TALKINGCONSTRUCTIVELY

Number 6, 2010

This How-To Guide is a joint publication from The FutuureWork Forum and People In Aid. The FutureWork Forum helps you with transformational change, futures thinking, strategy, communication and performance. People In Aid promote good practice in the management and support of aid personnel

How to... reinvigorate your organisation

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but innovation expert and FutureWork Forum partner, Cliff Dennett suggests it is the lifeblood of organisational momentum. Rudyard Kipling famously wrote; I kept six honest-serving men, they taught me all I knew. Their names were What and Why and When, and How and Where and Who Finding out why is one of the most productive things you can do. This simple word encourages authentic communication, generates energy and bonds people together. Our inquiring minds love nothing more than to discover the hidden forces within, to uproot the causes of problems and nd out how things work. Asking why gets people thinking and challenging the status quo. If we move through life just accepting the what we become slaves to our environment. Asking why, makes us masters of our own destiny. For many organisations, asking why became less fashionable over the last couple of decades. The pressures of performing, of delivering results, of trying to work at increasing speed have led to a culture of reluctant acceptance. For many, there simply is not enough time to ask why and this has been a great pity for the contentment and productivity of our workforce. Taiichi Ohno, the architect of Toyotas famous production line system popularised what became known as the Fives Whys technique as a method of getting to the root cause of a problem. This approach has been replicated all over the world in diverse organisations from the UK National Health Service to silicon valley software companies. Five Whys is a simple process of productive enquiry, illustrated in the following ctional example: First why: Shop crime is rising Second why: There are more youths on the streets Third why: There is little else for them to do Fourth why: The local youth centre has closed Fifth why: Our youth policies are misguided This ctional, though plausible example shows that an inquiring mind can involve diverse groups of people in uncovering often surprising results. Seeking root causes has at least three strong benets. First, problems are solved. How much of our organisational lives are taken up with papering over the cracks of broken foundations. Secondly, the habits and assumptions of an entire organisation can be shifted through a culture of inquiry. Finally, new relationships are formed and existing ones strengthened. We like people to show interest in our work and feel valued when others seek to understand us more. This last point is perhaps the most powerful. Encouraging a culture of productive inquiry can change the way the organisation communicates, literally re-wiring the network of complex relationships that help get things done. Asking why gives you an excuse to call anyone you need, creating a uid system of communication that can re-energise an organisation. A key success factor is not to overengineer the process otherwise it starts to feel like an imposition. If asking why feels like another head ofce project then it will receive little attention. Building and maintaining a culture of inquiry is a far more subtle activity than this and a mindset of positive curiosity should be hard-wired into learning and development plans. So let your own curiosity cat out of the bag and start nding out how things work.

This series of advice columns have been created by partners of the FutureWork Forum (www.futureworkforum.com) specically for People In Aid (www.peopleinaid.org). Cliff Dennett (www.visitcliff.com) is a U.K. based innovation expert, trainer, coach and new media expert with international experience in the for- and non-prot sectors.