Organisational Culture - The Importance of a clear 'Line of Sight'
Author: Andrew Protheroe
“There is only two kinds of culture in an organisation. The one the MD thinks there is, and the one there actually is”
When auditing/consulting I find it helpful to look for a ‘line of sight’ between the strategic tactical & operational organisational levels.
I always have in mind Donald Rumsfeld’s ‘Known knowns’ & Sidney Yoshida’s ‘Iceberg of Ignorance’…
Rumsfeld 2002. The then US Secretary of State for Defence, stated at a Defence Department briefing: “There are known knowns. There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we now know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we do not know we don't know.”
Yoshida 1989. In a study of a Japanese car manufacturing company, Calsonic, Yoshida coined the term ‘The Iceberg of Ignorance’ & stated: “4% of problems are known to top management, 9% of problems are known to middle management, 74% of problems are known to supervisors, but 100% of problems faced by the company are known to front-line employees.”
It’s good to add ‘unknown knows’ to Rumsfelds observations to reflect the ‘Iceberg of Ignorance’.
PCR Take Away:
Top management rarely know what happens at the coal face. To find reality, get on the ground & talk to people
Stay Safe, Stay Healthy, Stay Productive.
“Don’t trust it, TEST IT”
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