A free e-newsletter spotlighting systemic thinking and innovations in leadership, management, and organizational development. Please forward to your colleagues.



January 16, 2002 Issue 21

"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea."
—Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"We live in a moment of history where change is so speeded up that we begin to see the present only when it is disappearing."
—R.D. Laing


Tackling Stubborn Organizational Challenges with Systems Thinking:
The Basics
 Waltham, MA, February 11, 2002, 8:30am–5:00pm

Join Ginny Wiley, systems thinking educator, organizational consultant, and president of Pegasus Communications, to find out why systems thinking is an essential tool for organizational success. Systems thinking helps us understand the causes that underlie persistent problems, recognize the highest leverage points for systemic intervention, formulate effective short- and long-term strategic plans, and make decisions with greater clarity and foresight. For more information or to register, please call 1-781-398-9700 or complete and fax this form to 1-781-894-7175.

• $450 for individual registration
• $350 per person for teams of 4+

Learn more about the benefits of systems thinking.



Call For Presentations!

Leading in a Complex World: Systems Thinking in Action®, Sept. 30–Oct. 2, San Diego, CA

For those interested in presenting at the 2002 Conference, the application is now available on the Pegasus web site. Please read the information carefully as the conference format has changed. Applications are due February 6, 2002. We look forward to your proposal!

Register for this year's Conference!
Save $300 by registering for the Conference before March 15.

Call 1-800-272-0945 or 1-802-862-0095, or register on the Pegasus web site. Special rate of $1095 available only until March 15th. Substantial team discounts are available—please contact Julie Turner at juliet@pegasuscom.com.


Meeting the Challenge of Innovation in Government, February 11–12, 2002, Ottowa, Canada

This conference addresses the enormous challenges and risks that innovation brings to the public sector. Sessions focus on how to construct strategic, innovative change within government; understand how to build and support an adaptive and innovative work environment that inspires people's creativity; and develop a mutual understanding between fellow professionals of how to support innovation. Speakers include Daryl Conner, Everett Rogers, and Michael Kirton. For more information, go to www.innovation.cc.



Books and Resources by David Hutchens; illustrated by Bobby Gombert

Outlearning the Wolves: Surviving and Thriving in a Learning Organization

As a flock of sheep builds a culture for learning, the contributions of each individual are utilized in strikingly new and productive ways. Includes a simple and powerful discussion guide to communicate how organizations can develop the capacity to learn.
Order

Electronic Site License for Outlearning the Wolves (E-Wolves)

Bring the fable's powerful introduction to organizational learning to everyone on your network in a vivid and convenient PDF format. Clear and detailed illustrations and redesigned discussion guide for easy onscreen reading. No special devices or software required. View the e-book on any computer with the free Acrobat Reader 4.0+.

Contact Julie Turner for site license information.

Additional titles by David Hutchens
The Tip of the Iceberg: Managing the Hidden Forces That Can Make or Break Your Organization
Order

Shadows of the Neanderthal: Illuminating the Beliefs That Limit Our Organizations
Order

The Lemming Dilemma: Living with Purpose, Leading with Vision
Order

Each fable is $19.95. Volume and site license discounts are available.

Learn more about how practitioners in the field are using the Learning Fables series.



• To contact Pegasus, send an e-mail to info@pegasuscom.com.
• Send comments about Leverage Points to levpts@pegasuscom.com.
• To learn more about Pegasus go to www.pegasuscom.com.
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Pegasus Communications provides resources that help people explore, understand, articulate, and address the challenges they face in the complexities of a changing world. Since 1989, Pegasus has worked to build a community of practitioners through The Systems Thinker® Newsletter, books, audio and videotapes, and its annual Systems Thinking in Action® Conference and other events.
FROM THE FIELD
Virtual Conferences—The Next Best Thing to Reality
FACE TO FACE
The Power of Stories to Convey Meaning in the Workplace: An Interview with David Hutchens
PEGASUS NEWS
Enhancements of The Systems Thinker
LEARNING LINKS
Clearing the Decks: The Practice of Amnesty Day
 



FROM THE FIELD
Virtual Conferences—The Next Best Thing to Reality

Faced with travel moratoriums, Bob Franco, vice president of HR/Global Talent at American Express, had to rethink the design of his group's biannual meeting on innovation and knowledge sharing scheduled for August. When he and his planning team decided to have an online meeting, Bob wondered how his group, used to learning about breakthroughs by participating in firewalks and understanding change management by visiting the Skip Barber Racing School, would respond.

To ensure that group members gained the maximum benefit from their remote locations, Bob and his team carefully tailored the three-day event to the digital medium. All 65 participants "attended" from their homes, where they had been shipped Webex software, supporting materials, and an event t-shirt. Time was used judiciously; for example, Bob spent only 15 minutes on opening remarks. Participants engaged in conversation and small-group breakout sessions via chat rooms and conference calls. During "cocktail hour," a web cam even homed in on a participant drinking wine by his pool.

Self-paced learning experiences helped people differentiate between data and information, and knowledge and innovation. For example, equipped with a bag containing ingredients, a history of cookie baking, and recipes, participants baked cookies in their kitchens. After the exercise, they called their teammates to describe the extent to which they innovated during the process.

Was the conference successful? Bob thinks so. People gave positive feedback, they grasped the topic, and they reconnected with each other. So can Internet conferences supplant the real thing? Bob hopes not as a rule. "Lack of money should not interfere with building a team," he says, "and this type of meeting is a viable alternative. But nothing really replaces face-to-face contact during the year."

Source: Based on an interview with Bob Franco by Kali Saposnick, Pegasus Communications

Readers who wish to discuss this topic are invited to The New Workplace forum.

 



FACE TO FACE
The Power of Stories to Convey Meaning in the Workplace: An Interview with David Hutchens
by Kali Saposnick

In the following interview, David Hutchens, author of the Learning Fables series published by Pegasus Communications, shares why he thinks storytelling is such a powerful medium to communicate ideas and create collective meaning. He also illustrates how managers can use his four books (see a list of titles in "Pegasus Highlights" in the right-hand column) to create new awareness and initiate a rich discussion of organizational learning principles with their staff.

Leverage Points: Why do stories appeal to such a wide cross-section of readers?

David Hutchens: Cognitive science explains that most people think relationally, that is, they grasp information by how it relates to other information—in the same way that stories are structured. A story's plot illustrates how theory looks when practiced in real life. For instance, rather than trying to convey the concept of mental models by abstractly walking you through the Ladder of Inference tool, Shadows of the Neanderthal shows how two fictional clans of cave people developed different assumptions about how the world works.

Often in business contexts, people converse in ways they would never do in more natural social environments. For instance, at home, my wife and I tell stories to each other about our day; it's our default mode of communication. I'm the same person when I go to work the next morning, yet it's hard to respond spontaneously to the jargon-filled business communications that come across my desk. How many of us really think in bullet points?

Continue reading the interview.

Learn more about books and resources by David Hutchens by viewing "Pegasus Highlights" in the right-hand column.
 



PEGASUS NEWS
Enhancements of The Systems Thinker

Now in its 13th year of publication, The Systems Thinker® Newsletter continues to respond to readers' changing needs. Starting with the February issue, we have redesigned the front cover to feature substantive article summaries (see sample PDF, 51k). According to managing editor Janice Molloy, "You can now quickly scan the key points of each article and prioritize your in-depth perusal of the issue's content. We hope this new feature will help readers maximize the return on their limited reading time and provide added value to their subscriptions."

In addition, we are now offering site licenses to organizations that want to make the newsletter available to all their employees electronically. For information about site licenses, contact Julie Turner. And next month we will go live with thesystemsthinker.com, a web site that will include:

 • a searchable index of all The Systems Thinker article titles and authors
• a list of articles (with summaries) available for purchase in PDF format
• fee-based access to a library of current and past volumes
• sample articles and issues
• an introduction to systems thinking
• a link to the systems thinking discussion forum

As we explore ways to make the newsletter as accessible and content-rich as possible, we encourage your feedback and ideas. As Janice explains, "Our goal is to keep The Systems Thinker a leading-edge publication that helps you build insight and capability to respond to your organization's most demanding and complex business challenges."  
 



LEARNING LINKS
Clearing the Decks: The Practice of Amnesty Day
by Janice Molloy

Most of us postpone getting through that reading pile, sorting e-mail messages, or putting finishing touches on files from completed projects in order to pursue more value-creating activities. Yet such tasks, if left to accumulate, can turn into major productions—and distractions—that may undermine overall effectiveness.

To help employees gain an upper hand on hidden drains on productivity, at Pegasus Communications, we've instituted a semiannual ritual known as "Amnesty Day." It's a time for staff to clear several months' accumulated detritus in order to move ahead with renewed vitality, energy, and lightness. Scheduled well in advance so everyone can clear their calendars, on Amnesty Day, anything that impedes work productivity is fair game. One person may choose to clean his office while another may catch up on paperwork and make long overdue phone calls to potential vendors.

To avoid diluting the process, we let the answering machine pick up any phone messages. We send or respond to e-mail only if doing so fulfills one of our personal goals for the day. And we only talk to each other in the middle of the day, when we meet for lunch, and at the end of the day, when we gather to assess our progress and suggest improvements for future Amnesty Days.

After tidying up, people feel more energized and clear-headed. And each of us has noticed lasting progress on our personal organizational challenges. Over the long run, taking the opportunity to get things in order means more time spent on productive functions that add value to your company.

Read the complete article on our web site.

Readers who wish to discuss this topic are invited to The New Workplace forum.

 


  Copyright 2001 Pegasus Communications. LEVERAGE POINTS™ can be freely distributed in its entirety or reproduced or excerpted for another publication with written permission from Pegasus Communications. Contact permissions@pegasuscom.com.