Re: Advancing human development LO2632

tim smith (timsmith@RedShift.Com)
Wed, 30 Aug 1995 08:32:09 +0000

Replying to LO2619 --

>This issue I have pondered myself--our over-attention to things mechanical
>and technical and the short-shrift given to things human--especially in
>business.

snip

>Some of my associates use a model of organizational culture depicted as a
>circle containing all the elements of a business. The circle is divided in
>half, with Operational elements (functions, tasks, resources, technology,
>etc.) in one half and the Human elements in the other half (values,
>relationships, attitudes, communications, etc.). Acknowledging that most
>managers have mastered the operational concerns in their business,
>interventions focus on the human half of the business that has been so
>thoroughly ignored and avoided. As John Warfield said in a recent
>message, this approach leaves the content to the client while the
>consultant manages process--acting as facilitator for developing new human
>skills. The goal is to increase the use of our full human potential and
>the sense of personal satisfaction that can engender.

Finding a holistic approach to consulting is the task facing all of us who
are 'intervening' in organizations in any way. While some of us are
clearly focused on the more 'human' side of organizations, it is of
importance to realize that even the BCG's & McKenzies with their emphasis
on crunching the numbers have huge impact on this human side. What is
missing, in my view, is an integrated approach that views any effort from
both perspectives.

I've argued elsewhere that fear of personal disclosure is the key
impediment to integrating our approaches. As long as we keep
human/mechanical sides 'divided' we can devalue one at the expense of the
other-a false dichotomy that serves reinforce the fear and loathing of
being human (or mechanical) in an organization-especially at the top where
so much (money,power,perks,ego) is at stake. So we get locked in an
approach/avoidance dance, spinning endlessly on the corporate ballroom
floor while the band takes five and wonders what to play next.

How much could we gain in organizations if people were willing to say
merely, "I'm sorry, I was wrong about that"? The toughest problem working
with the human side of the organization is that it requires us all to be
just that, more human. When dollars and contracts are on the
line......well, it can also be a vicious circle.

--
Timothy Smith
Principal, Wheelwright Associates
Organization Transformation Consultants
P.O. Box 221668, Carmel, California 93922
Phone/Fax (408) 624-8138
timsmith@redshift.com