LO nad Big Layoffs LO5435

MR GEOFFREY F FOUNTAIN (TFYY93A@prodigy.com)
Wed, 07 Feb 1996 22:33:24 EST

In LO5337, Julie said . . .

>Then it raises much bigger questions which speak to the essence of what I
>believe I am doing.... Should people commit to an organisation because
it
>feeds them or because they think what they are doing is worth doing??
Is
>the notion of common purpose a 'middle class' luxury?? I guess it
will
>always be a complex set of factors which people commit to - some
intrinsic
>and some extrinsic - and if we are really talking about common purpose
and
>enlightened self-interest then the 'survival' of what the organisation
>does will need to be important to everyone within it... and understood
and
>'owned' by all....????

In response, below is my summary (and therefore my understanding, not
necessarily his intended message, but close I hope) from a speech given by
a manager involved in the turn around of a North Carolina bank in the
80's.

An organization has two purposes for being: to survive (make money to
live on), and to make the world a better place to live in.

People in the organization must be committed to the organization's
purpose. The purpose must be in harmony with the people that work
there.

The organization must have an environment in which the people can
operate on purpose. The mission must be proactive, not reactive. If
the mission is not significant, it does not matter. It must be
important. It must be in tune with making the world a better place to
live.

The economic mission (to make money) and the service mission (to make
the world better) must be in balance.

The most important resource in a service-oriented, value-added
organization is people.

To tap the potential of the people, raise their insight level through
training and create an environment for self-fulfillment.

Principles for assuring self-fulfillment
* trust everyone
* be responsible - you won't be trusted unless you are responsible;
each person is 100 % responsible for accomplishment of the mission
* promote mutual supportiveness - show concern for the other person
making it
* allow learning to occur - give people permission to make mistakes;
when people don't admit mistakes out of fear, they don't learn from
them; mistakes should be within the purpose of the mission; self-
fulfillment can only occur in the learning mode.
* promote creativity - it has the highest return on investment

As I recall from the tape of the talk, this person and a few colleagues
had conflicts with the VP regarding management philosophies. They had
decided to leave this bank. They notified the president, who asked
what he could do to keep them there. Perhaps some one from North
Carolina is familiar with this bank. I don't recall the name. But my
guess is they are probably one of the top performers in the last eight
years.

Thanks goes to Willard Jule who shared this tape with me many moons
ago.

--
Geof Fountain TFYY93A@prodigy.com
 

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