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January 7, 2003
Individuals and Organizations
I have participated the last several months with the management team and the staff at UEN in what I think is a fairly uncommon process in most organizations. We have started practicing some of the principles of The Fifth Discipline, including dialoguing, developing shared vision, and recognizing and changing mental models. So far, some 1500 (wo)man-hours have been invested in the process, 1000 of those by the management team (it was 94 hours, but lots of people in the meetings), to develop a Shared Vision, Mission Statement, and Department Roles and Responsibilities.
Today we had an all-staff meeting where the results of the first round were presented and discussed. Each manager was asked to share his thoughts on the process, so I decided to share those in my post today (I spoke for 10 minutes, so these are just some of the highlights).
- Born of frustration: Many of the best companies achieved success because things got so bad (usually financially) that people were willing to take huge risks to try something else to see if it would work. Many people who have worked at UEN, myself included, have been so frustrated they have left, and those who stayed just endured. We chose to try something different. I hope that it will be the risk that makes UEN an amazing place to work.
- I came to UEN to get stuff done. One of my shortcomings is that I have a hard time being patient, and I want to get stuff done. I found out during this process that most UEN employees feel the same way. Apparently, we are all trying to get stuff done, and we all get frustrated that it can't get done faster. I have also started to better understand the value and importance of patience, and how necessary it is to allow people to adjust to the significant changes required to make UEN what it needs to be.
- I want to work for an organization that does amazing things. Part of how I perceive myself is how people think of the organization I work for. I don't want to work for an organization that is considered a dufus. I found out that everyone else feels the same way, and in fact many people came to UEN and have stayed at UEN specifically because of what we do. We want to create an organization that is recognized for doing amazing things.
- An organization does not exist independently of the people who work for it. It is a collective of individuals. What the organization is is what the individuals are who make it up. The ideas, values, opinions, attitudes and contributions of many individuals create an organization that exactly represents the sum of those individual attributes. We are the organization.
- Effective communication and building of ideas and vision are the basis to a group of individuals creating an effective organization. And getting stuff done, together.
- Real changes in people and organizations happen slowly and subtly over (long periods of) time. It's often difficult to measure them or perceive that they are happening. One way is to look back, and ask yourself if what you are doing today would have been possible for you as a person or organization to have done a year ago. I can see tremendous change in UEN looking at what we are able to do today (especially *today*) as an organization, that would have been impossible a year ago.
- Since it's hard to see change happening, it's difficult to believe it can happen. Belief has significant influence on your attitude towards change. If you are to contribute to and engage in the change, you have to believe that change is possible and that it is happening and that your participation will make it happen.
- We are the ones that make change happen. You are the one that makes change happen. It's not just the managers or the director that will change UEN into what we want it to be, it is each of us individually, who commit to the shared vision and mission. It is by our actions, by what we choose to do or not to, and how we act, that UEN will become what we want. There is nobody else who can do it.
- What you do, what I do, what we do, is what makes UEN what it is.
I am excited about the future we will create for ourselves and the organizations served by UEN. It has been a rewarding, if sometimes arduous, process, but looks to be well worth the effort.
Posted by pete at January 7, 2003 11:41 PM