What is said
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Systemic Structure
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Possible Consequences
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There are new
customers all the
time.
That's good news!
We really don't
want this to go
away.
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"This is good news for all of
us (desired goal to have
more customers)! Just
keep working hard!" -- by
Management!
Systemic structure:
Balancing Loop
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I find myself
responding to
customers
whenever they
"catch my eyes" or
demand my
attention.
My attention drifts
to the customer
who appears as a
'greater' catch or
makes 'more
demands' of me.
The success of the
customer receiving
my attention
depends to the
extent they
demand my
attention.
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"I (sales / ops) am doing a
great job keeping all of
them (customers) happy.
That's the way to go"
Systemic structure:
Success to the Successful
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When a customer
notices another
customer receiving
'more' attention, he
or she raises 'the
profile of' or 'voice'
sufficient enough to
catch my attention.
Unknown to me,
given my attention
drifts between
customers, over
time customers
increase their
effort to 'catch my
attention'.
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"He (Sales) keeps giving me
part of his attention. Then
he goes away to attend to
other customers. This may
be good for him in terms of
multi-tasking. But I am
growing concerned if he
truly understands what I
need. What can I do to get
his full attention now?"
"There he is! There he is
gone again! (sales
attention)"
Systemic structure:
Escalation
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Because
customers' voices
are rising over
time, I increase my
effort to service
their needs.
This works out
fine, until it
reaches a limit (the
requests exceed
the time or
capacity I have
available (tipping
point) to service
their needs).
Beyond this, the
harder I try, the
more I feel that I
am 'running on a
treadmill' and I
therefore run even
faster!
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"I (sales / ops) stay up all
day (and night) and
whatever I do, the work
does not seem to go away."
"So it is true what they say,
work here never really ends!
All this is losing my focus
and attention, as I am
consumed about what I am
not doing right! or is not
helping me to cope.
My family keeps blaming the
organization (and me) for
keeping myself away at
work.
Something is wrong with
me! I need to re-focus!
(need to keep working
harder - and do what has
been working well so far!"
Systemic structure: Limits
to Success
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I sometimes feel
tired and run down.
Some days begin
to feel like, "I just
want to quit, it's a
lot to handle."
Maybe if I let
myself feel less
guilty about not
'having work-life
balance' perhaps I
would forget about
it, and soon I can
get more work
done!
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WORK-LIFE IMBALANCE
BEGINS TO HIT THE
INDIVIDUAL
Systemic structure: Drifting
Goals
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There is work done
well, and then
there is work that
needs to be redone
and work, yet to be
discovered that it
needs to be done,
and the
downstream effect
it has on other
work processes,
each time a new
request comes in.
I have no time, to
see the impact of
all of these on each
other. I expect
some one down
the road to take
care of it. Except,
that does not
happen, and so
customers
complain and we
start all over again!
Surely, the
subordinates would
figure out 'what
needs to be done,
in what order,
right?"
The don't seem to.
We need to call
them to order.
Let's have a
meeting to iron
things out ... finally!
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WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE IF WE LEARN TO APPLY THESE STRATEGIES?
WHAT MIGHT MAKE IT DIFFICULT OR GET IN THE WAY OF MAKING THESE HAPPEN?
WHAT KEEPS OUR CONVERSATIONS LIKE THESE AND IS MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO
SEE THESE STRUCTURES?
Click here to share your thoughts, comments and reactions
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WORK-PRESSURES BEGIN
FOR THE INDIVIDUAL AND
SOON SPREADS TO THE
TEAM! IT IS INFECTIOUS!
Instilling of fear, that is
'still more work to be
done' to 'get the job
done'.
We seem to be caught in
a vicious cycle and more
and more of us are
affected by work
pressures!
Systemic structure: Fixes
that Backfire
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