Paul McKey - Synergistic DesignIt is time to begin sharing some of the key findings from my recent PhD research. Over the next few months I will write a series of articles that step through the arguments and findings of my thesis “The role of subcultures in the implementation of organisational innovation and change”.
The research showed that subcultures are a significant, and overlooked, influence upon innovation uptake and any change program.
The result of the PhD writing marathon was that I wrote around sixty thousand words in two months before I got distracted by buying a boat. But that is another story…
Nemeau
for the brain - you perverts! Which is where all my blood is flowing right now.
I am well into the first of eight weeks of my life set aside solely to write a PhD thesis. Wish me luck.
No work, no visitors, no sailing 
, no patting the sheep each time they pass by and no Facebook. Not too much coffee ( false stimulant), plenty of food (thanks Annabel) and sleep and continuous music. Yep I love to write to music. The more abstract the better. So lots of jazz and funk but also dance and hip hop which can get the writing trance going and get the brain mildly stimulated. Nothing too intrusive but not boring either.
When it all gets too hard I go and talk to the trees. But I have four thousand of them so there is plenty to talk about.
I recently had to introduce myself for an online Sustainability Course I mentioned in my last post. I thought I would share the result with my other reader…
Hello. After returning home to my farm after a morning run and swim at the beach it would be easy to turn off to the world and its ills and just enjoy what I have. Yet I, like around 6 billion others, also have the very human need to continually improve and make the world a better place. Now that piece of rhetoric also has around 6 billion interpretations. Yet one simple maxim I follow is that we don’t trash the planet or each other. Living that maxim in itself would be a huge turn around from current global practices.
So with that simple interpretation of sustainability in mind I can implement my own little plan to ’save’ the world 
And it operates 24/7.
That also ties in with another of my beliefs that we all must do our bit. As a confirmed atheist I can’t abdicate my responsibilities to the planet and others in the crazy belief that heaven or a saviour will rescue me/us. What you see is what you get.
This however does not negate the power of spirituality. As I have watched my rainforest of 4,000 trees rise from the grass of a disused dairy farm over the past sixteen years I have become more spiritual by the day. I am continually in awe of the power and gentleness and the brutality and intelligence of nature. And the fact that my simple actions taken all those years ago have exponentially increased the life and well being that this piece of land now supports.
Then when I need some sport and cash I go out and work with fucked up companies as an organisational change manager. Isn’t life great?
The Peer 2 Peer University is a grassroots open education project that organizes learning outside of institutional walls and gives learners recognition for their achievements. P2PU creates a model for lifelong learning alongside traditional formal higher education. Leveraging the internet and educational materials openly available online, P2PU enables high-quality low-cost education opportunities. P2PU - learning for everyone, by everyone about almost anything.
One such course is Sustainability Studio run by Dr. Christine Geith of Michigan State University who has worked in this area via her role as Executive Director of MSU Global.
Sustainability Studio is a project-based course where you’ll make a difference locally with a small group that focuses on one of the core environmental, social or economic aspects of sustainability. If you have a project, or you want to know more about sustainability, then sign up for the free course.
For most Australians this month we could probably do one with a flood theme. Then next month we could do one with a bushfire theme… and a drought theme… and a…
Hello faithful reader. I could give you excuses for being such a poor correspondent… and I will.
First I got a job with a real company, IBM. You may have heard of them. I am a Managing Consultant in the Strategy and Transformation division.
Hence I have been travelling a lot including London for four weeks. Yes it is still foggy.
And I have been slogging away on the PhD.
While this adds up to fewer blogs it does provide much richer material to blog about. Now as soon as I can work out how to do that without getting sued you will be hearing from me.
But for now let’s just say that while it is pretty exciting working with some of the planet’s largest corporations but, it is also an eye opener…
Redbean - I know many of you spend your days pacing the floor, and tossing and turning at night, wondering where your next survey is coming from. Unsatisfied by the quick and dirty quizzes on Facebook and those News sites, where you get no respect, you long for something more authentic, more compelling. I can help.
Below is a link to a genuine PhD Questionnaire that will provide the rich and rewarding experience you desire from a survey. And anybody who has ever worked in a legitimate organization (this doesn’t include politicians) can complete it.
Now I know this won’t satisfy the deep craving some of you have since it only takes ten (10) minutes to complete. And its an interactive form so it is easy to download, complete and return via email. Just a few clicks and you’re done. So for the hardened veterans amongst you, seeking a challenge, you can also print it out and mail it back to me to retain your anonymity and your honour. And you have until the end of June 2010 to do so.
25 easy Likert Scale questions - Just tick the box!
No doing it twice though, as much as you want to. The document is a Microsoft Word interactive Form you can download, complete and return. Here is the link:
http://www.redbean.com.au/articles/files/PhD_Survey_20100505_digital.doc
The survey itself is seeking to understand the relationship between what Edgar Schein has called the three dominant sub-cultures of any organization - the executive, the operators and the engineers. ( Schein, E.H. (1985-2005) Organizational Culture and Leadership, 3rd Ed., Jossey-Bass ) For an easy overview of the Organizational Culture topic try this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_culture
I see these three sub-cultures as almost tribal. And we all suffer when they don’t work together yet we know little of how to build synergy between these groups for the good of the whole organization. Schein says they are critical to an organization’s success or failure. My PhD uses Case Studies to understand and model their interactions. And this survey is an important part of the study.
I have other important questions like why do techos eat so much pizza? And how many pairs of slippers do academics really own? But they will have to wait for post-doctoral studies. For now I just want to understand how to get these sub-cultures working together in our organizations.
So if you can complete and return the survey by June 30 2010 that would be much appreciated.
Redbean - My work is about helping organisations change - for the better. And when we embark on any change program, personal or organisational, one of the first issues we have to come to grips with is the possibility of failure. Failure in the sense that you didn’t meet expectations, or you couldn’t sustain the change, or you implemented poorly or you just made some errors of judgement. That is failure is relative. You might have got close. You could be way off.
Rarely do we meet or exceed all our expectations so failure is always present in some form. What I have found from recent research is that how we prepare for and deal with failure is a critical element of any change program’s success. And how we do that is primarily a cultural response to the word itself, how openly we can discuss the concept and what normally happens when failure occurs.
Some cultures and many people avoid using the word failure altogether, as if it has some power over them. Words don’t have power, only their meaning.
The literal meaning of failure is that one has not achieved a standard or goal, set by either themselves or others, for whatever reason. So the literal meaning of failure is fairly rational but the personal meaning is probably always disputable (as is success) and depends on who is setting the benchmark.
So word or the act of failure is an emotional trigger and those emotions are tied to the consequences any perceived failure might incur - including the denial of the benefits that would probably come with success. Humans love to strive and we don’t like to lose. That makes sense. But to change we must accept risk.
Yet it is those consequences of failure that will probably define your success. Entrepreneurs have a mantra to “fail early and fail often”. That’s how we learn and as long as we do learn this philosophy works. Ask any toddler.
How hard we strive then is defined by the risk where the excitement of the reward competes against the fear of the consequences of failure. So what if we started to remove the fear of the word, meaning and consequences of failure from our lives, organisations and culture?
A recent phenomena, at least in the western world, is the official apology. I am always impressed when a CEO, politician or public servant can stand up in public and say “I/we stuffed up”. This new trend is improving the world and our organisations. Yet many still see it as a sign of weakness.
All cultures differ in their response to failure yet generalising is dangerous.
Unfortunately the alternative to open acceptance of failure in our work and organisations is still too prevalent - arse-covering occurs all the time and is relative, from white lies to outright cover ups.
Transparency and open discussion is the first step towards successful change. My first hint that I am in an arse-covering culture is when people are reluctant to do that. Ongoing dialogue around targets and understanding how we can learn and improve when we reach/miss them is the oil that lubricates the process of healthy change.
So I apologise for the cheap psychology lesson but I know I am going to spend a lot more time discussing the meaning, measures and consequences of success and failure before I start new projects in the future. A lot of organisational change fails and I am trying to understand why. But I think most of it is in our heads…
If this article has failed to meet your expectations… well, it wasn’t my fault!
Redbean - Another of the social entrepreneurs at the Social Enterprise World Forum in Melbourne recently.
Bronwyn has plenty of energy to put into the dual problems of poverty and environmental degradation.
When was the last time you saw someone getting this passionate about the steel industry?
Redbean - Tamra Ryan, CEO, of the Women’s Bean Project, in Denver Colorado explains the beginnings of this unique social enterprise.
Women’s Bean Project
