Communication and the LO LO7870

Dr. Scott J. Simmerman (74170.1061@CompuServe.COM)
13 Jun 96 10:42:09 EDT

Replying to LO7843 --

John Constantine (LO 7843) used the metaphor of a plastic bag to contain
issues of change and communications and in some ways, I think it fits. After
all, many of us observe people in the bag feeling suffocated by it and unable
to push through to get air. But I also think the bag does not represent
reality.

Ken Junkins in the late 70's shared a framework for analyzing Roadblocks that
I still use. There are four kinds,

- Type One which are heavy like foot-thick cement walls. These cannot be
moved

- Type Two which are thick and tall but can be moved with concentrated effort

- Type Three which are concrete-colored wallpaper and easily moved if only
one tries to move them

and

- Type Four which are invisible but thought to exist because you've heard
about them or faced them at one time in the past.

So, retuening to John's ideas, maybe this kind of "bag" (or better labeled a
2-dimensional box) might lend more understanding to issues of change and
communications. We box ourselves in because of our expectations, which often
do not correspond to any reality. We think all things are roadblocked by Type
One's when an objective viewpoint would show that there are a lot more 3's and
4's in most situations.

Communications, of course, within an organization can be a real roadblock.
After all, how many times do we hear something like, "I remember the time 9
years ago when I tried to speak to the boss' boss' boss and got reprimanded."

For my way of thinking, a Learning Organization is always pushing on the walls
and rising above to take a long look at the boxes we face. And what might be
a Type One for a front-line worker is often a Type 3 for their manager.

So keep pushing the boundaries and don't feel suffocated by any plastic
organizational bags that don't really exist,

For the Fun of It!

-- 

Scott Simmerman Performance Management Company, 3 Old Oak Drive, Taylors SC USA 29687-6624 74170.1061@compuserve.com

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>