If we look to the aural realm of a musical pitch, we can see how universal human perception is, because not only can we hear the pitch that is sounding, we can also see it on an oscilloscope. These ideas are interesting, but they don’t hold up to scrutiny. We are left with opinion at best, and, therefore, no one is right or wrong. We can understand the world only through our senses, which we then interpret. Some would argue that human beings are incapable of objectivity because of the nature of perception, which they see as idiosyncratic. Truth is one of the most important competitive advantages there is in building a business. That is the indispensable step in any organization that hopes to achieve greater capability, professionalism, and alignment. It’s sad to see time and energy invested in performance improvement, only to have it thwarted by what is missing in action people speaking truthfully and honestly with one another. Unless reality is penetrated, very little significant improvement can occur. Each step has its place in creating better performance, but the managerial moment of truth is the essential step that makes all the others work. There are many steps for improving performance: training, creating reinforcing reward systems, instituting effective computer systems, holding offsite planning meetings, developing the right hiring practices, and so on. Without perceiving reality, it is next to impossible to succeed because invariably decisions are made in a vacuum. Had they known the truth, they would have had a far greater chance of success. The reason they fail is that they don’t know what is going on in reality, which may include their financial position, their impact on the market place, the nature of their customers’ real motivations, and other key factors. In fact, a glaring statistic is that over 50 percent of businesses fail within their first three years. We would not be able to correct mistakes, learn from past performances, adjust our processes, and better understand the reality in which we are engaged.
Imagine trying to build an organization without the ability to tell each other the truth. By compiling a complete description of the “elephant,” you may discover synergies you didn’t know existed or new ways of thinking about your organization.
To do so, you may need to interview people in other functions or from outside the enterprise.
Then design a way to gather information about the parts of the “elephant” you haven’t yet encountered. When faced with an intractable problem, strive for your group to be the “smart blind men.” Pool your knowledge of the system, based on your unique perspectives from your different places in the organization. The story of the blind men and the elephant, fundamental to the discipline of systems thinking, holds rich possibilities for any team.
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