I said that it takes a lot of energy to change the direction of a system,
and that they will, in the absence of energy, tend to return to their
prior state. Dale said,
"If I understand what you're saying, you're talking about changing the
direction of a system by pushing on it in some way. I think there are
other possible ways to change the direction of a system, though it may not
be easy to predict exactly which direction the system will go in.
One way is to offer the system information, about its own structure, about
the results of what it's doing, or about the environment in which it is
operating. (Of course, the system may choose not to acknowledge the
information you're offering.)
Another possibility is to directly tweak the structure of the system.
(And, naturally, the system may have some ways of preventing you from
doing that.)"
I was not very clear or thorough in explaining what I meant. It takes a
lot of energy to change the direction of a system, but I did not mean to
imply that the energy needs to come from 'pushing' on it.
Some form of organizational judo may well be necessary to change the
direction of the system. By that I mean you need to use the momentum of
the system as the source of energy to change its direction. Teaching and
learning are ways to develop energy around a new direction. Create
discomfort or tension around our views of how the system is working.
Bring real information to bear. Create opportunities for people to
experience the system from a different perspective. All these will
generate energy which can then be directed -- some of the time -- toward
your goal.
Of course, in the process, you, the change master, may change as well, and
you will certainly lose control. That is scary, and that is why changes
frequently do not occur. We lose courage.
--
Rol Fessenden
76234.3636@Compuserve.com
--Rol Fessenden <76234.3636@CompuServe.COM>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>