Mtooms@aol.com
>there is a powerful set of techniques for capitalizing upon the negativity
>(or undesireable effects) that can be observed within an organization.
>
>I know that there are a few people who have urged you to read "The Goal" by
>Eli Goldratt.
>
>I would like to encourage you to read "It's Not Luck" by Eli Goldratt. If
>you are pressed for time, SKIP "THE GOAL" and go straight to "It's Not Luck".
>It is written in the format of a novel. You will find it easy reading.
>
>if you are as impressed by the power of the Thinking Processes as I am, you
>will then want to get ahold of William Dettmer's Book "Goldratt's Theory of
>Constraints: A Systems Approach to Continuous Improvement." , which is an
>excellent complement to 'It's Not Luck'. ...
What I like about Goldratt's work is the underlying notion that any
organization can be viewed as an object of the scientific method and that
the same approaches that scientists take to simplify and quantify appear
to also work to achieve breakthrough results with organizations.
It amounts to defining the relevant domain of study and asking the right
questions often enough to unearth the root causes. Trying to get the
problem defined simple enough but not too simplistic. Does that sound
familiar to Senge followers?
Highly recommended reading for pragmatists...Keith
Then Stephen Weed <slweed@cyberhighway.net> presents a system in chaos in
Subject: "Blaming Management" LO9224
and ends with the question:
>So my point is simply where has the system broken down? How does the system improve
>itself without direct action by those at the top?
I would suggest that the management are very busy trying to acquire the
skilled and talented people needed to sustain their growth. They are
likely working on what they consider to be at the top of their lists.
They are doing what they think is best based on their perspective at this
time. What else could anyone expect them to do?
If you disagree with the results of their perspective and you have tried
to change it like you say, then you are probably doing the right thing for
you. Since you have very little to lose by booking an appointment with the
executive of your choice, why not do so and find out from the "horse's
mouth" why they are pursuing their current prioirities and ignoring what
you think is important enough to leave over? Just a thought...Keith
Clyde Howell <orgpsych@csra.net> continues:
Subject: Life in Organizations LO9226
Rick Karash:
> I'm thinking that for the people within, the real corporate world may look
> more like Dilbert's world.
Clyde:
>According to Scott Adams, he thinks of the most outrageous situation
>he can imagine and then writes about it. Shortly after that he gets
>tons of email that let him know that reality is MUCH worse.
In an interview via eMail in Inc magazine, Scott says that he got most of
the insight from his employer's environment, Pacific Bell. The milestone
that made him leave PacBell and become a full-time entrepreneur was "when
his boss asked him to leave" in the latest downsizing.
One of his answers was highly quotable in the spirit of some recent LO
discussions about management: "...bosses in big companies tend to be
stupider (sic)...if you're stupid in a small company, it tends to become
a non-company so quickly that you have to be smarter to stay in business"
--Keith Cowan <72212.51@CompuServe.COM>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>