This lengthy response is from my and a friends book "As sun through mist"
It is about core values and principles.
Vision-led change:
Proactive Direction of Transformation
by
Lars Z
BDO ScanFutura A/S
Aaboulevarden 11-13
DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
Phone +45 8613 2811, fax +45 8619 5969
This article is based on material from a publication in danish by Finn
Voldtofte and Lars Z
specific danish and international companies.
Direction of transformations
Companies and other kinds of organizations - such as public authorities,
sport-clubs, workers' unions etc. - will always be in a state of
development. This will call for a permanent adjustment of goals and
means.Time and again, companys will be subject to changes so radical that
changes of goals and means cannot just be looked upon as simply
adaptation. New goals and new measures are necessary to handle great
changes. In such cases we here describe the situation as the company being
in a state of transformation, i.e. becoming something, that it was not
before.
A transformation of a company can be caused by influences from outside f.
inst. by annulment of some kind of product-protection, changes in
legislation, a merger of two companies etc. A need for transformation can
also rise from within because organizations time and again have to renew
themselves or perish. Organizations for tele-communication, such as KTAS
and "Jysk Telefon", entered into a state of transformation when the market
for electronic communication was liberalized. The State Postal Checque
office had to undergo a transformation when the large banks amalgamated,
and doing so, changed the structure within the financial world. A new
phase of transformation was established when a political agreement enabled
the S.P.C.O to do banking business.
When a company is undergoing a transformation it is not possible to draw a
straight line from the here-and-now situation to the situation in
existence after the transformation has taken place. The types of
regularity one finds during the transformational process is not the same
as that found before the start of it. Most likely they will even be
unknown. This is why a certain impression of chaos and impredictibility
will be felt as matters unfold. One does not know how to progress beyond a
transformation. The essence of things before and after a transformation
differ in quality. The situation during a transformation may seem like a
fog making orientation difficult. When being in a phase of transformation
this is clearly felt. The fog may cause a paralysis preventing any action
being taken and the feeling of uncertainty connected with a situation of
transformation may cause an unwillingness to face the necessary changes.
For leaders, great changes form a challenge. This is also true regarding
leading and controlling the change. For the greater part, leadership
consists of planning and control - but how is it possible to plan a
change, let alone a transformation? And how can you control the process?
Transformations and great changes are rarely predictable and their course
never is. On the other hand, changes never happen by themselves. They are
always initiated by someone. Therefore we might cautiously postulate:
Leading transformations demands a transformed leadership. Ordinary means
for planning and control are useless in a period when a company goes
through a transformation. We shall have to improve upon and simplify our
methods for decision to form something of practical use under turbulent
circumstances.
Part of the solution can be found in a more systematic employment of our
creative abilities We believe that creativity, intuition and reasoning are
sides of the same process. To think abstractly, to be able to dream and to
disengage the reasoning mind in order to let the creative and intuitive
part of the brain take over becomes an important thing to learn for
managers. The extensive globalization going on at present makes it
necessary to think intuitively in entities rather than in details and
based thereupon to form free unencumbered visions for the future.
Strategic development is better than development of strategy
Our basic idea is this: Leading the transformation is done by visionary
work, with the condition which should be dominant when the period of
transformation is over. We call it to work pro-actively. The proactive
process which we have tested in a number of companys under transformation
includes strategic development. Here, however, it is important to
distinguish between development of strategy and strategic development.
Development of strategy is an exercise most managers with self-respect
have been through surely more than just once. But to develop a strategy
does not necessarily result in a development strategically defined. The
challenge which a company has to face in a situation of Transformation
must be elevated by a strategic development in direction of a chosen goal
for the situation when the transformation is over.
It may sound trivial, still it is important to mention that all
development implies alterations. Alteration in a system of human beings -
such as a commercial company - will imply an alteration of people. Where
transformations are concerned human beings will have two opposite
tendencies to react. One of them is to accept development, perhaps even
enthustiastically.The other tendency will make people involuntarily resist
any change.
In order to lead and control the transformation it is necessary that the
leader must put the zeal for development to use and form it to overcome
the resistance to change. At the same time, however, we must keep in mind
an indisputable fact that you cannot change other people. Given the proper
conditions, man can change himself. One of the necessessary conditions is:
A Good Reason. Another is sufficient patience from the side of the leader.
Reactive - proactive
When a company is facing new challenges it may act in different ways. One
is the reactive way, i.e. one reacts upon the problem and challenges as
they turn up. Actions derived from a reactive behaviour will hardly open
up new roads but will rather keep the company on well-known paths. Or
else, the behaviour may be proactive, i. e. problems and challenges are
met by focusing on the future. When two companies are going to merge the
challenge is met with by illuminating the situation as it is desired to be
realized when the merger proces wi ll be completed. By doing so, you will
create a proactive goal that will assist in taking the merging companies
through the impenetrable phase of transformation.
The human mind always looks for purpose and meaning for what it is doing.
To get through the changes called for by a transformation with less
trouble, one must undoubtedly understand what will be the result of the
changes. One must understand in what situation one finds oneself when the
changes are completed.
That future can be influenced and formed must be the starting point for
proactive goals. One of the ideas/purposes of proactive goals is that the
future can be formed so that it will be attractive. If you create an
attractive goal for the future such as an ambitious goal for the result of
a merger, chances are better for the company's employees to understand the
connected alterations as a development. In consequence, it will be easier
to accept the changes.
Proactive thinking is an attitude
We look upon the world in different ways. The winner of a 1000 meters race
will have a different outlook upon the world than number two, three or
four. His opinion of what is possible will be different. Apprehension of
the environment, its threats and opportunities, will also depend upon the
present state of mind and previous experience of the person. In some cases
it is possible to decide how one chooses to apprehend the environment.
Our pictures of the future will - more often than not - be a reflection of
our apprehension of the present time. A science-fiction novel is clearly
marked by the periode in wich it was written. Just think of Jules Verne's
"The Journey to the Moon" og Orwell's "1984". We can just as well admit
that our ideas about the future are nothing given but something we can
make decisions about. Our ideas about the future will influence our
activities of today. We can choose to create attractive visions of the
future that will influence today's activities in a constructive direction.
In our terminology this means to think proactively. When, in 1962, John F.
Kennedy proclaimed that before the end of the decade Americans would send
a man to the moon and back again he spoke about future in a way that got
an enormous influence on research- and developmentprogrammes in the next
seven years.
Proactive thinking implies proactive planning and action, but more is
meant than just a method for planning. What is discussed is an attitude to
a person's possibilities for forming and creating the future. When
thinking proactively, one has the idea that future is not just something
that happens. Future is always created by someone and it could as well be
ourselves if we make up our minds to do so. Proactive thinking also
implies the conviction that things can be done. Changes can take place.
Good solutions can be found even if the challenges are great and the
problems innumerable. It is possible to put forward and build upon ideas
that will work and to do away with those that wont.
A cynic might describe a proactive thinking person as an incurable
optimist. But for the proactive thinking person things look different.
That is because he wants to see pronounced results here and now from the
work with proactive goals for the future.
Proactive Planning
Proactive thinking will be utilized concretely in planning and action. In
the following we shall discuss some elements which may enter into
proactive planning. Experience on a practical level has been gathered far
and wide when developing new products for international companies, mergers
of computer-companies and medicine-manufacturers, organization-development
for ministeries and regional administration units, countrywide planning
for a future of more than 25 years, development-strategies within
tele-communication and planning for the exploitation of export-capacity
for medium-sized companies.
For the actual challenge all strategic planning will be unique. Still,
some elements will in principle be met again and again when talking about
proactive planning. As when other forms of strategic planning are dealt
with, it is a good thing to make clear what threats and opportunities a
company is facing. Often this part of a strategic proces will take
excessive time, perhaps because here you are on well-known ground as far
as method is concerned: It is possible to analyze the situation. Such an
analysis of the situation will often be made by advisors from outside who
may produce long reports about the risks and dangers the company is about
to encounter. But the question: in what kind of a future would the company
like to see itself? That question remains unanswered.
It often happens that threats will be taken in account relatively more
than the opportunities will. "Threats one can count upon, opportunities
one can only hope for. So, for safety's sake we had better direct our
goals and actions to the threats." This viewpoint is not wrong but it does
not create much dynamism for the development of the company. Focusing at
threats and possibilities easily leads to a discussion about what you can
do to meet threats and make use of opportunities. The planning of actions
will be governed by threats and opportunities coming from outside instead
of decisions for the goals you want to reach.
Experience has shown that successful strategic efforts may have rested
upon an analysis of threats and opportunities. Still, the information
actually used, has, as a matter of fact, been well-known to the group of
people in a company that could be calledthe strategic leadership, even
without 200 pages of situation-analysis.
The most important, really decisive, task in a proactive planning-course
is this: To establish a clear and attractive picture of a possible future
for the company. Especially, when the company is in a phase of
transformation, it is important to be able to give the employees and the
surrounding world a clear idea of the company as it will look like when
the transformation has been successfully carried through.
lt is also precisely this problem that is difficult. A phase of
transformation is like a fog and when you try to illuminate the future of
the company the same thing happpens as when you send a beam of light into
a fog: the light will reflect back upon you again. That is: all efforts to
establish a clear knowledge about the future will very quickly appear to
deal with the present time and its problems when being in a phase of
transformation. So, it takes some careful consideration to establish a
picture of the possible future. It has proved helpful in the task of
defining future goals to actually focus attention into the future to work
with the values foundation for the possible future and with the criteria
for success that will be valid in this future.
Values Foundation
When something has become a success there will always be actions behind.
Our methods are, again, governed by some values. These values are like the
heart of an organism. All of the organism is influenced by the function of
the heart. Correspondingly, values are something penetrating the total
company and have a governing influence on how the things are done that we
want to do. By an analysis of values you will find the best in your
present establishment and do away with what is no longer of any use or
even might be an obstacle for further progress.
When using the term value we think, in this connection, of attitutedes,
abilities and ways of thinking. We are not talking about valuables of the
kind you can put into a safe. Think of an athlete who wins a 1000 meters
race. This activity is governed by some abilities and capacities, for
instance training, experience from previous races, strength, volume of
muscles etc. But the values that really give the drive for winning may
rather be "will for victory","endurance" or " competitiveness"
Values in this sense can be recognized by the fact that the terms used
describe abillties rather than skills and actions. Values generate results
but are not results themselves. Values are found behind activities but are
not activities themselves.
Some of the values which have made a company reach its present results
will, most likely, also be of importance in the future. So, we shall have
to find the values worth keeping. The simplest method to find the
company's existing and still useful values is to consider the examples of
success in the history of the company. Considering what has functioned
well so far you can ask the question: which attitudes, abilities and ways
of thinking have been part in creating these successful results. This is
where you find the true useful values of the company.
But a company in a phase of transformation cannot manage with the
existing, still useful values only. In an attractive and different future
new values will probably be needed - values that must be created or
perhaps have to be obtained from outside. The clearer you understand the
changes you are facing the easier it will be to identify the new values
necessary for the company in order to create an attractive future beyond a
phase of transformation. By finding the values that will be supporting in
a future situation, one secures a stable and well--considered foundation
for the future. The foundation consists partly of attitudes and abilities
by which the company has created successes up till now, partly of new
values called for by a new future.
Criteria for success
By means of the value-analysis we find the heart of the possible future
which we want to describe and set as goal. By analyzing critera for
success you can establish an outline for a more precise description of the
goal. The future we work with should be attractive, and should rightfully
be called a success. But who decides what is a success? And how do they
decide it? The task is to find the stakeholders who evaluate our results.
What are their criteria for success? Proprietors, collaborators,
suppliers, bank-connections are typical members of this group. When
analyzing their criteria for success, ways may be found to include them in
the visionary planning so that we may be sure of their positive
cooperation.
An important group among the stakeholders are the customers. One could
considder involving the customers in the company's own strategic process
by inviting important customers to help define their criteria for success
concerning the cooperation or the customer-relation. It is important to
get an insight into the customers' criteria for success in the future we
work with, not the present. A side-effect will be that the customer may
more clearly realize what his own future will be like. There is every
reason to expect that the two parties' cooperation will improve when they
take the time to find out which future they have in common. There will
also be a possibility that the customer will involve you when working with
plans for his future.
Goal or Vision
The value-analysis provides an abstract picture of the possible future.
The criteria for succes circumscribe how the future of the company must be
formed in order to make the future attractive. But, naturally, it will be
quite necessary to draw a very concrete picture of the possible future now
that the preliminary work has been done and the attention effectively
moved out into the future. This phase could be described as
goal-formulation or vision-creation. Whether one or the other term is used
depends upon the time-horizon The longer the time-horizon, the more it may
be reasonable to think in visions, while short spans call for more
accurate goals. Whether we talk of goal or vision one must insist upon a
formulation in a clear and concrete language and supply some precise
sentences concerning the kind of future the company will create. If the
proactive goal for the future situation shall have power to influence what
we are doing now, then it must be possible for people in and around the
company to form pictures of the future situation. The picture should be
clear enough for every person to find their place in the future.
A proactive goal should give the company power to leap across trivialities
by drawing a picture of a possible future able to attract decisions and
actions to itself. When a picture of the company of the future has been
drawn one should be able to make decisions with this picture as a
starting-point about for instance employment, education, marketing-methods
etc. Proprietors, share-holders and bank-connections will have a basis to
evaluate plans for action and results.
If a transformation can be conceived as a fog making it difficult to see
the future, then the proactive goal will work like a sun illuminating from
beyond the fog and be able to guide the company through the fog. If you
work with the circumstances after a transformation you will strengthen the
company' s ability to work during the transformation.
The attitude: "Things can be done" is impotant when working with proactive
goals. Goals and visions must be ambitious and attractive if they shall
have the power to drive people to an extra effort. "The realists" in a
planning situation will often have difficulties working in a true
ambitious state of mind with goals and visions. " One should not make
exaggerated demands and we must be careful not to expose ourselves to
disappointments if we don't reach the goal". But if you set yourself a
goal you can be quite sure to reach, the result might very well be
described as mediocre. Great goals are not reached without taking risks.
Experience proves that even if a goal was set at an ambitious and high
level - or so it seemed during planning - the goals will still be reached
faster or a result better than planned is reached when first you get
started. As soon as a goal has become clear there seems to be a tendency
that by itself, it will come a few steps closer to realization if it is
ambitious and attractive.
An example is LEGO who elaborated a new product-concept to meet the
situation that arose when the patent-protection of the LEGO -bricks
expired and all the largest toy-factories in the world were ready with
copy-products. When first the strategic product concept had been
elaborated the process with product-development, design , product-maturing
went really fast. The organization could see a clear goal for the
strategic stake and the goal, which among other things also included the
building of new factories, was reached in less then half the stipulated
time. The directors of FDB (Organization of consumers supermarkets)
formulated "The possible Future for the Concern". After that, the
discount-concept, consolidation of divisions and regions, new shop-design
and the "Super Consumers' Market" were realized in a minimum of time. The
clothing-company SPECTRE described the proactive goal for a new
clothing-concept for companys. Then design, development of organization,
employment of salesmen, production of catalogues, development of a concept
for fashion-parades and the production of the new DRIVE collection was
carried out in four months.
The winning athlete will spend less energy than number two and three. The
winner feels inspired and enthusiastic and takes happily an extra round on
the course while number two feels "flat" and completely burned out.
Ambitious goals stimulate to development and fulfillment of goals and
prevents fatigue and inertness in the company. New resources will find
their way assisted by a good reason.
We have pointed out that transformations call for proactive goals. Now we
can turn the sentence around and predict that proactive goals can create
transformation in an company
--Lars_Zell@online.pol.dk (Lars Zell)
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>