Learning from Facts LO14338

BirreD@mail01.dnr.state.wi.us
Mon, 14 Jul 1997 09:47:20 -0500

Replying to LO14323 --

>Winfried Dressler quoted John Zavacki as saying: "We can only be of value to
>an organization by being in the organization, which means being in facts."

WHOA! Is that all an organization is - facts?? It's true that our value
in organizations depends to a great extent on our ability to see, manage
and work within relevant pieces of information, but there's a whole lot
more that we have to be aware of. Organizational culture probably has
more to do with the value individuals add than any single fact or set of
closely related facts - or even the entire set of documentable facts -
available to members of the organization. For example, sometimes all it
takes to make or break a task, project, or career is a word from the boss.
If it's positive, good things can happen; if it's negative, it can be
destructive. It all depends on the circumstances, which may be facts in
one sense, but perhaps not in the way John means.

I'm oversimplifying of course. The point is just that subjective reality
must be valued along with the objective variety if we are to understand
fully what we must attend to when we discuss adding value. I'm for
reductionism when it helps build useful and holistic models, but not when
it means addressing only a (small) piece of the whole.

But perhaps I didn't understand what John meant, since I have no cultural
cues (verbal and nonverbal context of the conversation) to work from.

Cheers,

Dave

--
David E. Birren
Organizational Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Ph: 608-267-2442, Fax: 608-267-3579
<birred@mail01.dnr.state.wi.us>

** Silence is the voice of complicity. **

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