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Chapter 8
LEADERSHIP AND DEALING WITH CHANGE
The chiefs of three villages each set out to build a bridge across a wide chasm.
If they could build this bridge, the trade that came would enrich the lives of
villagers for generations to come. The first chief told his workers, "Go forth
and work. Do whatever is necessary to build that bridge." The villagers
established a frenzied pace, for this chief abused those workers who did not
follow his commands. The first chief boasted to the other two leaders about
the speed of his construction. Unfortunately, because no one coordinated
these worker's efforts, the bridge was a haphazard collection of nails and
boards. It soon collapsed.
The second chief was watching this mess and decided to learn from the first
chief's mistakes. She organized her workers into teams, and gave them a plan
to build a bridge. At first, these workers had success, and built the bridge
straight as an arrow far over the chasm. She boasted to the two other chiefs
about the accomplishments of her workers. Unfortunately, the bridge only
went so far, for the chief did not know how to build structural supports. Her
workers became discouraged and abandoned their efforts.
The third chief was watching their efforts and decided to learn from the other
chiefs' mistakes. He sent his workers to the other villages to learn what they
had done, and what they hadn't done. His workers then developed a plan. In
their first step, they did not build the bridge at all, but focused on creating
the support columns they would need. When they completed this task, they
rapidly finished the bridge.
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Many organizations are like the first village in implementing
organizational change. They start with vague directives with little clarity
on what to do. Their successes are unpredictable and are likely to fail.
Other organizations are like the second village, and become victims of their
own success. Their initial initiatives may be so successful they rapidly
create more initiatives, without the qualitative organization-wide changes
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http://www.organizedchange.com/village.htm.
David Kolzow 225
