The Necessary Revolution

Based on the book by Peter Senge, Vryan Smith, Nina Kruschwitz, Joe Laur & Sara Schley (Broadway Books 2008)Prepared by: Dr. Ricardo Sosa ([email protected])

The Necessary Revolution “(Change) conversations can easily

polarize. The harder the advocate pushes, the more diligent the opposition... Some may join one or the other camp. As one pushes back, others will become only more stubborn and more convinced that they are right.”


Getting people engaged “But there is another option, the most

crucial part of the conversation is neither advocating nor opposing but asking a genuine question that could lead to fresh perspectives on the issues.”


Your role as a (change) leader “The way to reach people is not to

challenge their views but to find questions that they are ready to ask. This inquiry starts with the recognition that no one has the full picture. We all see a slice of the possible future.”


First steps toward improving dialogue

1. Personal reflections

2. Initial conversations with like-minded peers

3. Informal team

4. "Scouting party"

5. Draft of a case for change


Making your role productive

“Four kinds of leaders that are essential:

Local line leaders

Internal network leaders and community builders

Managers of specialist functions with the capability to initiate or work with key cross-organizational processes

Executive leaders”


Take stock personally

“If you feel irritation, impatience or discomfort, give yourself permission to rant. But also tell the truth. Turn the irritation into a rough initial positive statement of what you want.”


Take stock personally

“Don't spend too long thinking about these issues alone -it's easy to feel overwhelmed.”


Forming your initial team “You can begin by searching for

like-minded people in the organization who share your concerns and are also seeking to make a case for change.”


Forming your initial team “Consider meeting one-on-one with

each of them initially to have a brief conversation, establish some common ground, translate your frustration and theirs into larger visions and goals, and build a case for change.”


Forming your initial team “Keep in mind that people don't need

to agree on everything when they meet: a broad goal, interest, or point of common frustration is often sufficient. Disagreements can help... if you talk openly.”


Aspirations

“Make time early on to look ahead together, perhaps a time frame of 25 years in mind so that you are unconstrained by present-day realities.”


Aspirations

“Be patient with your initial vision. Your aspirations will change... Truly shared visions are a continual work in process.”


Stuart L. Hart and Mark B. Milstein


Building your case for change “The majority of initiatives are in

the lower left quadrant -they're internal and focused on today. The larger goal of your work is to create a balanced portfolio of options and investments across all four quadrants.”


Connecting your efforts

“Don't fall into the trap of presenting your work as a fait accompli.”


Seeing Systems

“People frequently use the word system when they want to imply that something is outside their control... Seeing systems and understanding our role in shaping those systems are two sides of the same coin.”


Systems-thinking iceberg 1. Reacting to Events- what just happened

2. Anticipating Patterns/Trends- what’s been happening and have we been here or same place similar before

3. Systemic Structure or Forces- what are the deeper forces driving patterns

4. Transform Mental Models- how these models affect, even dictate, our thoughts.


Economy and ecology

“Once people start to practice seeing systems, they begin to understand basic flaws in prevailing mental models and alternative futures that are possible.”


Spaceship Earth

“Obviously, something has to give. In a world where we need to shift as rapidly as possible to low-carbon, non-fossil-fuel sources of power, we are all part of the challenge.”


Rethinking boundaries

“Attempts to convince people that they are wrong and that they need to rethink boundaries will almost always be met with resistance; few people appreciate being told that their thinking is too limited.”



“Ask people to reflect on how they are thinking now, rather than trying to force them to think differently.”


Spaceship Earth

“Inquiry is far more effective strategy than advocacy.”



“As you consider the problem you are focusing on, ask: “In what ways are we imposing arbitrary boundaries?”



“The problems come not because we have boundaries in our thinking but because we forget there are boundaries.”



“Groups forget the assumptions they are making and get frozen in taken-for-granted worldviews.”



“The first step is to help people see these self-imposed boundaries.”


Seeing limits to growth

“Developing our natural systems intelligence starts with recognizing patterns that are part of our everyday experience but that often go unnoticed because we lack the ability to recognize them and the language to talk about them.”


Seeing limits to growth

“Businesses that can see limits can adapt a lot faster than their competitors and can strategize much more effectively.”


Seeing our choices

“Key insight: opting for quick fixes and avoiding fundamental solutions tends to set up a reinforcing set of pressures for more quick fixes over time.”


Seeing common limits “Many data centers and software

companies have realized that they are likely facing limits in electricity supplies in the near future. In fact, all technology companies are now recognizing that they are in the energy business.”


The circular economy

“Look beyond your immediate supplier and consider the total value chain.”


Seeing our choices

“Seeing systems is a team sport, and people working together will push each other along as they come up with many new ideas and fresh perspectives.”


Collaborating across boundaries

“Bringing about significant changes in large systems is difficult work. It takes great courage and even greater patience.”



“Bringing about significant changes... takes facing difficult problems many would like to assume either do not exist or are somebody else's job to fix.”



“Among the many reasons we do not look at problems systemically is that implementing the insights that result would force us out of our intellectual and institutional comfort zones.”


http://www.solonline.org


'Getting the system in the room' “Often, those at the top of institutional

hierarchies have far too much invested in preserving the status quo of their own organizations to undertake bold experiments outside their boundaries.”


Collaborating across boundaries “Extraordinary change requires

building extraordinary relationships, and at some level this requires gathering together diverse people representing diverse views so that they can speak and listen to one another in new ways.”


Darcy Winslow from Nike

“Do we really understand the products we -and our whole

industry- are creating?”


Growing a Strategic Microcosm 1. “Continually reflect on key challenges,

actors and forces in the system

2. What are the key voices that you have yet to include in your group or network?

3. Look for blind spots

4. When might the time be right?

5. How might you go about engaging those excluded?


Growing a Strategic Microcosm Expect:

1. Core leadership,

2. Circle of engagement,

3. Circle of informed,

4. The uninformed

5. (and opponents)



“There most be more to this business than the next cool

gadget”


Building momentum

“Shifting conversations from problems to possibilities not only shapes the convening process, it lays a foundation for genuine commitment among those involved and gets them excited about working together”



“Who knows? This might be our greatest possibility. When you think about it, Nike is one of the

few companies that could make this sustainability stuff 'cool'”


Purposeful networking

“Building leadership networks invariably comes down to investing lots of time in one-on-one or small-group conversations to explore issues and foster engagement.”



“The process will lead to surprises. Invariably, you will find that people whom you never expected to be interested will start to get engaged.”



“Many who will prove to be important partners will be people you never knew aboutor had contrary opinions.”



“Many who fail to show much interest early on often respond differently later, when they see a critical mass starting to form around issues that concern them.”


Stakeholder dialogue interviews

“Make your own concerns and aspirations clear and come to learn, rather than to advocate or sell your own ideas.”



“Prepare: be fully present during the interview

Open: say it simply and without hyperbole

Engage: ask one or two simple and open-ended questions that give people a chance to reflect

Follow the flow: begin a true dialogue



Jump off the bridge: let go of whatever is holding you back from connecting

Expand the network: ask if there is anyone else we should talk with

Close: avoid a feeling of incompleteness

Be yourself and be genuinely curious.”


Also...

Show early your true willingness to negotiate

Detach yourself from the ideas

Show empathy, rephrase what is important to them

Highlight risks and trade-offs

Sell “reversability”


Building relationships

“Change advocates either think that the reasons to change are so clear and compelling that anyone awake must be on board, or they look at the enormous gap between what is and what is needed and become cynical.”


Building relationships

“In between are those who have both a passion for the vision and an understanding of the need to build the collaborative networks the vision requires”


Conversations that shape the future “Above-the-line conversations

depend on three skills: learning how to suspend immediate assumptions, reflecting on mental models we had previously taken for granted, and balancing advocacy for our ideas with inquiry into other opinions.”


Suspending assumptions

“The discipline of testing our assumptions forces us to make them explicit, opens the possibility that they might not be 100% correct, and lays the foundation for learning over time.”


Opening hearts and minds “Bring together a diverse group of people

that represents the larger system

Identify the different facets of the system

“Go there together”: travel with the entire team

Set aside ample time to reflect and talk together

Pay careful attention to the intentions and commitments that arise.”


Opening hearts and minds “Direct experien ce (“going there”)

means seeing a different place firsthand, talking with people we usually do not talk with, seeing how people live, work, play, raise their children...”


Building shared commitment “Trying to get people commited is

a bit like trying to be happy: the harder you try, the less successful you're likely to be... Your ability to foster commitment will never be greater than your own commitment.”


http://mitleadership.mit.edu/r-fpmodel.php

4-Player Model

Move :—establishes a direction and sets the team in motion.

Follow : provides support for the move and serves the function of completion.

Oppose:—questions the move that has been initiated.

Bystand: provides perspective and invites the team to be more reflective.


Positive vs. negative vision “The spirit of creating is

virtually the opposite of the attitude that has characterized much of the history of the environmental and social justice movements.”


Creative tension

“Creative tension is the gap between the image of what we truly want to see exist and the world as it is today.”


Seeing opportunities

W. McDonough and M. Braungart: “If a car is heading south, slowing down does not cause it to head north. Sooner or later, you need to turn the car around 180 degrees. No matter how “less bad” you are, it will not make you good.”


Creative tension

“Strategies based on negative visions, emotional tension, and being less bad differ fundamentally from ones guided by positive visions and creative tension.”


Unleasing everyday magic “The creative process is part

of our common heritage as human beings, and accessing this perennial wisdowm will be key to liberating our individual and collective potential.”


You don't have to have all the answers

“It is only in the process of working to bring a vision to reality, and seeing what is effective and what isn't, that you will gain key insights.”


Learning through prototypes

“Academics, even brilliant ones, frequently spend a lot of energy talking about problems instead of what can be done differently.”


Learning through prototypes “Latent needs (never expressed)

are difficult or impossible to discern with standard market research methods, but they come to the surface when people see tangible embodiments of new ideas.”


Learning through prototypes

When people see a prototype, they say: “If we can do this, why couldn't we do that too?”


Asking for help

“Often people in important leadership positions think they have to have all the answers, and those 'below' them hold the same view. Ironically, this fails to tap the collective intelligence that can arise when asking for help.”


Patrick Atkins from Alcoa

“When you've got 130,000 Alcoa employees, each of them thinking about this for ten

minutes a day, it's amazing what happens.”


Asking for help

“Asking for help has two benefits: it generates a remarkable diversity and depth of ideas and energy for change; it also engages people in changes that really matter to them.”


Strategic possibilities

“Many companies are selling the wrong products to the wrong customers based on the wrong business model.”


Vivienne Cox from BP

“We were still investing more in advertising than in developing

renewable energy.”


Looking inside for energy and commitment

“Identify key areas

Engage skeptics

Find a way to prove it

Identify the visionaries

Draw a network map

Identify personal relationships”


Anticipate

“Pick initial team members for prototyping

Continually make linkages to key organizational issues and goals

Demonstrate what's possible

Build contingency plans

Generate curiosity

Create clear evidence for change”


Looking outside for energy and commitment

“Identify lead customers

Leverage customer engagement and interest

Identify favourable conditions and communities

Tie your idea to a latent or emerging segment of the market

Pay attention to and build on your organization's DNA”


Businesses with a mission “Peter Drucker once said: Profit for

a company is like oxygen for a person

- Unfortunately, most businesses operate as if their purpose is breathing”


Businesses with a mission “There is no more basic

confusion that prevades the business world than the idea that the purpose of a company is to maximize profit.”


Businesses with a mission

“A few businesses do not exist in order to make profit, they make a profit in order to contribute.”


http://www.greystonbakery.com/social-mission/


http://www.seventhgeneration.com/about


Businesses with a mission “The key is building these

relationships slowly, so that people really get to know one another and what really matters to each of us.”


Redesigning for the future

“Current organizational structures have evolved in response to the imperatives of the past, not the future, and they wil need to change to support new visions, strategies and goals.”


Redesigning for the future “Be specially sensitive to the

dangers of shifting the burden to specialists. At best, they can be a temporary catalyst.”


Redesigning for the future

“Approach change by setting lofty goals, even if no one knows how to achieve them.”


It's okay not to know how

“If you are a senior leader, you and your team don't have to know immediately how you're going to achieve your vision.”


It's okay not to know how

“It is crucial that you don't frame your goal in the context of what you know today. If you do so, you will limit the reach of your aspiration.”


Erich Fromm

"True freedom is not the absence of structure-but rather a clear

structure that enables people to work within established

boundaries in an autonomous and creative way.”


Structure for freedom

“Designing mechanisms for horizontal, cross-boundary collaboration is as crucial as getting the vertical accountabilities right.”


Structure for freedom

“Rethinking organizational structure is challenging but high-leverage work. Organizations get the results they are designed for, and no more.”


The end

The Necessary Revolution

Business

Transcript of The Necessary Revolution