. 1 and 2 are undiscusable (cover up of the cover up).
The nice thing about this behavior is that it is fast, efficient and
predictable. It treats the situation as "closed" and there are no
important "threats". Just two small clouds: population growth and
depletion of resources. The not so nice thing is that it is short term
oriented, closed and nothing changes until it is too late to change it.
Chris even noted this behavior inside his own consulting firm, so it comes
as no surprise that one can find it in universities, companies and
governmental institutions. I could add some nice stories too. But will not
do so here.
I think that this culture is very efficient and effective on the short
run. Notably the short run in getting away from tigers. However, it can
not be changed from within the system. One reason being that there is no
inconsistency, no irrationality in this type of behavior. It is a (short
term) prisoners dilemma and it requires that one looks at the systems as a
whole to find long term, irrational "solutions". They are not really
"solutions", but rather reframings, new cultures, transformations. These
have to do with tackling paradoxes, the true nature of this world. I
assume that these changes will take place first on the personal level and
only later on organizational and societal level. A formal education might
only be a handicap.
Some time ago we - on a global level - have crossed the equilibrium and
seem to be in a hypercritical, out of balance situation. It is like the
swing of a pendulum: we're going "up again". I'd predict that we'll
continue for sometime until disaster strikes - full stop. Then we'll
invent some new stories, new myths and will return to equilibrium again.
I'm reminded of the joke about the Britisch official who told at his
retirement in the early sixties: "Year after year people came to me with
predictions of war. I denied it every time. I was wrong only twice".
Keep up the good work,
Jan Lelie
Alfred Rheeder wrote:
> Well if my extrapolation
> is correct a conflict seems to exist between the self/individual vs.
> organisation or on a more generic level the part vs. whole. I have often
> contemplate how I should articulate this conflict. Does the origin have
> to do with incongruent or perceived "irreconcilable" value's, beliefs,
> missions, visions, goals? Can we even articulate this conflict as Eli
> Goldratt does. "I conflict exist between striving towards achieving local
> optima (local efficiency) and the global (whole) goal". However we wish
> to articulate the conflict, I have often experienced and witness how a
> system/systems oscillate between the conflict with eventual devastating
> outcomes. I am also of the opinion that in the majority of these
> conflicts, assumptions are made about reality which is not valid. In
> other words the conflict caused by thinking/acting etc. in terms of
> opposing opposites (dialectical duals) is based on false assumptions about
> reality.
>
> ..
> Why did the person not respond to me when I sent the
> article to him? Why would they conduct the presentation in such a way as
> if it's because of their own authentic and "critical" thinking?
...
> Why are people and/or organisations pre-occupied by
> powerplays and its corollary credentials so afraid to share personal
> experiences with others? Why is it important to be "closed"?
> ...
> After these experiences I came under the impression that we should never
> become slaves of our material world. If this is the case then human kind
> will be in dire straits.
--With kind regards - met vriendelijke groeten,
Jan Lelie
Drs J.C. Lelie CPIM (Jan) LOGISENS - Sparring Partner in Logistical Development mind@work est. 1998 - Group Resolution Process Support Tel.: (+ 31) (0)70 3243475 or car: (+ 31)(0)65 4685114 http://www.mindatwork.nl and/or taoSystems: + 31 (0)30 6377973 - Mindatwork@taoNet.nl
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