Thanks Andrew I like the alternative quote that you propose
>"There is nothing more confusing, yet unknowing,
> more entangling, yet feeling complacent
> more sporadic and random activities multiplication,
> yet feeling achievement through stressful and
>busy effort
> more juggling and fire-fighting, one after another
>than buried in a system that is understood & operated only from a
>single
>perspective."
I think you have probably hit the nail on the head. My only doubt is your
use of the word >understood< in the last line. I guess that people
understand the system at some sub-conscious level in that the 'play the
game' by adopting and reinforcing the accepted beliefs and behaviour. It
is my understanding that Machiavelli focuses on conscious behaviour. (Is
this the case?) If so, how useful are his remarks - beyond the level of
generalisation? and how can we set about understanding the sub-conscious
behaviour and beliefs of people in the organisation - particularly since
they may not be aware of them themselves?
Yours in Interest
Matthew
Matthew Holmes
E-mail: matthew.holmes@warwick.ac.uk
Warwick Manufacturing Group
University of Warwick, UK
Learning through Change
--Matthew Holmes <HOLMES_M@WMGMAIL.wmg.warwick.ac.uk>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>