Reinvention, Step 1 - the NEW Beliefs Set

In the natural course of an organizations' cycle - birth, maturity, and road to death, it is critical that a time be set aside to judge the need for a fresh start, a renewal, a reorganization, a reinvention, a new beginning - call it what you will. Signals may include a lag in profitability or in the case we'll discuss here, the "need for posterity," the notion of legacy. Our business, Quality of WorkLife Consultants (QWLC) is a little over seven years old. The business before that, based on the same technology, lived for eleven years. Before that, again based on the same technology, it was embodied in a yet different form but lasted for nine years. Those were all great runs. Yet each began to take a toll in the lack of innovation and enthusiasm of the founding partners. We were not immune from the laws governing this life cycle. In each case, however, we recognized the trends, the unmistakable patterns that would lead us to a rebirth, again applying the same technology with fresh wiring!

Beliefs Set

September 2010

The following five elements of an organization constitute the core of what drives people toward completing the organizational tasks to fulfill the core reasons for its existence. In both theory and practice the words and "soul" of what is intended are the Beliefs Sets unique meaning to the people in the organization that created it. It is not uncommon for several Beliefs Sets to be nested in a cascade from top to bottom of the structure in large organizations.

1. Purpose. The singular reason for the existence of the organization expressed in clear and concrete terms is a statement of its purpose. The organization purpose must justify all tasks, directly or indirectly, undertaken by the workforce. Although some core elements of purpose remain constant, the general elements may vary. As organizations are reinvented, the purpose requires a fresh examination and is subject to change because of the shift. The QWLC purpose has shifted over the last few decades but at its core has been the RGB Technology registered as CapacityWareTM - the body of written guidance as well as the parallel software. When the business first began the purpose was to achieve a sufficient revenue stream, next there was a concentrated effort to expand services and products while concurrently Certifying a cadre of RGB Practitioners, and now the purpose is focused on further expansion and preparation of the RGB Technology to survive a gradual retirement of its founders with a younger cadre. The newly evolved purpose, therefore, has become:

• CapacityWareTM Practitioner Support.

2. Missions. Missions are those disciplines that result in a product and/or service that are designed to generate revenue for the organization from customers and clients. There is always at least one internal mission (frequently the generation and use of capacity) and at least two external missions. In many organizations of sufficient size, missions become a primary catalyst for organization structure. The new purpose at QWLC is supported by three missions:

• Stimulate - a steady stream of prospects, that yield a growing number of RGB Certified practitioners.


• Educate - users and practitioners to meet demands from potential organizations.


• Support - users and practitioners in their efforts to serve their clients and customers.

3. Values. Values guide decision-making consistency - they establish priorities among alternatives. Value sets normally come in groups of five, three of which are normative and two of which may be aspirational. Values shift over time as people and organizations mature. Value sets may effectively cover an entire organization, but may be nested in each work group and team in a cascade from the board room to the loading dock.

• Innovation - implements increasingly more effective technology based on experiential learning.


• Fun - results when ways to make our events are light-hearted for participants and for us.


• Balance - brings to our work the ideal amounts of work and leisure in an acceptable mix.


• Respect - accepts alternatives and those who espouse them as equal and essential contributors.


• Profitability - aims for positive revenue flow in all endeavors given some initial investment.

4. Vision. A vision is a systemic (see Unifying Human System) articulation of a future state of the organization and its interaction with a defined environment. It is highly desirable that a single vision statement be articulated, but that it may have alternatives that account for most likely, most desirable, and least desirable scenarios. The following are from the current QWLC Beliefs Set:

• Most likely - Probable. Leisure travel with the right amount of stimulating showcase event(s) included at desirable locations that also fit with personal interests. The initial scheduled events in each Roadshow tour are arranged by the Founders and augmented by interested RGB Practitioners and others. Events are conducted primarily at regional conferences and in-house training workshops that incorporate potential RGB Certification options. These showcase presentations provide potential client organization decision-makers with a live sample of RGB Technology options designed to recover or develop internal capacity across the workforce. Long-term results include an organization culture resulting in an improved quality of worklife for leadership, management, supervision and non-supervisors as well.


• Most Desirable - Optimistic. Create a cadre of qualified Senior RGB Practitioners that are fully capable of executing the most likely vision independent of the Founders.


• Least Desirable - Pessimistic. The Founders create limited local opportunities that focus on conferences held in the Hampton Roads area with minimal travel advantages.

5. Customers/Clients. Customers and clients exchange revenue for products and/or services provided by the organization. The most profitable exchanges become a higher priority. Clients include:

• Local Government Organizations.


• Large Corporate Organizations at Multiple Locations.


• Independent Consulting Organizations.

Summary

The material above is both an explanation of the RGB Beliefs Set as part of the Organization Realignment Model as well as current the QWLC Beliefs Set. By its context it is the Blue body of work best accomplished in a large group environment over a lengthy period (several months) with numerous small groups chartered to validate and augment the central group effort. At QWLC the effort has been repeated every year or two with complete revisions in 7 to 11-year cycles. Key indicators that signal the need for revisit include but are not limited to the failure of missions to attract sufficient revenue or the imbalance in revenue attraction of one or more missions over others.