The question "how does a group allocate 20% of its time to something that
is important but inconsistent with (immediate) production goals?" deserves
a Nike answer. "Just do it."
This is like the group of executives who asked "What do you mean when you
say increase connections throughout the company?" Here I gave the Robert
Townsend answer "What I mean when I say increase connection is increase
connections? Which of the two words don't you understand?"
If a group has decided that allocating 20% of their time to something will
pay off and is the right thing then there isn't much to do except do it
and see. That's a theory that can be tested. What it takes is allocate
the time and let everything else sort out around it.
Is this a situation where someone/group has decided that they don't
have the power and is looking for someone else/group to approve?
Then the questions that come to mind are:
- Do you really not have the power?
- If not, how do we enrol the power/authority in giving that power
to us (or their approval)?
The only groups that I've worked with where it turns out they don't have
the power (and even there I'm a little suspicious) are those that are on
strict hourly billing contracts to others as the nature of their business.
These type of companies have created for themselves - usually a whole
industry - a trap which limits all possibility of learning, growth and
future. They always pay the price in loss of market to someone else from
outside the industry.
The only situations which seem to need outside approval are where you have
a contractual agreement to only bill for certain time. Even here, you
could always do 20% of your time on your own time and not bill. The
difficulty with this, after you've handled the culture of "we only work
for pay", is that those same contracts usually prohibit the company and
employees to generate any gain from what they create.
There are many industries where the contract needs to be changed and those
who lead the way in this matter sweep the field. I know the change works
because my clients are succeeding in this way.
Michael McMaster : Michael@kbddean.demon.co.uk
book cafe site : http://www.vision-nest.com/BTBookCafe
Intelligence is the underlying organisational principle
of the universe. Heraclitus
--Michael McMaster <Michael@kbddean.demon.co.uk>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>