david - re: your comments/thoughts on volunteerism.
i know exactly what you mean about the desire to
inspire passion and fire in workers. the volunteerism
paradigm is interesting. i would posit that volunteers
do so
- because it feels good
- because they want to make a difference
- because they know they can make a difference
- and because they can make that difference on
their own terms in their own predetermined way
within the boundaries of their comfort zone
- finally, volunteerism can be appealing because it
tends to be intensive and short term (helping flood
ravaged cities, building a house for habitat, etc)
i agree that it would be wonderful to be able to ignite and
feed this level of passion, energy and commitment in our
workers. i would love to see the organization characterized
as a 'lava lamp' with different individuals, departments,
divisions, ideas, cultures, principles, products, etc all
taking their turn at evolving, learning, growing, rotating,
and rising to the top, falling back only to rise again.
that's my pre-caffeine $.02
marcia harrington
virginia tech
-- harngton@vt.edu (Marcia Harrington)