In a message dated 96-03-25 22:42:43 EST, you write:
Alan Mossman <100733.3202@compuserve.com
asks if having archetypes leads us to forcing our observations into
pre-constructed models.
I find this to be a very interesting question that goes beyond the "system
archetype" to any organizing principles or models we use in our work. I
assume that we all enter organizations in a "diagnostic" mode, asking
"what's going on here?" We listen, we watch, we converse, and we gather
data or information or something that we then put through our own filters
and use as a basis for the "intervention." Without some ways to sort and
organize, we are left with a muddle. And conversely using a model may
mean we don't see something that is important or that we discard it
because it doesn't fit.
Every way of seeing is also a way of not seeing. Sometimes I think its
better to have a variety of models and archetypes so we stay flexible and
open. And, often it is both challenging and useful to build a model from
the data specifically for our client and her/his organization. What do
you all think?
Deborah Heller
HellerCunningham
Box 1567
Brookline, MA 02146
617-734-7604
Deborah120@aol.com
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