Why systems fail LO10285

Julie Beedon (julie@vistabee.win-uk.net)
Tue, 01 Oct 1996 18:08:16

Replying to LO10209 --

I forwarded a few of the postings around why systems fail to my
networking partners around real time strategic change ... one of
them sends this reply which he would be happy to go to the list...

FORWARDED MAIL -------
From: fmckeown@tmn.com (Frank McKeown)
Date: 01 Oct 96
Originally To: Julie Beedon <julie@vistabee.win-uk.net>

I concur totally with what was said in the postings you forwarded AND
perhaps there is another side to the coin (or the other hand clapping!) at
the extreme opposite end of the planning contunuum (systems effect??)

One of my recurrent experiences of organizations ove rthe past 12 months
has been to regularly reflect that neither planning, nor planning skills
are well used, well developed (or even evident at a rudimentary level in
several orgs.!) and I have obseved that effectiveness is severly comprised
by this lack. I regularly have heard "we don't have time for that". It
is as if the pressures of modern business in the West have people doing
more " Ready? fire! fire! fire!" as a reaction when maybe it is better
planning, rather than an increased bias for action/activity that is
needed. (I wonder if the pressures of modern business in the East have
people doing even more time consuming and elaborate front end planning
than before, just like the way introverts go further inside in a crisis
when external support is needed, and extros . . . . etc. I digress!)

I am not just talking about new, emergent, changing, transitory
environments here, but about relatively routine process, predictable,
repetitive projects that keep getting reinvented (poorly, with no leverage
either in learning or its tranfer from what has been experienced
previously). Little evidence of planning tools / norms, documentation or
use of plans, process definition, data recovery etc etc.

Apart from the misuse / abuse of plans / planners outlined in the earlier
posting you forwarded, it seems to me that a whole lot more well
considered & documented plans (as a basis to deviate from) would have
positive benefits on clarity of shared direction, a basis for dialogue,
communication, information, education, feedback, teamwork, management,
resource allocation, etc etc.

Where did the good old days go?? Was I dreaming that it was all better in
the 80's?? For good reasons, people threw out strategic planning as a
tool (planning and development of strategy is a great idea and very
necessary, but the linear, inflexible, static tool that was "built" just
did not do it). I also wonder if lots of people have been put off planning
for the reasons outlined in one of the postings - evaluation against
original plan, not results; credit being hijacked etc. etc.

I have been searching recently for software to support planning at all
levels - from strategy to task/timeline and apart from the very good (but
limited application) project mgt stuff, it is just not there (I couldn't
find much). Orgs with that stuff must have got it custom built by their
IS/IT functions (or contract).

I believe that it is time for the reemergence of planning as a fundamental
org. competency and one of the things that will mean will be building
tools/processes that cater for the speed needed in making / documenting
plans, communicating and educating with them, flexibility in implementing
them, changing them, evaluating against them, learning as you go from
them, etc. I don't believe these tools/processes exist in any broad,
coherent way that average people in average orgs. can pick up and use. To
be succesful they must also have a good process/system/culture/strategy
fit with the org. in question.

Feel free to circ this on your LO if you wish - I am curious at reactions!
love frank

Frank McKeown
Plz note the new email address! <fmckeown@tmn.com>

Julie Beedon
VISTA Consulting
julie@vistabee.win-uk.net

-- 

Julie Beedon <julie@vistabee.win-uk.net>

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>