Dialogue in action

How does the power of dialogue to snap us out of our set ways of thinking or interpretation manifest itself?

Our set ways of thinking are progressed by typical patterns. The dialogue concept suspends assumptions to enable exploration of underlying thinking, provides a "container" in which interactions take place, and uses proprioceptive attention to enable a transformation in underlying patterns of thought.

To suspend assumptions means to recognize the source of thought and reflect on the underlying automatic process that gave rise to a particular conclusion. To correct or flx a problem (that could be a paradox) is to take a stance that is separate from it, that objectifies it, and that seeks to apply an analytic approach towards understanding it. While this approach is the essence of science, it is also limiting, especially if this is the only move one is able to make. A "dialogic stance" is one that moves in the direction of suspending both the immediate effort to correct a problem, and the very processes by which it becomes defined in a particular way. Its value lies in the possibility of dissolving problems before they appear by reframing experience.

To provide the container implies easing interactions and surfacing options to solve system problems, reducing the risk of participating, and legitimating inquiry into underlying images, norms and perceptions.  The purpose of the container is to enable participants to see, in effect, the water in which they have been swimming, so that they may influence it consciously.

To use proprioceptive attention is to apply a kind of mindful self-reflection that slows down thinking and opens the possibility for insight. It goes beyond reflection based in memory—in processing images and information that occurred in the far or recent past. They are accepted as literal and real. If we had the ability to connect them with the nature of our thoughts we would be able to see self-destructive thoughts, for example, and have some ability to control them. Typically we simply see our thoughts as emerging "from nowhere" and do not detect our own fingerprints on them.

The power of Dialogue

Knowledge is divided broadly into two categories: Tacit and Explicit. Explicit is that which can be put into words while Tacit is difficult to express but constitutes perhaps the substance of the communication on a subject. Isaac has written about the ability of Dialogue to access and express the tacit domain:

Just as the know-how people use to ride a bicycle cannot be stated, the knowledge people use to think, particularly to think collectively, is tacit. Our tacit ways of thinking govern how we formulate our views, deal with differences, pay attention, make causal connections: in short these tacit influences are like the operating software that govern the ways human beings perceive the world and take action in it. Incoherence in these tacit springs of experience leads people to create unintended effects when they act, and to remain unaware of the fact that they are actively participating in ways of thinking and acting that continue to produce these effects. People are in effect out of contact with the sources and impacts of their thinking and acting. As physicist David Bohm put it, "thought creates the world and then says, I didn't do it." One purpose of dialogue is to reestablish contact so that this tacit ground can be accessed, its impacts perceived, and its effects altered.

The Nature of the Force For Success And Failure

It is fascinating how physics applies to the mind. Newton proclaimed a body will continue in a straight line or uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force. So a vicious force must act for failure to occur. I had explained the vicious force that leads us to folly and the organization to destruction in my blog of Feb 6^th, 2011: Transforming The Enterprise - 3 . If there is a natural vicious force then there had to be a natural virtuous force to guide us to what we want.

Senge presents the virtuous force as the gap between the Vision and the Reality or the Creative Tension. But that was not enough. What derailed this force? Why did it have to be organized? I had to go beyond Senge and that made me foray into academia. The journals had the answers but it took me 4 years to reach my conclusions.

The answer lay in paradox theory. Paradoxes are endemic to the act of organizing. It has been observed by Stewart Clegg: “most management practices create their own nemesis”. Academia has of course researched much beyond this statement and identified the paradoxes that arise. Understanding of the related tension leads to the nature of action necessary to resolve it. It became clear that paradoxes blur the vision. Their resolution was necessary for a clear vision so that the natural virtuous force could take effect.

The real satisfaction was the realization that both the Vicious and Virtuous forces are a produce of tension and dialogue was key to surfacing tension for constructive action. My breakthrough is a reliable means for dialogue.

A sobering realization

Just what is the mind? How is it related to the brain? In what way is the mind important for success? These are questions that I should have asked before progressing this blog. However, often we become conscious of the deeper questions only after we have the answers!

This line of thinking led me back to my favourite book of answers: The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge. He quotes Bohm to inform that in the natural state the mind is an indisciplined body prone to selecting thoughts from an external stream and building on them. In the process it makes assumptions and leverages generalisations that have settled in the sub-conscious. To effect a change of mind these can only be accessed via collective thinking with the aid of disciplines practiced by way of dialogue.

It follows that in the natural state the human mind is prone to Folly where it can act against its own interests despite its best intentions. To tame the mind the individual must belong to a collective that must be organized to surface assumptions and mental sets. The individual must be aware of the possibility of Folly and belong to an organized collective to surface a shared reality.

The thinking ties in beautifully with my favourite quote from Sun Tzu: If You know yourself and know the enemy then you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

But that means that the greatest enemy resides within!
 

The pervasive problem

I have been busy articulating my learning that there is a problem with human endeavour and man has no option but to use IT to solve it.

Historically, mankind has progressed linearly: we experience an opposing force, we fall-in behind a leader to confront it, we sustain our assault, we prevail and we progress. It worked for centuries till the growth of knowledge work brought us face to face with a powerful counter-force within ourselves towards the end of the 20th century. It led to fragmentation of our ranks and folly in our actions. The 21st century felt the imperative to quell the counter-force but has yet to realize in practice the three words for progress defined by Mary Parker Follet in 1927 and ratified by time: Interacting, Uniting, and Emerging.

Ironically it is the convicted fraudsters in our midst, who at one time numbered amongst the brightest, who surfaced that organiations are pitted against a system problem. Their ambition was perhaps driven astray by watching genuine and immense effort being frustrated day after day like that of the work-horse Boxer in George Orwell’s Animal Farm. They could not identify with Boxer. The system problem explains the pervasive mediocrity in relation to the potential for better performance and superior use of resources. The problem is also reflected by the stagnant productivity in the knowledge system since the early 20th century despite the availability of powerful technological support for uniting and interacting. The precarious state of the world demands identification and resolution of the system problem as leaders can do little against it. The prescription of hard work over an extended period of time by Rooke & Torbert and Prof. Kotter in celebrated HBR articles is very similar to the solution adopted by Boxer.

Considerable work has been done to solve the system problem defined above. However, it is focused on what personnel should do and leaders must achieve. It is a load that few leaders can bear because immense energy is required to change behavior and then sustain it. It stands to reason that people cannot be expected to identify their folly and correct themselves since folly is inherent. Even if it is possible only a few can achieve it. The energy must be invested in the system. Today only IT can provide that energy. My work defines why it has been impossible to date and makes it possible.

The Projected Impact Of Collective Ability On The Enterprise Scale

Roberto Setubal, the CEO of Brazil’s Itaú Unibanco was aware of the hidden power of teams. Desirous of maintaining his company's edge over the competition he decided to unlock the hidden power in his organization. The following interview provides an insight into the goals, milestones, problems and impact of enterprise scale transformation to an open culture. The key requirement is vision at the top. Given that, it requires great driving energy, persistence and follow-up. We can confidently state that assisted by our infrastructure Itaú Unibanco would have gone twice the distance in half the time, with IT providing much of the organizing and driving energy apart from assuring the culture base.

Link: Transforming a high-performing company: An interview with Roberto Setubal

(As reported in The McKinsey Quarterly, dated April, 2009)

Direct Link:
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Organization/Change_Management/Transforming_a_high-performing_company_An_interview_with_Roberto_Setubal_2312

A new name for the black cat in .....

I used to describe my work as Intelligent Energy. It created problems. I was seen as presumptuous. Those that were charitable thought I meant something artificial and believed my time would come in the future. Only a few, a limited few sought clarification.

So, as a first step I shall give my infrastructure a moniker: waykm or the Way of Knowledge Management, pronounced as Wake'em.

As the second step I shall change its interpretation to Super-energy, This is not less than Intelligent Energy but more. It means my creation organises, anticipates and drives interactions to bring about diualogue on each event, and has the inexhaustible energy to perform the task 24x7.

Keep It Simple ......

I got a valuable Comment on my entry for Mahindra's 'Spark the Rise' competition. It reminded me that sometimes we complicate our thinking:

Pawan Kumar: In your project updates I read your answer to the simple questions: 1)" What exactly is your product? 2) Is it a service, a philosophy, a methodology, a software, or what? Your slide 4/6 gives the answer in two simple lines: 1) The Breakthrough: Intelligent Energy & 2) Converges: philosophy, personal & collective needs, technology. Perhaps the questioner wished to understand Convergence. Now, that may require an explanation of the concept of Intelligent Energy. I would say your update ‘Need for a war on the Obvious' (see last Update on Sep. 16, 2011) makes an excellent beginning. Let me clarify: 1) Killing the Obvious needs a superhuman energy for it is so omnipresent 2) An autonomous System, one with its own energy source, that works seamlessly offline and online for the conduct of administration is superhuman 3) Your work is an autonomous System. It is a Service, a Philosophy, a Methodology and a Software rolled into one. Perhaps I should add that ‘the One’ satisfies Personal and Professional needs because you have gone to great pains to establish it is compelling. For such a System transformation would be a sleight of hand. I would like to see it in operation.

My slide 4/6 referred by Pawan is repeated here:

Pawan inspired me to attempt an imaginary Q & A for the interested reader:

Just what are you doing?  

• I am engaged in assisting organisation personnel to align for emerging the reality behind the obvious and foster an innovative response.

Next: Now how do you accomplish this amazing feat?: 

• There is a proven philosophy to it that concludes Feedback will accomplish the job.

 Next: How do you manage Feedback? 

• By arranging all interactions as a discussion string with rich context.

 Aha. How do you manage the impossibility of capturing all interactions with rich context all the time w/o depending on the personnel and driving them crazy? 

• Easy. I have developed a single Knowledge process that is compelling for the conduct of interactions in daily work.

 But a single Knowledge process is an impossibility!! Knowledge is a possession. Its sharing is discretionary! 

• Yes. The one-size-fit-all process is impossible. I have got around that by creating the all-sizes-fit-one Knowledge process.

Now, how did you do that? 

• Teamwork has evolved. I have studied the norms of evolution and programmed them into software to offer a platform on net technology that replaces email with a facility 50 times more powerful.

Oh really? 

• Well, I should be saying 100 times more powerful cause it is not a dumb protocol like email insensitive to worker needs. I am not claiming that cause I am in the beta stage and am not a techie. Plenty of scope for improvement.

In my next post I shall introduce the new name Pawan has helped me conceive for my work. I thank him. 

What Is The Product?

It is possible that till Drucker came up with his famous question in the early 90s: “The first question in raising productivity in knowledge and service work has to be: What is the task? What do we try to accomplish? Why do it at all?,  the technologists had a field day in defining what they saw and declaring it a valid answer to the product question. Post the double loop learning concept of Argyris  made famous by Senge in the mid 90s, even Drucker was not enough. The person and his thinking became part of the problem.

My last post was the Drucker and Senge in me. Now I am going to attempt a conventional answer, touching all the bases I must.

My Post 'Transforming the Enterprise-3' of February 6, 2011 defines the nature of Knowledge and the force it creates to reduce the Collective Ability. The next post 'Transforming the Enterprise-4' of February 7, 2011 states the theory of Feedback for overcoming the Knowing/Doing gap. The post 'Transforming the Enterprise-6' illustrates Feedback on the net. It has to be far richer in categorisation to be useful within the enterprise. Not shown here is the relationship between Feedback and innovation defined by Nonaka by way of the Knowledge spiral.

My post 'A Perspective of the possible Service' of September 14, 2011 explains how Feedback operates to create the Knowledge force. Alignment is a by-product. Its importance is explained at the Project site:

Mahindra Spark the Rise | Activating Moore's Law for the Rise by creating Intelligent Energy

The goal of my product then is creation of Feedback to drive the Knowledge Force. The force  overcomes the Knowing/Doing gap to drive success and operates the Knowledge Spiral to foster innovation.

As of today no means, mechanism, philosophy or system exists to achieve Feedback in the modern workplace. The Colonial administration had achieved it in the past with its paper systems.

The main components of my product to deliver Feedback are as follows: 

1. A single Knowledge process. All Knowledge flows on an event are composed of a finite number of repeatable Actions that drive its circulation for decision-making. Universal norms derived from evolution of teamwork assemble the repeatable Actions that progress circulation. The Actions possible on an event are anticipated given the history of Actions already assembled. 
2. Design of the flexible organization. Task forces, the basic work units of the enterprise, report to a specific Post within a Community at each level of a hierarchy. The concept aids flexibility of assignment and also offers a ready support group for Socialization. The structural flexibility is built in by enabling swift reallocation of the reporting hierarchy for the task forces. According to Nonaka (1996) the bureaucratic structure defined by the hierarchies efficiently accumulates and exploits new knowledge through Combination and Internalization, while the Task force is indispensable for creating new knowledge through Socialization and Externalization. He concluded that a dynamic synthesis of the two structures, termed by him as the hypertext organization, reaps benefits from both. The organization can be as flat as desired. 
3. Categorization of the Knowledge event. The Reasons why decision events arise in an enterprise are mostly known in advance. Additions may be captured on-line. These Reasons are distributed amongst the task forces. The distribution creates a framework that may be applied to the event for defining its owning task force and meta-data. The data aids conduct of the norms governing collective action. The unstructured part of the event may be a word file, a presentation, a work sheet, email, etc., or their combination. It is captured as a document in its environment. 
4. The conduct of the Process. The event is categorized and captured with the aid of the framework. The routing is decided by the Action selected from among those possible per the norms. The Actions circulate the event among dynamic team members selected from the organization structure per the logic of the Action. The circulation defined by the Action may either be in series to a single recipient or in parallel to multiple recipients. The recipients may be across boundaries. The User may record an opinion before executing the selections. All meta-data along with the expectation of the Action selected is recorded for organizing a dashboard to select a particular event for working. The process assembles the Knowledge of the Collective on the event in the Feedback format of Post-6 above. The process coordinates the ad-hoc team working on an event regardless of space, time, connectivity and chaos. This makes it over fifty times more appealing, powerful and relevant than email for business communication. Its implementation is non-disruptive.

Each of the components stated above solves a hitherto intractable problem. The Knowledge process alone changes the IT paradigm from a tool to energy. The concept of Intelligent Energy is explained in the referred project. I should be calling Intelligent Energy the product for it is the means for the produce – the transformation - but the problem is it cannot be seen and can be felt only by the initiated. The system assures its own adoption because it is the most painless way of working to circulate events, a daily necessity for the Knowledge worker. The system leverages this circulation and the intelligent categorisation for the flow and systematic capture of all Knowledge exchanged. The Knowledge exchange is represented in the Feedback format to generate the Knowledge force that creates alignment and drives the collective towards the vision.

The Anonymous 'Tip Off'

On Sep. 14th I got a genuine feedback: 

• " What exactly is your product? 
• Is it a service, a philosophy, a methodology, a software, or what? 
• Some concrete example will do wonders for the readers who want to understand what you are trying to do. I have glanced through your posts and all I see are some musings on various management related issues, all heavily infused with management speak." 

I responded: 

• Product: Transformation of the enterprise with culture induced by technology.

 That was loose. I ought to have said ‘Produce’ instead of 'Product'. But at the frontier one does tend to engage in the spirit and not the semantics. I developed my last post to define and explain the delivery. Back came the banana skin I had left lying around: 

• Transformation is the end result; it cannot be the means - which is what I mean by product.

 My transformation relates to metanoia or the change of the mind. It is a produce that deals with the world within a person. It cannot be seen for it has to do with better judgments and execution. The nature of transformation must first be understood for it is a by-product. Since it follows from philosophy it cannot be understood from a grasp of the product.

There is little to grasp from the product for it is a system for the daily interactions. Its USP of compelling adoption and delivery of Feedback can be comprehended only if the nature of transformation is understood. The audience must know what they are looking for.

Transformation is like talking of God. He lies in the story. My last post is a story. It is difficult to define God for those who have not experienced his roots. For 5000 years man has progressed in the belief there is no God in the organisation. People like Sun Tzu and Senge talked of him but could not create him. Man still had to drive success with battle plans and principles. There was no Faith. This explains the mess today.

It took me five years to create the product but thereafter ten years to understand the nature of transformation. I would still have been struggling had it not been for Deming and Senge. They have gained fame for their understanding of Knowledge but not flourished cause they could not create the organisation and energy to drive transformation. They failed to create Faith. I have created the intelligent energy to organise and drive the Knowledge force that brings about transformation or change of mind for better working and action and emergence of reality as well as Collective Wisdom. The product or the means is the infrastructure I set up. It operates a compelling process for the daily interactions. Transformation in thinking follows with the Feedback created.

I have an academic paper coming up in a renowned systems journal on the subject of transformation and how it follows from interactions. The emphasis is on the specific properties of the interactions. Collaboration is also interaction but it is incapable of delivering transformation except in very very rare cases. That is why Enterprise x.0 will fail like E 2.0. Till the paper is published I would urge the interested reader to see my project description at:

http://www.sparktherise.com/projectdetail.php?pid=497

The project is the end product of years of philosophy development, remarkable success with a prototype and ready software for an enterprise scale pilot. I need the pilot to establish the new reality. Words and pictures cannot reveal the possible to the uninitiated. For new Knowledge one has to make up the mind: is the possible desirable? If the answer is yes then one has to follow Einstein:

•  “The problems we have created in the world today will not be solved by the level of thinking that created them.”       

Before concluding this post is abstract ask yourself: 

• Why has collaboration, with all its hyped and clear product definitions and case studies, failed?
• Why is Japan, a highly advanced Knowledge creating economy, in the pits?
• Why is the US struggling despite the best 'products' technology has to offer?
• Why have administrative reforms failed in India since 1956?
• What is needed for success and growth?

Perhaps the answer is more than what a product or a case study can provide. They may only confuse and confound.  Till a clear systemic answer going to the roots of the problem emerges to the last question we shall be at cross purposes for the black cat can be sighted only in a lighted rtoom. I or my posts cannot be blamed for the absence of light. You may be looking for a different light.  Experiments/pilots are an acknowledged way for distributed people to share the same page. Even prototypes may have meaning only for the creator since scale differences spawn a lot of questions. So the real questions are: Is the need the pilot addresses worth it? Is the philosophy powerful enough? Is there an alternate philosophy over the horizon?

A Perspective of the possible service

System Perspective: My universal process converts IT from a tool to compelling and inexhaustible intelligent energy, supported 24x7 by replication technology, for the daily interactions. It institutes a Knowledge Assembly Line, commencing with a support group, to assemble the Knowledge of the enterprise on each event in a Feedback format. The Feedback develops a Knowledge force that propels the organization towards growth and success. Collective Ability over 50% is possible in 3 years. The cycle above illustrates operation of the system: 

• Like the cycle above is a cycling system with a process for collective effort my IT infrastructure creates a communication system where the process unifies the thinking and action of the collective.   
•  Like the cycle chain unites individual effort to create collective power, the process for interactions implements the discipline for ad-hoc coordination on each event. Regular Feedback, delivered as a byproduct, forges Trust and Teamwork, energizes the latent Collective Ability, and aligns the collective to raise the Collective Ability.  
•  Like for the tandem cycle, individual ability  is of little consequence. Efficient collective action is possible only when there is team learning. The process fosters team learning. 
•  Like each rider focuses on pedaling, personnel focus on their interactions. The system does the rest. The process easily links to external workflow systems for interactions.
•  Each rider’s participation contributes to team performance. The leadership guides direction.

The Knowledge Assembly Line has much in common with Taylor’s Mechanical Assembly Line created for raising Manufacturing productivity about 1908. Following the first manufacturing productivity leap with the Assembly Line, the next quantum jump came with the Quality Circles that developed around the Line after 1960. The Circles fostered Trust and Teamwork, and what is today known as Systems Thinking. Drucker (1992) has estimated that manufacturing productivity increased over forty five times in the 20th century. In the absence of a process to align the thinking and action of a collective for producing Innovation, Learning and Execution, the Knowledge work quality and productivity stagnated in the same period. The quantum jump in Collective Ability and Agility delivered by the system has the potential to activate Moore’s Law or IT’s exponential rate of growth for the conduct of business administration.

The Way Forward

Today the vision concept is silent on the force needed to drive it. The collective has to struggle to align and perform. Supported by the redefined System of Profound Knowledge (last post) early realization of the vision will become possible with unleashing of the Knowledge force for raising Collective Ability. Launching the possibility requires unfailing energy to organize and drive all Knowledge work and interactions for initiating the systematic Feedback at the core of the redefined System.

 

The conventional wisdom deems a single Knowledge process to harness IT is impossible and self-organization by busy personnel is the only way to drive vision. The IT industry has submitted to the wisdom by not exploring beyond the linear one-size-fit-all process. The non-linear possibility of a single all-sizes-fit-one Knowledge process to convert IT to inexhaustible intelligent energy for organizing and driving the vision in place of dependence on self-organization by personnel is today inconceivable; it lies beyond the frontier of Knowledge. It has great potential to advance Management beyond the system limitations of the linear cause and effect machine age where it has languished since the late 80s.

Finding common ground with Deming

Deming believed grasp of his System of Profound Knowledge (1993) would induce managements to progress his principles for raising the quality of decisions, i.e., assuring Learning, Innovation and Optimization. The System did not flourish though those who invested the effort did like Marshall Industries. Perhaps the complex effort demanded was too much for most managers. This blog suggests redefining the System to encourage Feedback. Conduct of Feedback is simple and its power to create the force of Knowledge for producing Learning, Innovation and Optimization is well founded:

Old System of Profound Knowledge:

1.Appreciation for  a system: understanding the overall processes involving suppliers, producers, and customers (or recipients) of goods and services;

2.Knowledge of variation: the range and causes of variation in quality, and use of statistical sampling in measurements;

3.Theory of knowledge: the concepts explaining knowledge and the limits of what can be known;

4.Knowledge of psychology: concepts of human nature.

Revised System of Profound Knowledge:

● Appreciation for a system to foster growth: The Knowledge Spiral defines the inter-dependent components for Knowledge creation: A vision for the collective, Socialization, existence of support groups, and free cross-border interactions in context across the organization.

● Knowledge of the universal force that enhances folly: The Knowing-Doing Gap is universal. It lowers the Collective Ability to define the root problem and apply Knowledge effectively.

● Theory of the power of constructive Feedback: The Systems Theory of Senge concludes that cross enterprise Feedback builds a Knowledge force for innovation and good execution. The force is enhanced by systematic Feedback to practice the Fifth Discipline of Systems Thinking.

● Knowledge of power of the Freedom to interact: The Freedom fosters Feedback. Managed without threat it fulfills the primal desire to learn as also live in Freedom with the recognition, respect and dignity earned. The intrinsic motivation makes Feedback a self-reinforcing practice. The success that follows instills faith in the practice for success and growth of the collective.

Transforming The Enterprise - 13

Immense energy is needed to assure feedback in the conduct of interventions for superior application of Knowledge across the enterprise. All that is needed to transform IT to inexhaustible intelligent energy for driving transformation is a model that leverages human nature, and uses science to solve the problems of Knowledge work with technology, i.e., stradles both the internal and external worlds. Based on the remarkable performance of prototypes in demanding environments we can confidently assure a rise in Collective Ability to well over 50% of the potential. All round growth follows.

The image above gives a perspective of how our work delivers. The Ability possible with just IT takes Knowledge Management into account. It is eliptical, i.e., skewed because of non-uniform adoption across the enterprise. Total, i.e., uniform adoption of our work is assured because its primary use is a compelling means for the daily work and communication across the enterprise. Dialogue is a by-product.

Transforming The Enterprise - 12

Significance Of Our Breakthrough

Faith is an accepted human power. No problem is too big or a hurdle too high for Faith to overcome. The image shows David, immortalized by Michelangelo's sculpture created as a gift to the citizens of Florence, confronting his adversary Goliath. Goliath, the Phillistine champion warrior, had for forty days challenged the Israeli army to single combat and infused fear with his size and tales of prowess. David took up the challenge armed only with his sling ----- and Faith in the God of Israel. That he slew Goliath with his own sword after felling him with a slingshot is part of legend, and as excavations establish, history.

My work infuses Faith among personnel that they can get what they want:

• Replaces email for all interventions           

              Cuts anxiety: Leaders empowered to mentor
              Creates Time: Functions seamlessly offline.

• System manages Knowledge flow in chaos

             IT converted to intelligent energy for Dialogue

• Delivery of dialogue by IT rewrites the Wisdom

             Fosters Collectives, Feedback & Sense making.

• Faith develops: Compelling way --> Success

           Induced Culture heals  organizations from within.

Transforming The Enterprise - 11

Our Breakthrough

Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, declared in 1895. "Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible." And yet on December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright successfully flew the first powered heavier than air craft. The right science can enhance the frontiers of possibility. My work too extends the frontier earlier articulated by Peter Drucker in 1990: "In Knowledge and service work partnership with the responsible worker is the only way; nothing else will work at all.”

The following defines the nature of the breakthrough and the facts that make it universally applicable:

• Focus on the worker and not the event
• Interventions are a necessity for decisions
• Team interventions: a product of evolution
• Norms decide next possible step of worker

             Enable a single knowledge process for events

             Integrate with a flexible organization structure.

• Process anticipates and conducts next step

             IT energy organizes communication for feedback

             Our IT engine transforms without disruption.

Transforming The Enterprise - 10

Transformation Objectives
Basis Intervention Control

 My next post shall address the all important matter of creating intelligent energy for establishing Dialogue/Feedback. Personnel energy is no longer sufficient to assure Dialogue across the modern extended enterprises. As stated earlier, the conventional wisdom believes it is impossible to harness IT for the effortless delivery of Dialogue.

Transforming The Enterprise - 9

Conventional IT Is Just A Tool

The governing wisdom of IT is 'if the user cannot organize Knowledge work how can IT do so?' Correspondingly, since IT is just a tool and the user must self-organize work, IT systems for Knowledge work are user driven. For all practical purposes we are still plodding along in the bullock cart age shown by the image above. The load on the user makes it next to impossible to tame interactions for responding to the irrational nature of Knowledge application. All that the industry can do is struggle along and hope as detailed below:

• No change in the Conventional Wisdom:

              Only personnel can organize and drive interactions

                      Incentives are essential for sharing.

              A single process for conversations impossible

                      IT is today a passive tool for knowledge interactions.

• Knowledge work focus: fixes, not reality

         Fixes are a temporary solution.

• Hope for taming interactions:

              Education/Leaders will foster Openness

              Personnel will willingly self-organize to share

                      They will use IT to invest energy/time/volition/discipline.

    No Philosophy --> No Method --> Status Quo

Transforming The Enterprise - 8

The Means For Dialogue Needs To Evolve

The image above shows the cycle as we know it today took close to a 100 years to evolve. The practice of Dialogue too has evolved. It has its norms that distinguish it from Discussion as summarised in my last post. Its use on the enterprise scale for remarkable results was celebrated by Drucker:

• Last use: the Indian colonial administration
• File based dialogue gave results despite

             Remote and inaccessible areas

             100 administrators reporting to one Principal.

• Drucker (1988): Its free form interactions and free-flow a model for the 21st century.

• Changes: culture, volume, spread & speed
• File system swamped. Personnel overloaded

             Evolution essential for Energy/Time/Volition/Will
          

Those who comment on web news stories may have already experienced the next step enabled by technology.

Transforming The Enterprise - 7

Interactions à Conversations

The image above illustrates that conversations are a product of interactions. There are two kinds of conversations:

• Discussion/Collaboration – practice today

               Usually synchronous, i.e., in same time and space

               Ignores feedback, patterns and systematic recording

               Poor control over wishes - ego can prevail.

• Dialogue – freedom to question the basis

               Fosters teaming regardless of distribution

               Assures feedback for emerging the Reality

               Builds force from within: taps deep drive to Learn.

• Only Dialogue develops Collective Ability

              Problem: The only mechanism for Dialogue is manual.

Transforming The Enterprise - 6

Just Interactions Create Feedback

The single actiivity for Feedback is Interactions . They are at the heart of any intervention by personnel. Their conduct on an event determines decisions and hence will influence the behavior of the enterprise, i.e., will decide the DNA of the enterprise. In the conception of the Knowledge mechanism, conduct of interactions is the single activity - the pedaling - that drives Feedback to propel the organization.

Transforming The Enterprise - 5

Mechanism To Follow The Path

The tandem cycle image above illustrates the need for a Knowledge work mechanism to follow the path. Cycling is very similar to Knowledge application. It is not enough to know cycling; one has to practice it to acquire the skill. Further, for the team cycle above, the individuals must not only know cycling but practice it together. This requires time and energy and volition. However, once this barrier is crossed, the simple act of pedaling the tandem mechanism is enough to unite effort and volition with the leader, and achieve greater force in the desired direction. The chain is the heart of the mechanism.

Based on the tandem cycle one may project the nature of the desired Knowledge work mechanism:

• Must drive members to learn as a team
• Must synch volition & effort with the leader
• Must focus individual on a single activity
• The single activity must drive feedback
• Delivery: Reality and concerted action.

 The 'pedal' for the mechanism ...........(next post)

Transforming The Enterprise - 4

Path For Superior Application
(The HOW is per 20th Century)

It is easy to snap a twig but a bunch of twigs is another story. The concept of unity does not easily translate to humans though the lesson is not lost in translation. The problem is humans need a reason to unite and remain so. Fortunately the reason emerges from the need for superior application of Knowledge to overcome the negative force or the Knowing/Doing gap for driving success.

The way to success was clearly known as far back as 500 BC. It was recorded by Sun Tzu:

If you know the enemy and know yourself,

You need not fear the result of a hundred battles

i.e., Success follows emergence of Reality

In 1990 Peter Senge identified emerging the reality needed the following skills: 

• Surfacing assumptions and generalizations
• Team Learning and Team sharing
• System thinking to define and solve problems.

Senge concluded Feedback for Constructive Disagreement developed the skills

• Feedback = Knowledge free-flow in context

                         = Coordination of interventions

                         = Trust and Teamwork.

Success makes Feedback a lasting glue for forming a Collective

 

In brief: Feedback creates the Collective. The success achieved provides the Collective the reason to remain unified. Free-flow in context is a property of Feedback. It implies exchange of Knowledge with capture of content alongwith all references to define context. Organization for its delivery has proved to be a major stumbling block that IT has yet to cross.

Transforming The Enterprise - 3

  Nature Of Knowledge Application

The image above shows three photos:

• Image of an Apple and an Orange sewn together (Photo source - http://www.nextnature.net/tag/hypernature/page/10/): Assumptions, mental-sets, wishful thinking, laziness and biases lead to multiple interpretations as different as Apples and Oranges for any set of facts. Such is the nature of perception among humans. It was termed Maya by the ancient Indian philosophers. Stitching together an Apple and an Orange does not create a new fruit, i.e., a single interpretation for cohesive collective action.
• Photo of a Mist (Photo source - http://www.netstate.com): Only the nearest trees are clearly visible. Much like the rapid fading of trees with distance past events lose recall as they recede in the mist of time. Also, the obvious present dominates the fuzzy future.
• Pool Photo (Photo source - http://www.britainexpress.com): The pool is bounded. Algae, if introduced, will grow rapidly till the boundaries. Thereafter, growth will be highly disproportionate to any accelerator, e.g., fertilizer. Similarly, hunger for Power, Self-interest, Desire, Defense reactions and Learning disabilities compounded by scarcity of energy and time limit appreciation of problems for collective action. Senge (1990) observed personnel live in comfort zones to cope with the huge demand on their limited resources and abilities.

The photos drawn from nature explain the nature of Knowledge.The nature in fact leads to the prevalence of a negative force in the business place among decision makers variously called irrationality or collective folly.  It creates the Knowing/Doing gap that lowers the collective ability.

Transforming The Enterprise - 2

Anatomy Of Knowledge Events
(What is constructive thinking?)

The application of Knowledge is very personal and hence not rational. This is why the same facts give rise to multiple interpretations making it essential to deduce the reality behind the facts, i.e., the root. Unless the root is diagnosed there will be only fixes and temporary solutions. The symptoms will reappear and mistakes will be repeated. The ability to reach the root of problems and take corrective action defines the Collective Ability of the Organization. It is determined by the ability to think and act constructively.

Transforming The Enterprise - 1

The Transformation Challenge

The dual image above manifests the universal goal of transformation. The common desire is a paradigm change with the application of technology to knowledge work. It is rarely achieved for the technology focus is only on the external world whereas Knowledge straddles the internal world as well. Facts are processed by our Comfort Zone and Knowledge passes through our internal filters before it is applied. Because of this process Knowledge has a nature and its application is not a rational exercise. The personal internal world is ignored by technology and therefore mere application of technology is fruitless. The followng points summarise the prevailing state of affairs:

•  Transformation entirely dependent on the leadership

                   Manage Knowledge, Competencies, Attitudes, Trust, etc 

• No Process To Raise Knowledge productivity

                  Collective Ability between 5 and 30% since 1900

                  Manufacturing productivity has grown ~ 50 times.

• Assumed: no Knowing/Doing Gap. Unreal.

                  Nature of Knowledge work ignored
                  Change focus from external to internal world .

Unlocking hidden potential

 Unbelievably, it is four years since I began this blog. I have had few comments but the blog has helped immensely to articulate just what is missing in the pursuit of success by enterprises.

McKinsey have found successful enterprise transformations are limited to a mere 8%. It is clear administrations are not benefiting from technology for the rate of change rendered by technology is exponential. Genetics is an example. The Human Genome project had a delivery target of 13 years or so. At the end of seven years just 1% of the project was complete. But the delivery doubled each of the following seven years for completion about the target date. After well over two decades of IT networking the value of the benefit delivered by IT is still mired in controversy.

The purpose of IT is to create Energy/Time/Volition/Will for following a known path. Over the next 13 posts I shall explain why IT has failed expectations for Knowledge work. I shall go on to define a philosophy for assuring the transformation possible with technology. My insight is based on my success in harnessing technology for raising the collective's ability to think constructively. Today no reliable means exists to achieve this. The collective ability has stagnated. My work has the power to raise the Collective Ability of any enterprise with the same personnel by a factor which could be as high as ten. Read my Transforming The Enterprise series of posts that follow to understand constructive thinkling and why my work succeeds.