Dear George - I think your question is useful for an inquiry
into the question of "What is the role of the consultant
in a learning organization?" I focus on your works "self
organizing." In my work as a client I try to help my
clients learn how to learn to solve their own problems.
>[steps deleted]
>When this stuff works, my clients are able to do most of
>what I did without me and in fact, take over most of the
>work of solving their own problems [...]
>Charlie Fleetham
>From: VNUU10B@prodigy.com (MR CHARLES B FLEETHAM)
Charlie's approach has a lot of appeal. I am wondering what characterizes
those occasions "when this stuff works" and, especially, when it doesn't.
What are the necessary preconditions of success?
I have heard that the CEO of a major west coast company recently turned
down a proposal by a nationally respected consultant to use an approach
similar to Charlie's in his company because, in the CEO's view, the
employees were so demoralized and beaten down from continual downsizing
and decades of autocratic management that they couldn't be expected to
bounce back under their own power. I have no way of knowing whether this
was an accurate assessment on his part, but his response does raise the
question I posed above.
My own experience is "when the student is ready, the teacher will come,"
but it doesn't follow that when the teacher comes the student will be
ready. Of late I seem to be seeing more and more clients who are in a
state of mind approaching shock, and about all I can do is try to
stabilize the vital signs and hope for a miracle. These people are not in
a mood to hear about vision, learning, authenticity, systems thinking,
innovation, collaborative design, and similar conversations in which I
would like to engage them. Five years ago these same people would have
been able to do that work, but now they are living much lower on the
Maslow hierarchy.
Is this sampling error or do others notice the same thing? And what do we
do about it?
On a related note, I just received the latest catalog from a major
publisher of training and HRD materials. The cover is blood red. Across
it in one inch letters: INNOVATE OR EVAPORATE "Over 350 resources inside
to help you REVOLUTIONIZE your organization." Why do we feel that we have
to continue to threaten, terrorize, and bully these already overwhelmed
people into innovation? As if that were possible.
John Snyder
Innovation On Demand
Round Rock, TX
jsnyder@bga.com