IF YOU WANT a management initiative that affects people to actually work, take a moment and read this. It could truly save you a lot of wasted effort. I don’t say this for any other reason but it makes excellent, 100 percent common sense!
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‘People management’ initiatives more often than not fail. They fail for the very reason that the wisdom used sounds good but in fact it’s so frequently devoid of the critical human element abiding in ‘values.’ In essence, what is said is rarely actually backed up by what is done. It is that simple. The rubber hits the road and the initiative loses steam – it atrophy’s. The early momentum is lost and it doesn’t recover. It may sound pessimistic but it’s true. It becomes bureaucratic. Bureaucracy is enemy number one in culture change. There are the ‘catchy’ phrases that sound like clichés... these turn real people off.
‘People management’ initiatives more often than not fail. They fail for the very reason that the wisdom used sounds good but in fact it’s so frequently devoid of the critical human element abiding in ‘values.’ In essence, what is said is rarely actually backed up by what is done. It is that simple. The rubber hits the road and the initiative loses steam – it atrophy’s. The early momentum is lost and it doesn’t recover. It may sound pessimistic but it’s true. It becomes bureaucratic. Bureaucracy is enemy number one in culture change. There are the ‘catchy’ phrases that sound like clichés... these turn real people off.
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There are a couple of things to note here; even then the subject’s not exhausted. First, we must at times learn to ignore conventional wisdom. This is what the “From Good to Great” companies did; each one of them aligned values with reality and that alone succeeded.[1] They found a way to align values with passion,[2] and passion can take you anywhere, but without it you’ll never get where you want to go and stay there.[3] This is about ‘staying power,’ and is what separates the leaders from the also-rans.
There are a couple of things to note here; even then the subject’s not exhausted. First, we must at times learn to ignore conventional wisdom. This is what the “From Good to Great” companies did; each one of them aligned values with reality and that alone succeeded.[1] They found a way to align values with passion,[2] and passion can take you anywhere, but without it you’ll never get where you want to go and stay there.[3] This is about ‘staying power,’ and is what separates the leaders from the also-rans.
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Part of the problem is bastardisation of good theory and so there is a departure from real wisdom, as the wisdom of men and women is thought best, but often revealed as folly.
Part of the problem is bastardisation of good theory and so there is a departure from real wisdom, as the wisdom of men and women is thought best, but often revealed as folly.
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There is also a scriptural parallel. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians he skilfully uses “rhetoric to denounce abuse of rhetoric.”[4] More human beings will have a problem with this next statement than won’t; “what appears foolish to the wisest humans [senior managers and executives perhaps?] may be the deeper, inscrutable wisdom of God.”[5] Now, this sort of wisdom is not visible to all.
There is also a scriptural parallel. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians he skilfully uses “rhetoric to denounce abuse of rhetoric.”[4] More human beings will have a problem with this next statement than won’t; “what appears foolish to the wisest humans [senior managers and executives perhaps?] may be the deeper, inscrutable wisdom of God.”[5] Now, this sort of wisdom is not visible to all.
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The fact is people can see right through catchy programs and they don’t buy them. Design your people management initiative with the people in mind; to aid them and not to hinder them. Only the organisation leader who can see the true issues will be able to discern what’s required, and I believe that this is exactly what Paul was talking about. Wisdom that works each and every time, and backs people up and inspires, is simply divine, in the truest sense. Integrity lasts.
The fact is people can see right through catchy programs and they don’t buy them. Design your people management initiative with the people in mind; to aid them and not to hinder them. Only the organisation leader who can see the true issues will be able to discern what’s required, and I believe that this is exactly what Paul was talking about. Wisdom that works each and every time, and backs people up and inspires, is simply divine, in the truest sense. Integrity lasts.
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© Copyright 2008, Steven John Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
© Copyright 2008, Steven John Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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Acknowledgement to Dr. Dawn Darlaston-Jones of Notre Dame University, Fremantle, Australia.
Acknowledgement to Dr. Dawn Darlaston-Jones of Notre Dame University, Fremantle, Australia.
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[1] Collins, J.C., Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t, (New York: HarperCollins, 2001), see pages 5 and 22.
[2] Collins, Ibid, p. 96.
[3] Collins, Ibid, p. 97.
[4] Keener, C.S., 1-2 Corinthians, NCBC Series (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005), p. 27. We could bridge contexts and read ‘rhetoric’ as ‘bureaucracy’ in this situation.
[5] Keener, Ibid, p. 27.
[1] Collins, J.C., Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t, (New York: HarperCollins, 2001), see pages 5 and 22.
[2] Collins, Ibid, p. 96.
[3] Collins, Ibid, p. 97.
[4] Keener, C.S., 1-2 Corinthians, NCBC Series (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005), p. 27. We could bridge contexts and read ‘rhetoric’ as ‘bureaucracy’ in this situation.
[5] Keener, Ibid, p. 27.
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