I just wrote a post on my blog about poet David Whyte’s work in organizations. I quote him as saying:
The temptation is to say, “I’d much rather inhabit the 5% of reality where I’m in control than enter this 95% where I don’t know what the hell is going on.” But a conversational approach makes work less stressful, not more so.
In the original framework for our strategy work, Jeff and I talk about strategic thinking, strategic conversations, and strategic action. We are very serious about the conversation part, and I think Whyte’s comment is particularly relevant. Strategic conversations are not merely the time at the Board meeting where we do SWOT (thank you, Mike, for putting words to so many of our feelings). Strategic conversations are different. They embrace that 95% that we don’t know yet. They force us to be creative as we examine possible futures. They force us to go beyond the platitudinous understanding of our organization and our operating environment. These conversations happen year round and they happen at all levels, but the problem is, right now they are probably not happening at all. The work of strategy requires more discipline than associations have traditionally been able to muster, and Jeff and I would like to see that change.
Comments