We are on Part 1 this week, “Historical and Developmental Perspective” (see chart below) [from Kindle loc 458 – 1275, PDF version pp. 11-52]. There are three chapters in this Part: 1.1. Changing Paradigms (with 5 sections) 1.2. About Stages of Development (1 section), and 1.3. Evolutionary Teal (2 sections).
ASSIGNMENT: (should you choose to accept it).
1. SKIM through Part 1. Make notes, underline, whatever . . . If you don’t have much time, just look over my chart below.
2. PICK ONE of the eight sections that interests you to go through in more detail. Read or skim through the section, pull out 2 or 3 quotes or key points, and come up with an experience or two from your own life that seems to illustrate what the author is saying. Jot these down in the comment section below the chart ( be sure to indicate which section you are referring to), or make a note on a piece of paper, or send an email.
NOTE: 1 and 2 above are a bit like walking into a crowded room, a cocktail party or a networking event. As you enter, you glance all around to get a sense of what is going on, then something catches your attention (or someone or something beckons you) and you walk over and engage for a bit.
3. This is the report out . . . Like having coffee the next day with a friend who was at the same event and recalling, reflecting on what happened. Three choices here:
1. We have a call scheduled for 6 pm Arizona time on Tuesday using Free Conference Call. Join us.
Call in number: (712) 432-1212 Meeting ID: 630-021-158 We will record it and post notes afterward.
2. Go back to our website later to review comments and replies and add further thoughts. If you are old-fashioned like me, feel free to send emails.
3. Step up and schedule a group call yourself at a convenient time for you — using Google Hangout, Skype, or Free Conference Call. Let me know and I will try to assist and join in. This might be the better approach for those of you in quite different time zones. IN THE SAME GEOGRAPHY?? YOU COULD EVEN MEET FACE TO FACE!!
AGENDA FOR THE CALL (60 minutes)
Welcome. Get someone to take notes / record the call.
Go around each person introduce themself briefly — name, your location, a highlight from the day, what section did you look at?
Review the task of the call — go through each section, share insights from the book, examples from your experience, questions and insights that came up.
Go through each of the 8 sections, either in order or pick one or two most interesting.
Save time at the end for followup — a. Next week Part 2. b. When and how shall we meet next week? c. Who will post our notes and meeting time? d. Anything else? and Thanks.
Re-inventing Organizations
NOTES by Steve Harrington
San Jose Costa Rica Time Zone = MDT-USA
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Jim Wiegel, John Epps, Sally Kastner, Nieleen Verbeten,
Audio Recording
Part 1 Re-inventing Organizations
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Go around, Name Where you are, something of the day,
Jim W, In my back yard fixing play structure for grandkids, looked at the red to green book section
Sally K Arizona, read the section, I really appreciated the value driven culture, ran into an old friend
Steve H in San Jose, bought airplane tickets today to MN. I read most of the section, More interested at the moment in “orange”
John E a hail storm in Denver, I read the chapter 1.2 stages of development intrigue
Nieleen, V in Sacramento a highlight a call from a Guatemala facilitator, read all of part 1, not much drill down, got lost in Teal organizations, and ant colonies how they know how work without work direction
Dick West I9am in Taipei, read part 1, looked at part 7th column wisdom beyond rationality, highlight for my day 15 minutes ago (so far), did you feel the 5.7 earthquake, Gail asked?
Marisa T, Phoenix, _highlight lunch with Christina Sanchez, 1/2 way through the book
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A little tour
Jim W: He calls it Evolutionary development, assertion links beween stages of organizational development and evolutionary
Steve H It occurs for me as a narrative, a historical narrative that sets the context for his real research which is in some specific “Teal” organizations.
John E: Historical development or evolutionary development; mostly concerns of having different ways of organization in a cultural timeline
Marisa How do Teal organization emerge? That’s why he had a historical development model
Dick W: I asked Jean Watts how she uses the stages; It helps me know how to work with an organization or a group. I highlighted 3 points at then end
-Teal find more solutions than previous organizations
-Complexity
-Taming the ego whats the impact in running organizations
-Teals have clear and noble purpose
Wiegel Places that caught you?
Sally: a standout sentence: what replaces fear, trust for abundance life; it is a shift point to abundance.
Jim W: do you see this with clients? A medical organization is purpose driven. I have an organization that treats employees like…work together yes, but deliver what I want.
Nieleen; I focused on evolution, consciousness evolution, the nature of work is so complicated. I do work with healthcare, stepping up to the very best knowlege; they arent working with widgets. Knowledge worker driven work.
John: I’m interesting in his desirable states; similar to Tom Peters 20 years ago; what are the pioneers.
Steve: I’ve been thinking lately more about startup organizations, software companies, Silicon Valley and Steve Blank’s new start-up model. In this book we seem focused on already established organizations with relatively stable business frameworks
Nieleen startup energy is incredibly powerful, I did that once; now healthcare full of rigid operations, getting change in these organizations is heroic task like start-ups – except different. These are 2 different states: clean slate organizations ; deconstruct/reconstruct organikzation
Wiegel Where to push forward?
Marisa: self-empowered teams yes but not ready? Wilbur + author discussion on the website; they say not everyone has to operate at Teal level in an organization,. There is a leader issue here of inviting people to play at the Teal level
Jim W: anything left out to add?
John E: leadership when the top person; what is the Teal leader stance?
Marisa: maybe he would find systems and processes used in Orange not Teal organizations
Jim W Workplaces are in better shape than families, and Berlin and Egypt and governance and social change.
Nieleen: In our own country, devolution and plutocracy, our political culture is going back to orange, yellow red? I’m sometimes wondering if we don’t have serious USA issues of deconstruction.
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Next Week
Jim W: How to attack part 2? Actually looking at structures and processes; what’s the best way to harvest insights.
John E: Singapore government the Singapore conversations, community meetings to inform government organizations of what people want.
Steve H Yes Irina Fursman has a similar initiative in Ukraine.
Jim W: I’m thinking about next week.
There are 4 sections and 3 breakthroughs.
Wondering…all read and talk or pick one and report.
I thought a week on each one. Why? not sure exactly.
There are three breakthroughs
Self-Mangement: the biggest structures and processes
Striving for Purpose:
Evolutionary Purpose:
Jim W: So lets do
-3 breakthroughs and then
Self-Management in detail
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Meeting ended on time after 60 minutes
Look for Steve’s Notes
Jim’s recording.
Make comments on the website.
Chapter 1.2:
1. “The problem is not with the reality of the stages; it is with how we view the staircase.” (p. 37f) I’d re-phrase that to say, “The problem is not with the reality of differences; it is with regarding them as developmental stages.” The schema of developmental stages is straight from Ken Wilbur. My problem is that it does not acknowledge cultural differences, and assumes that some features of, for example, Malaysian culture, are less developed than features of the West. Power Distance, for example, is very high in Malaysia, but very low in the USA. That means that organizations there have strong hierarchies, and people gravitate to their “place.” He equates this to an Amber level which is less developed than the more individualistic Orange, Green, or Teal. But I’ve worked with numerous hierarchical organizations that are quite effective in delivering their products and services without demeaning their staff in any way. Great Eastern Life Assurance, Comfort Management, Shell Refinery are a few. Their organizations fit the Amber category, but they’re on top for innovation, morale, and participation.
2. “What determines which stage an organization operates from? It is the stage through which the leadership tends to look at the world.” (p. 41) Yes. We had a client who was forced by his Board to conduct a participatory planning event. Midway through, he remarked that it would not work to ask people what was needed They, he claimed, were not smart enough to know. He needed expert advice, not staff participation. Needless to say, the results of their planning were not implemented.