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It Takes a Village
The hierarchical model worked when the future was fairly predictable. We need a new model for managing organizations in
this new world of unexpected and tumultuous change.
A Life of Quality
We have the opportunity, amid paroxysms of economic turmoil and rampant fear of loss, to discover "a life of quality"
that transcends the old definitions.
The Donut of Evolutionary Change
The movement from the old to the new is incremental. It does not take a revolution; it takes an evolution.
The Flower of Strategic Innovation
These are the game-changing moments when abrupt discontinuities rupture gaping fissures in the implicit rules and
presumptions of economic enterprise. Every new fissure is a window of opportunity—full of new light and
nourishment—for the germinating flower of innovation.
The New Feminine Leadership
People coming to adulthood in the United States have lost the presumptive advantage; as a comparatively small country,
we are rapidly losing our competitive edge. Other countries are building comparable or better schools; other
countries are growing competing industries that will flourish with lower labor rates; other centers of
entrepreneurial growth are eclipsing the strength of the United States as the dominant source of innovation.
Building Forced for Good to Great
In this issue, we take a look at three books: Forces for Good, Good to Great, and Built to Last and examine
three basic principles of "greatness" described in each book and apply them to all types of organizations—irrespective of
their tax status.
Bosses: The Good and the Bad
In this issue, we feature those valuable personal attributes that constitute high social intelligence—the intelligence
we all learned in kindergarten when we learned to play well with others.
Learn, Talk, Create
In this month's letter, we offer an example of how simple, everyday learning—talked about and creatively acted upon—can
dramatically transform an organization's operations.
Manage as if You Have no Power
In 1968, when Rene McPherson was named President and Chief Operating Officer of Dana Corporation, one of his first innovations
was to throw out the 22 ½-inch-thick policy manual and replace it with a one page statement of principles.
Adaptive Learning—Where the Rubber Meets the Road
"Adaptive" learning takes place from day to day and moment to moment. It is practical "just-in-time" learning that is vital for
organizations to thrive and prosper."
The New Organizational Ethic: Self-Actualization
"The emerging ethic of our time elevates people beyond their roles as producers of goods and services; it emphasizes the
value of people individually and recognizes the full gamut of human needs—community relationships, self-esteem and
self-actualization."
Do You Have a TeemingV Organization?
"We call those organizations that are resilient and vital, Teeming V Organizations, acknowledging that the V-shaped
formation of geese provides a memorable metaphor for being highly responsive and collaborative."
The Ethical Side of Organizations
"Thanksgiving has been a good time to reflect on our heritage.
It also heralds an opportune season to reflect on what we, as individuals and as a collective, can contribute to
the well being of future generations."
The Way of the Herd or the Way of the Individual?
"We want our organizations to function like a herd of buffalo and independent stray cats-simultaneously."
Listen, Then Change
"For individuals to be fully valued, their dreams, their
individual missions, visions, and values, their ideas, and their
divergence from common agreement must be trusted and respected."
Cultivate Individuals not Tactics
"Organizations become vital and endure to the degree that the
people who join them are respected, encouraged, and valued individually."
The Power of Conversations
"Through our ongoing conversations, we create stories of
success and failure and we make sense of what was and what can be."
Commencement: Celebration is a Catalyst for Renewal
"Celebration does not have to follow successful change efforts. Celebration is itself a catalyst for the
commencement of fruitful renewal."
The Power of How
"How will the work be done? This is the question that, if
answered well, can build enthusiasm, vitality, and teamwork."
Strengthen Your Core
"When we develop a strong core in an organization, one that is
positive and life-affirming, we are poised to apply our best in every
situation."
Slow Cook the Big Innovations
"Build social capital by enlisting the perspectives of many
for the big innovations. Blend and simmer those perspectives until they
congeal as a flavorful dish that people are eager to implement."
Go with the Flow
"[Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's] research showed that people
were happier doing things than not, especially when their abilities
were equal to the challenge."
Having Fun at Work—Work Like a Dog
"Seize opportunities to enjoy yourself, pay attention to the
opportunities to recognize others, anticipate the day with eager
enthusiasm and optimism; before you know it, the whole organization
will be wagging its tail."
Order Versus Control—Geese or Pyramids?
"Is your organization light with the natural order of the
geese or heavy with the control of a pyramid? Choose the geese and
watch the vitality of your organization soar."
Getting the Right People—the Extreme Makeover Job Description
"The tried and true “job description” must be handled with care, for job descriptions, if handled poorly, can make the
right person very wrong for the right organization."
Getting the Right People—the 360-degree Preview
"Before bringing new people into the organization, it is
important to know that they have the right aptitudes as well as the right attitudes."
Getting the Right People—Hire for Attitude
"Like the old saw, they don’t care how much a person knows;
they just want to know that the person cares."
Mistakes—Disguised Blessings
"We all make mistakes. It’s part of human nature. But how can
we turn those mistakes into opportunities for learning, growth and
positive innovation?"
Incongruities—the power to fix what’s broken
"Seizing incongruities as opportunities for change generates the power to fix what's broken."
Listening Without Judgment ...the power of personal reflection
"Before engaging in dialogue, the simple act of acknowledging that our assumptions affect us will allow us to take advantage of the
collective genius of the group."
The Call to Inquiry and Ingenuity
"Healthy conflict requires inquiry—people seeking a full understanding of the sources of conflict together. Honest dialogue
about perspectives rather than positions clears the clutter of misunderstanding and raises the blinds on creative solutions."
Boards as Strategic Collaborators
"A more valuable role for the board is as strategic collaborator with management. Sorting out the cues and clues of
important strategic issues is difficult work and requires the perspectives of many."
Catalytic Learning—the Spiral of Continual Improvement
"The full cycle of catalytic learning requires diligence and attention. Once in motion, the cycle becomes a spiral of continual
improvement that relentlessly generates an increasingly robust organization."
Intuition
"Intuition delivers the visions and epiphanies that enliven organizations with the anticipation of more promising futures."
Heart
"When the heart is aroused, the whole mind comes too, not just the fraction of thinking required to do a job."
People as Partners
"Those organizations that treat people as common expenses, that run sweatshops, that count beans rather than ideas, or that manage
by intimidation rather than affirmation have short shelf lives."
Implement Quickly
"Design patiently and deliberately, but implement quickly. That is the formula that will build energy, enthusiasm, ownership and
commitment as it builds a more vital and productive organization."
Relentless Reflection
"...as the extraordinarily successful companies in Jim Collins book Good to Great practiced; the greatest long term value is
generated by continual learning and incremental improvement. Relentless reflection leading to persistent innovation is their common
hallmark."
The Vital Flow of Face-to-face Meetings
"Meetings have the power to propel innovative organizations to phenomenal success if purposes are clearly stated and ideas and
information are honestly shared. "
The Triple Spiral of Social Capital
"Similarly, in our living organizations, there is a triple spiral of conditions that build social capital. When that triple spiral
is healthy, the organization perpetuates itself. If any of the three strands of that spiral go awry, the whole organization will suffer or
fail."
Social Capital—the Tide That Raises all Boats
"Engaging the magic and power of social capital—the ability of groups to work cooperatively and harmoniously
together—elevates every endeavor."
Quality Decisions: The Productive Advantage
"Decisions made in haste will often create more problems than they solve. If we did not have time to make a quality decision in the
first place, when will we find the time to fix all the problems we have created by making a poor decision?"
In Hot Pursuit of Fire in the Belly
"At every turn of every corner in the life of an organization, these simple principles must be continually questioned: Have we created
a culture of trust? Have we truly given everyone a voice in solutions? Are people well suited and well trained for their work throughout
the organization?"
Fire in the Belly
"[The musicians] were main-lining the pure joy of doing what they loved to do; they knew they could each be trusted and respected to
give their best to the work. They had found their collaborative genius."
The Power of Shared Leadership
"Orpheus puts the power in the hands of the people doing the work. They create clear roles while they share and rotate
leadership."
Trust the Undercurrent of Change
"In our organizations and in our personal lives, we must learn to trust the undercurrents of change, for that change is much
safer than we know."
Expect the Unexpected
"The greatest opportunities for both success and service lie in the unexpected. If we are embedded too deeply in our controlling
plans and strategies, we will miss these opportunities every time."
What If? — The Catalytic Question
"The words 'what if' are stepping-stones from what is to what is possible, and we can all use them."
The New Organizational Chart
"Competent people don't need to be managed by a 'boss.' They need freedom to think, create and interact with other competent
people."
The Essential Attributes of Great Groups
"Great groups thrive because they are passionately committed to an aim they consider to be a worthy one."
Building Innovation into the DNA of the Organization
"Every organization that truly wants to build collaborative innovation into its core culture must find systematic ways of removing
the structural obstacles that keep innovation suppressed."
Bringing the Soul to Life: Have Some Fun!
"Humor paves the way for the flow of ideas; it greases the skids for an unselfconscious ride on the delightful track of creative
thinking."
Bringing the Soul to Life: Liberating Creativity
"Organizations that have brought the soul to life are throbbing with creativity; they are highly responsive to change, they
see and seize opportunities fluidly, and they collaborate readily and persistently to enhance the value of their service."
Dialogue—The Heart of Community
"For real dialogue to occur there can be no hidden agendas. People must bring honesty and candor to the conversation and listen
fully without judgment or distraction."
Bringing the Soul to Life: Values First, Profits Second
"When the accepted business ethic degenerates to one of profits first and values second, the soul of the organization is in
jeopardy."
Bringing the Soul to Life: Enthusiasm and the Implicit Order
"In every organization, an implicit order—a rich and enlivening order beneath the surface of things—directs and animates the
vitality of the organization. Our own control mechanisms too often interfere with that more invigorating order of life."
Bringing the Soul to Life: The Leader's Role
"Leaders who listen, who respect the value of individuals, who encourage dialogue and collaboration, who keep the common good
uppermost, bring the entire organization to life."
Bringing the Soul to Life: The Collective Dream
"When an organization respects and cultivates the dreams carried in the collective soul of its members, it taps deep and
enduring spiritual sources of inspiration and energy."
The Hedgehog or the Fox
"The Hedgehog...or the Fox? The hedgehog knows one strategy; the fox knows hundreds. Yet the Hedgehog frustrates the fox every
time."
The Flywheel of Innovation
"The time spent cultivating small, successful innovations anywhere and everywhere in the organization is well worth the effort,
for the flywheel of innovation will roll on to often spectacular vitality and success. "
Character—The Keystone of Leadership
"The struggle from egocentricity to character is the universal human struggle. It transcends all boundaries of time, place,
and culture."
The Tao of Dialogue
"Just as Lao Tse noted the presence of an implicit order or 'way' in life, so too, there is an implicit order in dialogue."
Humility and an Iron Will
"Recent research suggests that we might be better off considering a different model, one closer to the attributes of Abraham
Lincoln—leaders who possess humility and an iron will."
Compassion—The Heart of Leadership
"Those leaders who have the empathy to really understand others and to take a keen interest in them establish a rapport that
engenders good will, relaxed communication, and creative dialogue."
Share the Leadership...the Orpheus Way
"The organization that engages the profound collaborative genius of its members is a fluid, responsive, organic entity.
Leadership occurs everywhere."
Convey a Mission That Matters
"When the work of an organization is seen in terms of the value delivered, it opens up whole new vistas of possibilities."
Pursue the Light of Success
"It is not the leader's job to solve the problems. It is the leader's job to see where the organization is having its greatest
successes and to navigate the movement of the enterprise toward those successes—to nurture, encourage, promote, commend, acknowledge and
pursue success at every turn."
Any Road Could Take You There
"It is certainly important for everyone to understand the purpose of the organization—to understand its fundamental mission. But
it is not so important to have rigidly defined strategies for attaining that mission."
Christmas Compassion
"This is also the effort that is at the heart of developing responsive and collaborative groups of people with diverse views,
talents, and personal aspirations. This effort is more difficult than selfish aggrandizement, but also more exalted. Like the Christmas
season, it, too, fills the air."
The Soul Aroused
"We too often allow our dreams and desires to be constricted and replaced by the purposes of the organizations we serve; we refrain
from breathing into them the passion and vitality that is ours to give."
Leadership and Collaborative Genius
"The leaders who direct Great Groups do so by bringing the best out of those doing the work - not by telling them what to do."
The Soul and Collaborative Genius
"When work brings the soul to life, the whole and replete person shows up. A life integrated with soul delivers sustaining
inspiration and enthusiasm."
How to Kill Creativity
"The internal desire to be creative ought to be coupled with outside incentives that reward creative thought."
Testing Prototypes—Not Betting the Farm
"Prototypes test the water before committing huge organizational resources. They create the space for creative thinking
to occur before the project becomes an unwieldy behemoth."
Organized Abandonment—Unplugging the TV
"Sometimes, only by shedding old approaches can we make way for the revitalizing new."
Innovation in the Age of Discontinuity
"Learning to live with the seeming chaos of accelerating change will try our patience, challenge our core values and stress the
very fabric of our civilization."
The New Knowledge Workers
"The paradigms, the processes, the implicit rules that proved successful in the past must often be unlearned, and sometimes
abandoned, to make way for a new and more successful way of operating."
Ebenezer Scrooge and the Path to Possibility
"Virtually all of the possibility is with the group where the central self prevails, where there is a critical mass of people
committed to living generous, open and creative lives."
Changing the Soul and Energy of a Company, Simply
"How do you get the soul and energy of a start-up in a $60 billion dollar enterprise? The same way you get that soul and energy
into the body of any organization."
Dissent—the Key Catalyst for Innovation
"It is not the common wisdom that produces disruptive innovations, but rather challenging that common wisdom. "
Implicit Rules—the "Hobgoblin" of Innovation
"We are all occasionally subject to the 'hobgoblin of little minds' as Emerson referred to foolish consistency, in some aspect of
our lives."
Strategic Planning ... Is Now Less Strategic
"Strategic planning may be an excellent planning process, but most organizations can no longer afford to just plan; they must also
strategically innovate."
Understanding the Starting Point
"Truly innovative thinking requires setting a course for the innovation, but only after we fully understand the starting point from
which we will take that innovative journey."
Disruptive Innovation—the Instrument of Creative Destruction
"Though constant innovation and improvement are valuable ways of operating, they can also blind us to the significant incongruities
in our operating environment that, if not fully understood, can cause the demise of our organization."
Diversity — the Innovative Difference Point
"The survival and adaptation of organizations, like the survival and adaptation of species, depends largely on
diversity."
Learning from the Chicago Bulls
"Groups that are structured to highlight individual performance often do not cooperate as effectively as those focused on
the performance of the whole team."
The Discipline of Innovation
"It is too easy for all of us to keep doing what we have always done, just because we have always done it."
The One Right Structure
"What is the one right organizational structure? It is the one that fits the need and supports the members of the organization
most effectively in serving the end client or customer."
Rooting Our Work in the Dream of God
"If groups are to collaborate harmoniously and meaningfully — to connect purpose-to-purpose — then we must begin by
rooting our work in the collective experience of our own souls, in the dream of God."
The New Realities — The Great Divide
"The managerial structures that formerly oversaw productive work must now change in character to coordinate and draw out the
strengths of specialists in productive teamwork."
Suspending Judgment — the Threshold to Dialogue
"Dialogue only occurs when there is a willingness to listen without judgment."
Dialogue or Discussion? That Can Make All the Difference.
"Dialogue evokes the best in people and draws forth commitment and enthusiasm."
The Archetypal Self — Vivifying Cooperation.
"What may have shown up as a persistent organizational problem can often become a positive influence for cooperation."
Key Elements of Successful Innovation.
"The most successful innovations are seldom monumental or earthshaking changes. Rather, they usually consist of small targeted
changes with three key characteristics."
Complaints -- The Wellspring of Innovation.
"If you can find out what people are complaining about and why, you will have identified a fertile source of innovation."
Solving the Problem or the Solution?
"Too often, we make things overly complex by failing to fully assess and understand an underlying problem or mission."
Getting Innovations Accepted
"Just becoming more innovative is not enough. Innovations must also be implemented and accepted."
BHAGS — The Secret Catalyst of Great Groups
"Great groups take on the bold, compelling objectives that move the group to a new quantum level of motivation."
Kaizen — Constant Improvement
"The corporate cultures that most effectively engage everyone in the organization in a process of incremental improvement are those
that will remain the most vital and dynamic."
The Soul — Keep it Alive
"Truly creative and collaborative groups depend on a lively and honored inner life."
The Mission — Innovating in the Right Direction
"The ultimate purpose of the organization's mission is to mobilize resources for getting the right things done and for innovating
in the right direction."
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