Chapter 18 Chapter 11 Common Vision (Part 2)

I wish to have you · You wish to have me Few topics are as popular with today's managers as "commitment."Take American society as an example. In view of research showing that most American workers have a low sense of dedication, and hearing many stories of foreign competitors' work group dedication, American managers turn to so-called "dedication management", "devotion management" High Dedication Work System” and other approaches.However, true dedication is still rare in today's organizations.In our experience, 90% of what is considered devotion is really just "compliance".

Today's managers often ask employees to share a common vision in a transactional mood.The vision is then like a commodity, I give and you get.However, there is a big difference behind the behavior of selling and the behavior of "enrolling".The behavior of paying will be changed because of the "price", while the behavior of investing implies free choice. In Kiefer's words, "Devotion is a process of choosing to be a part of something", "Dedication is a state that describes a state, not only devotion, but also the feeling that I must take full responsibility for the realization of the vision." I can Be totally invested in your vision, or really want your vision to come true, and yet, it is still your vision.I will act when you need me, but I don't spend my waking hours wondering what to do next.

For example, those who participate in certain social activities must have genuine will and heartfelt support for these activities, so that the significance and effectiveness of the activities can be revealed.Dedicated people make an annual donation or wholeheartedly support many activities.Dedicated people will do whatever is necessary to realize the vision.The driving force of vision drives them to take action. Some people use "the source of meaning in life" to describe this powerful energy that can make people dedicate and realize their vision. In today's organizations, there are only a few people who are really committed, and even fewer people who are really dedicated, and the majority of people are still at the point of compliance.Followers of conformity go with the vision, they do what others ask them to do.They all have some degree of support for the vision, however, they are not really committed or dedicated.

Compliance is often mistaken for devotion and dedication, partly because most organizations have been so conditioned by compliance that they don't know how to recognize true devotion.Also, there are several levels of compliance, some of which can make certain behaviors look very similar to commitment and dedication.The following are several levels to illustrate the degree of support of members for the common vision of the organization: Devotion: Desiring it wholeheartedly and being willing to create or change any "laws" (structural) necessary to realize it wholeheartedly. Devotion: Sincerely yearn for it, willing to do anything within the "laws of the spirit".

True compliance: seeing the benefits of a vision.Do all the things that are expected to be done, or more.Follow the written rules and act like a "good soldier." Moderate compliance: In general, sees the benefit of the vision.Do everything that is expected to do, but nothing more.A "good fighter". Reluctant compliance: Don't see the benefit of the vision, but don't want to break your job either.Had to do exactly what was expected, but also let it be known that he wasn't really willing to do it. Non-compliance: Failure to see the benefits of the vision and reluctance to do what is expected. "If you want to be so earnest, I just won't do it."

Apathy: neither supporting nor opposing the vision.Neither interested nor motivated. "Is it time to get off work?" There is an analogy to illustrate that different attitudes towards the vision lead to different behaviors.Today, most states in the United States have a speed limit of 55 mph, and a person who really complies never drives more than 55 mph.A moderately compliant person will drive up to 60 to 65 miles, because in most states, you won't get a ticket if you stay within 65 miles.People who are reluctant to comply will drive within 65 miles and complain constantly.A non-compliant driver will put the gas pedal to the floor and try to avoid the traffic patrol police as much as possible.On the other hand, a person who really heartily chooses to maintain a safe speed limit will drive at 55 mph even though it is not the legal speed limit.

In most organizations, most people are still far from modest, or at best true, compliance with the organization's goals and ground rules.They followed the plan and sincerely wanted to contribute.Those who are reluctant to comply will do it, but not trying hard, and just want to prove that this is not going to work in the first place.Nonconformists are often resistance to the plan. They oppose the organization's goals or ground rules and protest by inaction to make it known that they stand against it. There are various degrees of compliance, and the differences between them are difficult to detect.The most common confusion is that true compliance is mistaken for devotion or devotion.The typical true compliant "good fighter" will willingly do whatever is expected of him. "I trust the people behind the vision; I will put my heart and soul into doing whatever has to be done, or more".Even the person who really conforms usually sees himself as a devotion, when in fact he is, but only as a devotion to being "part of the group" and not to a vision.

In fact, from the perspective of behavior at work, it is difficult to distinguish who is really obedient and who is devoted or dedicated.An organization of people who are truly compliant is far more productive and cost-effective than most other organizations.When you meet people who are truly compliant, you don't have to tell them what to do a second time, they try to respond right away.Their attitudes and behaviors are positive, and if asked to be "automatic" and "proactive" to achieve high-performance goals, they will do so.In short, for those who really obey, no matter formal or informal, tangible or intangible rules, they will sincerely abide by them.

Take it to the next level However, there is a big difference between obedience and devotion. The dedicating person carries with him an energy, enthusiasm, and excitement that no level of obedience can produce.A dedicated person doesn't just stick to the rules of the game, he takes responsibility for the game, and if the rules of the game get in the way of their vision, he tries to change the rules.When a group of people is truly committed to a common vision, there is an amazing power that they can accomplish that would otherwise be impossible. Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Kidder reported on how the product development team at Data General developed a groundbreaking new computer in an incredibly short time.I personally interviewed the leader of the group, Tom West, a few years later.He said that the development of a key piece of software in their overall plan was several months behind schedule, and the three engineers responsible for this part came to the office that evening, and when they left the next morning, they had completed nearly three months that night. The work is unbelievable.This is by no means West asked them to do so, but because they really want to achieve this vision, which is the difference between real commitment or dedication and compliance.

Sometimes a real vision is hard to concretize its possibility.The executive vice president of a commodity company deeply hoped that the company could transform from a traditional organization to a new organizational form.He began to develop a new corporate vision and a spirit of initiative and dedication, but after a year of hard work, everyone was still passively following orders.At this time, he discovered a deeper problem. Many people have never been asked to devote themselves to anything throughout their lives, but have only been asked to obey. This is the only mental model they have.No matter how he explains the real vision of development and real investment, it will not play a real role because people's mental models still make them only hear how to obey.Once this discovery was made, the executive vice president began to change his approach. He launched a "pursuit of health" program, because he assumed that people might at least be genuinely committed to their own health pursuits.After a while, some people do it and begin to realize that it is possible to have real commitment and dedication at work, opening a small window into this vision.

Traditional organizations don't care if people are genuinely committed or dedicated, the entire organizational hierarchy of command and control just demands compliance.Many managers today are still figuring out how to "manage" commitment and dedication, when in fact doing so can at best move people one step higher up the ladder of compliance. Principles of devotion and dedication Getting invested in something is a very natural process.For yourself, it stems from your true passion for the vision, and for others, it happens because of your willingness to let others choose freely.It must be noted that: ●You must invest yourself: If you are not invested yourself, there is no reason to encourage others to invest.Forced selling cannot get the sincere input of others, at most it can only produce formal consent and compliance.Worse, it could be the seeds of future dissatisfaction. ●The description of the vision must be as simple, honest and to the point as possible: do not exaggerate the good side and hide the problematic part. ●Let others choose freely: You don't have to convince others of the benefits of your vision. In fact, when you persuade others to invest, it is often seen as an intention to influence others and hinder others from investing.The more you allow people to choose freely, the more free they will feel.This practice can be particularly difficult for subordinates, who often view compliance as the number one priority.This is when you have to show that you can help them and give them the time and security to develop their sense of vision. In many cases, however, managers do demand compliance from subordinates.They certainly want real commitment or dedication, but in order to get the job done, at least modest compliance from subordinates must be demanded.If it is difficult to demand commitment and dedication from the outset, I suggest that you might as well be open and honest about the need for compliance.You can say, "I understand that you may not be sympathetic to this new direction, but I need your support to make it happen at this critical time when the management body decides to go all-in on this new direction." Such an attitude Not only can it give people the impression of not being hypocritical, but it also makes it easier for people to make choices. After a period of time, they may choose to really invest. In terms of devotion and dedication, the biggest difficulty that managers will face is that there is so much that can be done, because it involves personal free choice.The above guidelines can only create an environment suitable for inducing devotion and devotion, but they cannot ensure devotion to action, and the state of devotion is even more difficult. Any reluctance will at most only lead to compliance. Integrate into the whole industry concept Establishing a common vision is actually only one of the basic concepts of the enterprise, and others include purpose, mission and core values.If the vision is inconsistent with the values ​​that people abide by every day, not only will it fail to inspire true enthusiasm, but it may turn to a mocking attitude towards the vision due to frustration and disappointment. These basic corporate concepts need to answer three key questions: "What to pursue?", "Why to pursue?" and "How to pursue?" ● What are you looking for?To pursue a vision is to pursue a vision of the future that we hope to create together. ●Why pursue?The purpose or mission of an enterprise is the root of an organization's existence.Organizations with a sense of purpose have a purpose that goes beyond meeting the needs of shareholders and employees; they want to make a difference in the world. ●How to track down?In the process of achieving the vision, the core values ​​are the highest basis and criterion for all actions and tasks.These values ​​may include integrity, openness, integrity, freedom, equal opportunity, streamlining, tangible results, fidelity, etc.These values ​​reflect how the company expects all members to behave in their daily lives as the company moves towards its vision. These three fundamental concepts of the business are combined into one.It is the belief of the whole organization.It guides the business forward.When Panasonic's employees recite the company's credo: "Recognize our responsibilities as businessmen, contribute to the progress and prosperity of society, and devote ourselves to the further development of world culture", they are describing the purpose of the company's existence; when they sing The company's social song: "People who flow our products to the world like a fountain", they are also declaring the company's vision.They accept the company's internal training program, and the courses include "fairness", "harmony and cooperation", "strive for better and better", "politeness and humility" and "gratitude" and other themes, and learn the company's carefully constructed values (Panasonic refers to them as the company's "spiritual values"). In Hanover Insurance Company, the combination of these three basic corporate concepts transformed the company, brought it back from the brink of bankruptcy, and later became a leader in the product and liability insurance industry.Hanover's experience also illustrates the interdependence of vision, values, and mission. Says O'Brien: "We're starting to realize that many people actually have a strong desire for goodness and a noble purpose. If the work itself is against that, they're left to find fulfillment in interests outside of work. But we're also finding that , it is not enough to state the mission or purpose, we need a vision to make the purpose more specific and clear. We must learn how to describe our ideal organization in detail. I have a simple vision for the company, which is 'True Excellence' .Those words mean a lot to me. It leads me to envision an organization that serves customers in a unique way, maintains a reputation for quality and creates a unique environment for its employees." He added: "Core values ​​are absolutely necessary to assist people in making day-to-day decisions, because purpose is abstract and vision is long-term, and people need a single, clear, identifiable 'North Star' to guide the direction of day-to-day decision-making .But the core values ​​are only useful after they are transformed into concrete behaviors. For example, one of our core values, 'openness', must be practiced with the skills of reflection and inquiry in the overall context of mutual trust and support." fear and hope "What do we want?" is different from "What do we want to avoid?"In fact, negative visions may be more common in our minds than positive ones.Many organizations will only really unite when their survival is threatened; for example, when they are on the verge of mergers, bankruptcy, loss of market share, repeated losses, etc., they start to take action to meet the difficulties.Negative visions are more common in public policy; social movements such as "anti-drugs", "anti-tobacco", "anti-war", or "anti-nuclear" are obvious examples. A negative vision often limits organizational growth for three reasons.First, the drive that could be used to build new things is instead used to prevent unwanted things.Second, negative visions subtly create a sense of powerlessness in the crowd; people may thus become indifferent, rallying only when they are seriously threatened.Third, negative visions inevitably have short-term effects; the threat continues to energize the organization, but once the threat is removed, the vision and energy of the organization disappears. There are two basic energies that motivate organizations: fear and hope.Negative visions are fueled by underlying forces of fear; positive visions are fueled by hope.Fear can make extraordinary changes in an organization in the short term, but hope can be a source of continuous learning and growth. loyal to the truth In Chapter 9 ("Self-Transcendence") I have emphasized that personal vision alone is not sufficient for more effective creativity.Creative tension is the key, it's the tension between the vision and the reality.The most effective people are able to stick to a vision while seeing the truth of the situation. This principle holds true for organizations as well.The establishment of a learning organization is not to pursue a lofty and moving vision, but to practice relentlessly and constantly test the truth of the vision and its development status. Forrester has a famous saying about how to identify a great organization: "Just look at the speed at which its bad news is transmitted upward." IBM in the 1960s had this characteristic: it reacted quickly to mistakes, resolutely corrected them, and learned from them. Lesson learned.In the early 1960s, for example, IBM embarked on an extraordinary series of experiments in pursuit of a bold vision.It bets its assets, reputation and leading position in the computer industry on an extremely novel concept: a series of compatible computer systems; its application range is extremely wide, from the most sophisticated science to the general technology of ordinary small and medium-sized enterprises . As a result, only a few copies of this highly anticipated machine were sold. In May 1961, IBM's top executive, Tom Watson, decisively ended the project.For him, there was no choice, because the machine could not satisfy the customers, even the customer satisfaction of more than 70% of the original guaranteed specification.A few days later, Watson confessed to their biggest mistake: "We went to home plate, pointed to the bleachers in center field, and when we threw the ball, we realized it wasn't a home run, it was a tall, tall run. Far throws. We'll definitely be more careful about our commitments in the future." After experiencing the above failure experience, three years later, IBM launched the 360 ​​system, which proved to be the basis for IBM's breakthrough growth in the next 10 years. Shared vision and systems thinking Many visions, despite their potential, never take root and spread widely because some "growth ceiling" structures emerge halfway through, dampening the momentum behind the new vision.Knowing these structures helps a lot in the process of sticking to the vision. Diffusion of vision is formed through continuous clarification, investment, communication and dedication.When the more it is talked about, the clearer the vision becomes, the more people become enthusiastic about the benefits of pursuing it.Soon, therefore, the vision spreads through communication in a spiral of increasing intensity, as shown in Figure 11-1.If successful in the early stages of pursuing a vision, enthusiasm can be built up over time. Why do so many visions fail? If the above strengthening loop is not limited, the vision will become clearer and more group members will be willing to contribute to the vision.But at this point various limiting factors come into play, slowing down this virtuous cycle. The process of building a vision falters when more people are involved, different perspectives distract the focus of the vision and create unmanageable conflicts.Everyone sees the ideal future differently, and will those who do not immediately subscribe to the shared vision that is taking shape have to change their views?Should they assume that the vision is fixed and cannot be influenced?Do they feel like their vision doesn't matter?If the answer to any of the above questions is "yes", the process of "devotion" may fall apart and eventually stop under the impact of increasing extremeization. Lack of ability to inquire and reconcile differences This is a typical "growth upper limit" structure. In this structure, the continuous growth of the enthusiasm for the pursuit of the vision strengthens the loop, which affects an adjustment loop formed by the gradual divergence and extremeization of opinions, and inhibits the diffusion of the vision. process. Let’s see Figure 11-2 for a clockwise interpretation of this vision-inhibiting loop, from the top: As enthusiasm builds, more people talk about the vision, which in turn increases divergence of opinion, leading to divergent visions being expressed. have conflict.If others are not allowed to express different views, polarization increases, clarity of shared aspirations is reduced, and enthusiasm is suppressed. In the capped growth structure, the point of leverage is usually to understand the limiting factors: to find out what caused the limiting process.In this structure, the limiting factor is the exploration of different visions in order to fuse a deeper common vision.If organizations fail to develop this ability to reconcile differences, differences in individual visions will gradually widen. The most important technique for removing this limitation is the "reflection and inquiry" technique introduced in Chapter 10, "Mental Models."In fact, the process of building a vision is a process of inquiry, the main purpose of which is to clarify the future we really want to create; if it is only through a process of continuous advocacy and defense without inquiry, it will at best produce compliance, never dedication . But spreading perspective through a process of inquiry doesn't mean I have to give up my perspective.Instead, a vision needs a strong defender.However, defenders should also explore the visions of others with an open attitude, so that it is possible to gradually gather personal visions into a larger common vision. This is the principle of holography. Discouraged by failure to maintain creative tension In the process of realizing the vision, some difficulties that are not easy to solve will be encountered, which makes people feel discouraged, which is one of the reasons for the withering of the vision.The more people can see the characteristics of the shared vision, the more they can perceive the gap between the vision and the current situation.People may become frustrated, uncertain, and even cynical about the vision, thus causing a decline in enthusiasm; "organizational discouragement" forms another possible "growth ceiling," as shown in Figure 11-3. In this structure, the limiting factor is the ability of people within the organization to actually maintain creative tension, which is the central tenet of Self-Master; this is why we have repeatedly emphasized that “Self-Master” is the cornerstone of building a shared vision.Organizations that don't encourage "self-mastery" can hardly foster enduring devotion to a noble vision. Not enough time to focus on the vision When the time required to assemble the vision and deal with the current problems is too much, the time available to realize the vision will be relatively reduced, and the loss of focus on the vision will also cause the vision to die in the germination stage.The limiting factor here is the lack of time and energy to focus on the vision, as shown in Figure 11-4. The leverage point of this structure is to find a way to reduce the time and energy spent on fighting the crisis and dealing with the current problems, or to separate the people who pursue the vision from those who are responsible for dealing with the current problems.This strategy involves a small group of people pursuing new ideas outside the main activities of the organization; although this approach is often necessary, it is difficult to avoid the formation of two completely unsupportable camps.In the early 1980s, for example, the group that developed the Macintosh had almost no contact with the rest of Apple Computer, which was mostly developing the more mundane Apple II.While the split resulted in a groundbreaking product, the Macintosh, it also created a deep discord within the organization that took Apple Computer's Sculley a long time to heal. destroy oneness In the end, visions wither if people ignore their ties to one another.This is one of the reasons why the pursuit of vision must be through joint inquiry.Once employees stop asking "what do we really want to create?" be eroded.One of the strongest longings behind a shared vision originally comes from a desire to be connected to a larger purpose and to be one with each other.But it has to be noted that such a link needs to be taken care of all the time, otherwise it is very fragile.As soon as we lose respect for each other's perspectives, the cohesion of the group breaks down, leading to a breakdown of the shared vision.When this happens, group members lose genuine enthusiasm for the vision, as shown in Figure 11-5. When someone begins to have another vision that destroys the sense of connectedness, "time" and "skills" should be carefully examined as they may create limiting factors.If people feel urgent to agree on a new vision, there may not be enough time to talk and listen to each other thoroughly; Skilled, oneness with each other is destroyed. Fertile Ground for Building a Shared Vision: Systems Thinking Without the cooperation of systematic thinking, the practice of establishing a common vision will lack important support.Vision describes what we want to create, and systems thinking reveals how we have come to where we are. In recent years, many leaders have jumped on the vision train, and they have developed a corporate vision and mission statement.They work hard to get everyone invested in the vision.However, the desired productivity and competitiveness are often not achieved.This phenomenon has caused many people to lose interest in the vision. As long as the vision is deliberately developed, the problem is usually not the shared vision itself but our reactive reaction to the situation at hand.Vision becomes a living force only when people truly believe they can shape their own future.However, as mentioned above, we should be able to realize that the realization of the common vision also involves many system structures and leverage points that most managers have not actually realized, so that they do not know where to start Improve the problem, and think that your problem is caused by some people or "system" "outside". Most executives won't confess to having such thoughts, because good managers are generally considered to be responsive and accountable for their tasks.Openly questioning the viability of something the organization has embarked on can be seen as a problem character. However, overly optimistic expectations are basically a kind of reactive thinking, which is caused by fragmented thinking that lacks an overall perspective. It is a single-point reaction to an event, rather than a fundamental creative change.Event orientation just excludes the real vision, leaving an empty "vision statement". But when people in an organization begin to understand how existing policies and actions create or change the status quo, a fertile ground for building a vision develops and a new source of confidence emerges from a deeper understanding The forces that shape reality and the leverage points that affect those forces.As one executive recently trained in systems thinking noted, his biggest takeaway was "discovering that the truth I currently have is only one of several possible truths."