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We
believe that organization change is achieved by establishing:
| 1. |
A
clear and common understanding of not only what
is happening but why. |
| 2. |
A
shared picture of a desired future worthy of people’s
deepest commitment. |
| 3. |
Credible
steps to bridge the gap between the two. |
| 4. |
A
foundation for learning from both success and failure.
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We work with you to manage change by focusing on all
four dimensions.
1.
Clarifying Current Reality: Understanding Complexity
and Simplicity
We
begin with a systems diagnosis that illuminates the
complexity of the current situation while getting at
the essence of the organization’s problems. We
work with you to create a picture that integrates diverse
perspectives and builds a shared understanding of the
complex interactions that drive current performance
– including the non-obvious consequences of people’s
assumptions, decisions, and actions.
The
same assessment brings out several simple truths:
| • |
Multiple
problems can usually be traced to a few root causes |
| • |
Individuals
have more influence over organizational performance
than they realize |
| • |
People
must consider the payoffs as well as costs of their
current situation if they want to change |
We
focus people’s awareness on how they have contributed,
albeit unwittingly, to the very problems they are trying
to solve, as a way to reclaim and redirect their power
towards desired changes. For more on conducting systemic assessments, go to www.appliedsystemsthinking.com. TOP
2.
Building Commitment: Contrasting Reality and Vision
We
help people redirect their creative power by first encouraging
them to clarify and recommit to what they deeply care
about as individuals. When people share what really
matters to them, they usually discover that they have
much more in common with each other than they often
believe. We then ask them to develop an organizational
mission, vision, and set of values that represent their
shared aspirations. When people contrast the reality
they have helped create with the future they want to
achieve, they become very committed to work for that
future. TOP
3.
Bridging the Gap: Managing Strategy and Implementation
We then work with you to develop a strategy that focuses
on the fewest things you can do to achieve the greatest
and most sustainable improvements in performance. We
help you create performance measures that reflect your
aspirations and encourage continuous learning.
We
also work with you to implement your strategy, recognizing
that implementation demands courage to engage others
and hold a new course. We assist you to communicate
the new direction through your behavior as well as words,
and to stimulate broad participation while taking a
stand for what is non-negotiable. We further make your
strategy come alive by helping you create an organizational
culture that enables people to connect daily choices
with long-term strategy and manage their time and energy
to sustain focus and well-being.
Implementation
often requires new structures, and we also work with
you to design an organization that meets the competing
needs for success among different business units and
the organization as a whole. TOP
4.
Expanding Learning Capacity: Valuing Success and Failure
Because
implementation rarely proceeds as intended and because
the world is always changing, we assist people in your
organization to develop the mindsets, disciplines, and
infrastructure that foster continuous learning and creativity.
We introduce the five learning disciplines through both
workshops and conversations on live issues, as well
as help you develop such mechanisms as communities of
practice and after action reviews that embed learning
in everyday practices.1
We also encourage you to learn from both success and
failure, and to recognize that neither your strengths
nor weaknesses are necessarily fixed over time.
TOP
1
Introduced by Peter Senge in his pioneering book, The
Fifth Discipline, 1990
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