Some Backward Steps – One very forward step in education is taken when a man emerges from his superstitions and religious ideas and fears and, for instance, no longer believes in the dear little angels’ original sin, and has stopped talking about the salvation of the soul: when he has taken this step to freedom he has, nevertheless through the utmost exertion of his mental power, to overcome metaphysics. Then a backward movement is necessary: he must appreciate the historical justification and to an equal extent the psychological considerations, in such a movement. He must understand that the greatest advances made by mankind have resulted from such a course and that without this very backward movement, the highest achievements of man hitherto would have been impossible.HUMAN ALL TOO HUMAN , 1878
Incrementalism
- People can move in desired directions step by step
- Getting people involved in the shared diagnosis of the organization – problems is one form
- Map a pathway from A-> B
- Decision-making processes are like rivers
- They draw on preliminary tributary processes that define the problem
- Define alternatives and establish criteria for evaluating cost/benefit
- They draw on preliminary tributary processes that define the problem
- Sequencing – being strategic about the order in which you seek to influence people to build momentum in desired directions
- Action-forcing events – regular meetings and tough questions
- Events that induce people to make commitments or take actions
Then came a threat of hail and advice that Pharaoh tell everyone to get themselves and their beasts home before the hail lest they die. This started to make the Egyptains uneasy. Some took the advice and sought shelter, others did not. Only the former survived the subsequent hailstorm. Pharaoh, now anxious, agreed he was wicked and that the Hebrews could go, once the thunder and lightning stopped. Again he reneged, raising the stakes: by breaking a promise, Pharaoh had become a sinner on his own terms. After a plague of locusts, with the deadline for compliance the next day, Pharaoh’s servants had a go at him: ” How long shall this man be a snare unto us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: Knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?” STRATEGY A HISTORY
Pillars of Self-Management
- Manage yourself is a key transition challenge
- The life of a leader is always a balancing act
- It is common to go into a valley 3-6 months after a new role
- Habits – spend 10 min daily to evaluate how well you met your goals and then plan the next day
- Transitions are marathons – not sprints
- Support System – the right kind of advisors
- Never say yes on the spot – start with a no
- Not good to regret commitments and replace them
- Advisers types – Techincal / political counsellors / cultural interpreters
- Dysfunctional Behaviours – Isolation, Work avoidance and Undefended boundaries
- Brittleness – the uncertainty inherent in transition can exacerbate (make worse) rigidity and defensiveness
Pharaoh relented and called in Moses and Aaron. He started to bargain. Who would go? Moses said everyone, with their flocks and herds. Pharaoh was only prepared to let the men and children go. He knew the women were irrelevant to acts of worship, and the only reason to take flocks and herds was if there was no intention to return. Moses’s demands were now getting complex. The modest initial demand, an opportunity for the Hebrew men to leave for a while to pray, was being transformed into something much more complete. STRATEGY A HISTORY