Dialogic Design for the Intelligent Enterprise

Dialogic Design for the Intelligent Enterprise Collaborative strategy, process, and action Peter H. Jones, PhD Dialogic Design International, LLC Institute for 21 st Century Agoras INCOSE 2007 Symposium

The Intelligent Enterprise
James Brian Quinn (1992, 2002):
“ The self-sufficient enterprise is becoming anachronistic. Each organization is part of a matrix of merging and evolving ideas and opportunities . … Leading companies focus less on positioning and more on patterns of people and institutions they work with - or against.”

Structured Dialogic Design
Evolution of Interactive Management
Purposes :
- Strategic Planning / Consensus Scenarios
- Managing Uncertainty
- Mapping Enterprise Transformation
- Democratic resolution of wicked problems
- Way of coordinating enterprise intelligence

Transformation = attaining goals of intelligent enterprise
Structured Dialogic Design = Way of transforming for collective intelligence
Proposition: Common methods of transformation ill-suited to the IE goal, instrumentalism does not lead to IE

Why? It doesn’t work for strategy …
“ Organizations have been optimized for mediocrity , or ruin .”
Michael Raynor, The Strategy Paradox
Enterprise transformation, as a long-term corporate strategy, is inherently uncertain .
Decision makers aiming for strategic certainty are betting the farm on One Plan.
Purpose of (any) strategy is to design options for unforeseeable uncertainties .

Strategic Paradox
Goal of strategy: “Competitive inimitability”
- Creating non-copyable processes for innovation
Org intelligence requires culture of:
Distributed knowledge & decisions
Self-organizing teams
Processes optimized by practitioners
Competitive strategy requires commitment
- How to resolve? What do you align to?

Transformation as Strategic Change to IE
Transformation = Organizational strategy
Two schools : Emergent and Designed
Drivers for Transformation:
Value deficiencies (Rouse)
Purpose / Strategic design
Profitability / survival
“ Self-organizing emergence” unsuitable for complex or large-scale enterprises
IE “by design” may be overdetermined

Requisite Uncertainty Strategic Vision (Collins “Good to Great”) Strategic Commitment (Porter: Cost leadership or product differentiation) Commitment Uncertainty 10 yrs: Strategic Transformation Board Corporate 5-10 yrs: Corporate Renewal Operating Division 5 yrs: Operational Effectiveness Function 1Q – 1 yr. Process Redesign

Levels of Transformation 10 yrs: Strategic Transformation Board Corporate 5-10 yrs: Corporate Renewal Operating Division 5 yrs: Operational Effectiveness Function 1Q – 1 yr. Process redesign Commitment Uncertainty Organizational Architecture Transformation Process Reengineering Socialization

Why Dialogic Design?
Transformation risks are profound
Resources, Processes, Values change (Christensen)
Failures of Communication & Collaboration (Kotter)
Most managers do not consider uncertainties
Top-down planning analytical & past-based
Collaboration exposes risks & generates options
Knowing risks & options = flexible strategy
A complex, interconnected problem, multi-dimensional
Traditional methods/practices insufficient
Dialogue is generative , progressive
Collaboration = resiliency & comprehensive design

Intelligent Enterprise Applications
SDD gives organizations tools for democratic consensus across (very) disparate stakeholders
In a collective planning situation, SDD:
Scales to large-group decision making
Progressive migration of decisions over time
Consensus among very disparate stakeholders
Elicits root causes AND interconnections
Radically democratic process – No one “advantaged”

Model of Structured Dialogue
Discovery: Scope inquiry, range of participation
Definition: Divergent Dialogue : Triggering Question Open-ended responses (NGT method) Clarification of factors
Convergent Dialogue : Clustering responses Voting paired relationships (ISM method)
Design Phase
Action Planning dialogue
Definition Stakeholders first dialogue What we must consider in our strategic game plan. Discovery - Initial research into the factors of inquiry. Action Planning Consensus on near * mid-term actions for all stakeholders. Root cause map Consensus options Design Idealized array of design solutions in response to Definition issues. Strategic options that offer direction & reduce uncertainty.

Dialogic Design Co-Laboratory Dialogue Co-Laboratory Largely co-located, onsite 15-30+ participants Mixed media & real-time display Cogniscope II ISM method software Facilitator-managed Webscope Usually mixed locations Online wiki + teleconference Mixed media & real-time display Screen share Teleconference Wiki support

Strategic Architecture Influence Map
9 levels deep
3 Cycles , No outliers, deeply interconnected

Layered Architecture Clarify / Build brand identity Prepare a simple value package Mount coordinated/ online marketing campaign Clear model of product funnel & staged offerings Introduce complementary services in marketing plan IV V VI VII

Purposes & Uses of Dialogic Design
Resolve issues among diverse stakeholders
Democratic large-group decision making
Policy design & decision making
Complex (wicked) problem solving
Strategic planning & effective priority setting
Portfolio & business asset allocation
Problem identification & root cause analysis

Exemplary SDD Applications
Peace dialogue between Greek and Turkish Cypriots (2006-2007)
National Leadership Agenda for pharmaceutical safety for the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) and AMA. (1999).
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Initiative: 48 stakeholders & 10 observers from 38 organizations defining 85 barriers to improving CKD outcomes, resulting in action plan. (2003).
Co-Laboratory of Democracy for transnational indigenous leaders dialogue in context of globalization: 40 Indigenous leaders from Americas and New Zealand & several experts. (2004).
Food and Drug Administration, Good Practices Review dialogues (1995-1999)
Schering-Plough Drug Development Action Planning (1992-1994).
Alternative Energy Future Planning for Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (2000-2001).

Conclusions
Enterprise transformation is both competitive & organizational strategy
Must resolve Strategy Paradox.
Intelligent enterprises require planning for transformation.
Must resolve the paradox of planning them.
Dialogic design has tested & offers method of collective planning & strategic design for uncertainty

References & Sites
Dialogic Design International: dialogicdesignllc.com
Institute for Global Agoras : globalagoras.org
Dialogue websites:
The Blogora: blogora.net Dialogue community support wiki
Webscope Wiki: Dialogic design templates
Some current projects:
Michigan Dept. of Education: Universal Design for Learning
Cyprus Reunification
National Invasive Species Council (USDA)

How People Harness their Collective Wisdom & Power to Construct the Future in Co-Laboratories of Democracy Alexander N. Christakis / Information Age / 2006

Harnessingcollectivewisdom.com

Dialogic Design for the Intelligent Enterprise

by Peter Jones on Apr 18, 2008

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Dialogic Design for the Intelligent Enterprise — Presentation Transcript