June 2000 Issue 1

Welcome to the premiere issue of LEVERAGE POINTS for a New Workplace, New World! This e-bulletin, free from Pegasus Communications, delivers news and ideas to help you create both a thriving business and a rewarding workplace community. LEVERAGE POINTS spotlights evolutionary advances in leadership, change management, personal development, and organizational design. Every issue delivers nuggets of innovative thought, practical knowledge, and pointers to key resources in the field. Please forward LEVERAGE POINTS to your colleagues and friends!
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IN THIS ISSUE
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WORDS OF WISDOM
Russell Ackoff, Woodrow Wilson

FROM THE FIELD
MediHealth: Holding Employees' Feet to the Fire, Warming Them at the Same Time

SHOP TALK
Where is Organizational Learning Heading?

LEARNING LINKS
Moving Beyond Blame
DeVos Urban Leadership: Training Leaders to Work with
Troubled Youth

NEW FROM PEGASUS
The "Thinking" in Systems Thinking, by Barry Richmond

NOTABLE EVENTS

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WORDS OF WISDOM
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"Peter Drucker once differentiated between doing things right and doing the right thing. Doing things right has to do with efficiency, hence knowledge. Doing the right thing has to do with effectiveness, hence wisdom. Much of the knowledge I see being transmitted and shared is about efficiency, not effectiveness. The righter we do the wrong thing, the wronger we become."
--Russell Ackoff, commentary in Reflections: The SoL Journal, Winter 1999 (p. 56).

"We are not here merely to make a living. We are here to enrich the world, and we impoverish ourselves if we forget this errand."
--Woodrow Wilson

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FROM THE FIELD
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Holding Employees' Feet to the Fire, Warming Them at the Same Time

MediHealth Outsourcing, number 87 on the 1999 Inc. Magazine 500 list, is a fast-growing medical-records-outsourcing company with $7.5 million in revenues. Two assumptions are at the center of the company culture: that people's families come first, and that people are accountable for work performance. Cofounder and president Paula Lawlor says she doesn't care how or when employees get their work done, but "if they don't meet their goals and their deadlines, they have some explaining to do." Lawlor takes this flexible approach to avoid turnover for the wrong reasons—if a strong performer wants more education, wants to travel, or even wants a three-month leave of absence, fine. "If you have a year when everything is going great, you can work hard and make more money . . . if you have a tough year, you can pull back. If you communicate, you are never in danger of losing your job." It may sound touchy-feely, but "it has the effect of separating the wheat from the chaff. If [Lawlor] eliminates barriers to success . . . she reckons she has every right to demand excellence." The company's consistent profitability rate of 15% indicates that the strategy is working. "Personnel Best," by Donna Fenn, Inc. Magazine (February, 2000).

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SHOP TALK
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Where do you think organizational learning is heading? In what ways do you see the field evolving in the future?

Please take a minute and e-mail your thoughts about this issue to janicem@pegasuscom.com. Selected comments will be shared in a future issue of LEVERAGE POINTS.

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LINKS TO LEARNING
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Moving Beyond Blame, by Marilyn Paul

When something goes wrong, the first question that we often ask is, "Whose fault is it?" But when people work in an atmosphere of blame, they naturally cover up their errors and hide their real concerns--often to the detriment of the organization as a whole. Here are some tips for what teams can do to move from blame to accountability:

* Define the nature and scope of the work to be done and discuss what to do in the event of a misunderstanding or a failure to keep an agreement.
* Agree that, on this project, problems will be seen as learning opportunities.
* If a problem or conflict arises, have a conversation in which you identify the pressures each of you is experiencing in the situation; identify any stated or unstated expectations and reestablish shared agreements; analyze the problem from a systems perspective by clarifying how your mutual beliefs and actions might be related and are perhaps reinforcing each other; and identify new ways to address the problem.

Read the complete article (From THE SYSTEMS THINKER V11N1, February 2000.)

Training Leaders to Work with Troubled Youth, by Lauren
Keller Johnson

The DeVos Urban Leadership Initiative in Grand Rapids, Michigan, features an innovative 14-month curriculum designed to train youth leaders in several of this nation's most troubled cities. The initiative aims to teach organizational learning and systems thinking tools and principles to youth leaders in faith-based urban settings. These leaders then use what they've learned to mentor disadvantaged neighborhood kids, providing them with the self-confidence, optimism, and skills they need to meet life's challenges. What have the people involved with this initiative learned about teaching organizational learning to a unique group? Make the principles and tools fun to learn about and use. For example, participants in this initiative really "lived" the concepts in the book Shadows of the Neanderthal by dressing up as cave people and dramatizing the story. Also, present information through as many media as possible--including interactive games or exercises, such as The Beer Game or videos.

Read the complete story and get more information about the resources listed.

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NEW FROM PEGASUS
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The "Thinking" in Systems Thinking, by Barry Richmond

What is "systems thinking," exactly? For one thing, it is a set of tools--such as causal loop and stock and flow diagrams--that help us map dynamic complexity. In addition, it is a perspective that sharpens our awareness of how parts interrelate within wholes and a specific vocabulary by which to talk about systems. But systems thinking is also a discipline--one that requires intensive practice and patience. This new volume by system dynamicist Barry Richmond outlines seven different processes that seasoned systems thinkers employ as they address problems or concerns. Learn about how Dynamic Thinking, System-as-Cause Thinking, Forest Thinking, Operational Thinking, Closed-Loop Thinking, Quantitative Thinking, and Scientific Thinking all help you to become a systems thinker. Sound daunting? The volume explains the seven processes in detail, and can help you identify ways to improve your and your company's ability to manage organizational complexity.

Order #TRST02, 26 pages, $16.95 (plus S&H)
Order now

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NOTABLE EVENTS
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October 23-25, 2000. 10th Anniversary Systems Thinking in Action Conference, San Diego, CA. Come celebrate 10 years of excellence with us! This year, the premier conference in systems thinking and management innovation focuses on Managing Organizational Complexity. Featured speakers include Margaret Wheatley, David Berdish, John Sterman, Peter Senge, Bill Isaacs, Beth Jandernoa, and Daniel H. Kim. Past participants have said, "The single best opportunity for us to learn and expand our understandings and practices of systems thinking."
For more information, visit the Conference site, send an e-mail to info@pegasuscom.com, or contact the Conference Department at 1-781-398-9700.

See a complete calendar of events.

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FINDING PEGASUS
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To contact us, e-mail to info@pegasuscom.com, or reach us at the following phone numbers or address:

Orders 800-272-0945
Order Fax 802-864-7626
Tel 781-398-9700
Fax 781-894-7175

Pegasus Communications, Inc.
One Moody Street
Waltham, MA 02453-5339 USA

Pegasus Communications is dedicated to providing resources that help people explore, understand, articulate, and address the challenges they face in managing the complexities of a changing world. Since 1989, Pegasus has worked to build a community of systems thinking practitioners through THE SYSTEMS THINKER and LEVERAGE Newsletters, books, audio and video tapes, and its annual SYSTEMS THINKING IN ACTION Conference and other events.

Copyright 2000 by Pegasus Communications, Inc. LEVERAGE POINTS for a New Workplace, New World may be freely
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