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 A free e-newsletter spotlighting systemic thinking and innovations in leadership, management, and organizational development. Please forward to your colleagues. 
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FACE
TO FACE Restoring Values-Based Leadership: An Interview with Daniel H. Kim |
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LEARNING
LINKS Appreciative Inquiry: Igniting Transformative Action |
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FROM
THE FIELD A Big-Picture Approach to ER Overcrowding |
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FACE
TO FACE Restoring Values-Based Leadership: An Interview with Daniel H. Kim by Kali Saposnick
Why have so many organizations lost their moral compass? A large part of the problem, explains Kim, may be our misunderstanding of the nature of a market economy. "Over the past two decades, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board and the government have been very successful in dampening the business cycle—that is, eliminating downturns—through various fiscal and monetary policies." He points out, however, that throughout history economies have always experienced ups and downs. Because these fluctuations are an intrinsic part of a sustainable market economy, trying to avoid them forever is neither natural nor healthy. Furthermore, the longer we artificially delay short-term recessions, the more severe the correction will ultimately be—as we're currently finding out. An Economic
Wildfire |
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LEARNING LINKS Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a powerful new vehicle for setting in motion a wave of positive organizational change. It's based on a deceptively simple premise: that organizations grow in the direction of what they repeatedly ask questions about and focus their attention on. The practice of AI is grounded in an intense exploration of "unconditional positive questions" that can uncover an organization's best practices and innovations, as well as the conditions that allow it to thrive. So, instead of asking, "What are our problems? What hasn't worked?" we might say, "Tell me about a time when things were going really well around here. What conditions were present at those moments? What organizational changes would allow more of those conditions to prevail?" This simple shift in perspective constitutes a powerful intervention in its own right that can begin nudging the company in the direction of the inquiry—and toward radical innovation. How does AI work? Instead of focusing on changing people, AI "invites" people to engage in a collaborative discovery of what makes their organization effective—in economic, ecological, and human terms. This dialogue stirs up energy, excitement, and insights. Organization members then weave that new knowledge into the firm's formal and informal systems, such as the way they develop and implement business strategy, measure progress, or organize themselves to accomplish tasks. In this way, change begins simultaneously with inquiry, allowing true learning to take place. Problems get replaced with innovation as conversations increasingly shift toward uncovering the organization's positive core. Read the complete article online, or see The Systems Thinker, Vol. 12, No. 1 (February 2001). To order Pegasus's new publication on Appreciative Inquiry, see "New from Pegasus." |
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FROM
THE FIELD A Big-Picture Approach to ER Overcrowding Researchers have traced the cause of a rash of temporary emergency-room closures to a surprising source: surgeons' uneven scheduling of elective procedures. Because one day a surgeon may operate on several patients who then require extensive care, and the next she may perform only outpatient procedures, the number of patients staying in the hospital varies widely. As a result, management theorist Eugene Litvak and his team have found that emergency rooms become overloaded not when too many patients come in but when a lack of open beds keeps them from being admitted to the hospital. The challenge, then, is for hospitals to work with surgeons to coordinate when and what kinds of operations they are performing. But any change in procedures must take into account other demands on surgeons' time, including office hours and teaching schedules. In addition, most physicians aren't hospital employees and their interests don't necessarily coincide with those of the facilities they operate in. In an experiment
in Wisconsin, cardiologists and heart surgeons came to realize the
benefits of limiting overcrowding. Administrators authorized nurses
to close the ICU to new patients when space was limited—even
if surgeons had to cancel scheduled operations. The surgeons were
angry until they realized that they were actually earning more from
heart patients because fewer were being turned away. In addition,
nursing attrition fell as nurses felt more of a sense of control
over their work. Other hospitals hope that a more modest overhaul
of scheduling policies will lead to similar results—a win
for everyone involved. Source: Anne Barnard, "Study Ties Crowded ERs to Surgeons' Scheduling," The Boston Globe, September 5, 2002 |
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| Copyright 2002 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. | |||||||||||||||||||
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This
new volume in our Innovations in Management
Series introduces Appreciative Inquiry,
a highly adaptable philosophy and process
for engaging people in building the organizations
and world that they want to work and live
in. Bernard J. Mohr and Jane Magruder Watkins
share stories of AI in action and give a
detailed explanation of five processes that
you can use to guide an appreciative inquiry
in your workplace or community.
The
World Café is an easy-to-use method
for creating a living network of collaborative
dialogue around questions that matter to
the real-life situations of your organizations
or community. In this beautifully illustrated
booklet, Juanita Brown collaborates with
Nancy Margulies and the World Café
Community to articulate seven guiding principles
for people to use to host their own Café.
The
failure of some of today's large corporations has left many of us
bewildered and angry. Particularly disturbing has been the unfettered
greed displayed by senior executives of these organizations. Daniel
H. Kim, cofounder of Pegasus Communications, Inc. and a leader in
the field of systems thinking and organizational learning, believes
that "rather than focusing on building their organizations
to last for the long haul, many of these leaders seem to have been
seduced by the incredible opportunities for quick wealth."
He continues, "While growing our companies may be a common
impulse, we must do it in a way that leads to sustainable success
and in a manner that doesn't violate the integrity of our organizations
or the public interest."