Human beings design constraints in a system. Then the system creates behavior, and people adjust the system. There are places in this loop, where human unconscious has potentially huge leverage in the long term development. When facing a challenge human mind does its best to cope with the the change by learning and acting. The more threatening the challenge is, the more the unconscious defense mechanisms protect the mind from anxiety. Defensing always has a flavor of self-deceit. It is often difficult to judge how much a certain choice is defensing and how much coping. Learning, by the way, is laborious and threatening, and thus often causes defensing. The talk will shortly present defense mechanisms. Then we will explore four common, significant and painful patterns in organizations, magnified by defensive behavior: Three conflicting interests Gaps between Customer and Producers Competing projects Overspecialization leading to coordination chaos I have called the general phenomenon Organizational Alienation. Based on my 15 years in studying and developing large SW organizations, I have chosen three levers that you can pull in everyday decisions to change the direction: From overspecialization to deep competencies having wide responsibilities From avoiding conflict to passion to learn From batching to flow The most effective arena to create change is teams making decisions, both the front-line and management teams. Every member of the organization can influence.

1. Organizational
Alienation
An experience report of
15 years of developing organizations.
Ari Tikka, LESS 2011, 31.10.2011
www.AriTikka.com
Alienation?
Alienation refers to the
separation of things that
naturally belong together,
or to put antagonism
between things that are
properly in harmony.
-- Karl Marx, influenced by
Ludwig Feuerbach
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2. Who says?
! Structural dynamics
! Embedded software
! Organizational therapist
! Agile and Lean consultant
! Lifelong interest in the mind
! Intensive Zen meditation
All models are wrong, some are useful. (GPE Box)
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The natural
evolution of an
organization
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3. Specialized professional
coordinators"
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Coordination chaos
Expensive to coordinate the resources!
Slow to manage the portfolio!
Waste!
Exhaustion!
V A L U E!
C O S T!
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4. The principles
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The principles causing
Organizational Alienation"
"
1. Overspecialization
2. Batching
3. Conflict avoidance
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5. Overspecialization"
- Idling and bottlenecks
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Big batches"
- hide details, hide reality
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6. Conflict = mismatch
! Mac Thesaurus:
“a conflict between his business and domestic life: clash,
incompatibility, incongruity, friction; mismatch, variance,
difference, divergence, contradiction, inconsistency.
ANTONYMS harmony.”
! Often unpleasant…
! The opposite of avoiding conflict?
! Seek conflict?
! Resolve conflicts?
! Beyond conflict?
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The countermeasures of "
Organizational Alienation
1. Overspecialization
1. Wide roles"
2. Batching
2. Flow
3. Conflict avoidance
3. Greed to learn
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7. Relevance? "
Why these patterns?
! Verb / doing
! Coverage?
! Space / structure - Overspecialization
! Time / dynamics – Batching
! Consciousness / decision / meta / control / choice /
forces / interests / human needs – Conflict avoidance
! Can I influence? How?
! Granularity / holographic principle / pervasiveness /
generality
! Enable micro- and macro level interventions
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The human factor
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8. Consciousness?
! Consciousness is an anticipation device
! Makes decisions on behalf of the whole.
! Passive -> Adaptive -> Anticipative
! Mechanical -> Plant -> Mammal
! Organizational metaphors
! Machine -> conscious by elite
! Organic -> distributed consciousness
! How is Alienation effecting the consciousness?
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Why groups are central?
! Collective
! Immediate
! Full bandwidth communication
! People always join bigger organizations through
subgroups.
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9. Why to choose alienation "
– why not connection?
! Culture, values and assumptions of the country and industry
! Efficiency <-> Robustness
! Long term <-> Short term
! Organizational culture and system
! Never underestimate stupidity
! Fear
! Shame / Guilt
! Anxiety
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The unconscious "
decision making
! Coping
! Defensing
“The purpose of ego defence mechanisms is to protect the
mind/self/ego from anxiety, social sanctions or to provide a
refuge from a situation with which one cannot currently
cope.”
! Change resistance
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10. Resistance is a perspective
Leader’s point of
view
Individual’s
point of view
Fear, Change
Shame,
Anxiety
Change
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Individual Defenses"
! Pathological
! Split, Denial
! Immature
! Phantasy, Projection, Acting Out, Procrastination
! Neurotic
! Dissociation, Intellectualization
! Mature
! Humor, Altruism, Concentrating to the essential
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_mechanism
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11. Group defenses
! Humans as tribal animals have functional group
communication patterns
! Dependency
! Fight-Flight
! Pair forming
! Sometimes the group uses these patterns as
defenses and the real task is forgotten
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The Power of Culture
Explicit
Realizing"
values
Truth
Basic assumptions
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12. Organizational defenses
! Organizations are designed to produce"
waste and error, in order to avoid "
embarrassment and threat, "
and to cover unacceptable acts.
! It is indiscussable. Indiscussablility is
indiscussable. But individuals know.
! Results in skilled incompetence and "
organizational depression
Chris Argyris: Overcoming Organizational Defenses, "
Facilitating Organizational Learning. 1990.
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The contribution of defenses "
to the principles of Alienation"
1. Overspecialization
1. Wide roles"
2. Batching
2. Flow
3. Conflict avoidance
3. Greed to learn
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13. Examples
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The Gap
From firefighter"
to change driver!
Able and Wide roles!
willing
people
Flow !
Greed to learn!
R&D
Product
management
Technology
Customer
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14. Overspecialization and
batches go together
Marketing &"
Sites! Program! Consulting! Sales! Customer! End user!
Explicit" Handovers"
Documentable! Batches!
Tacit!
Relearning!
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Is this possible?"
Why not? How?
Wide roles!
Flow !
Consulting!
Marketing &" Greed to learn!
Sites! Sales!
Program! Customer! End user! !
!
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15. Three Conflicting Interests
Investor s interest"
Capital market
Customers "
Management" Interest
subculture
Market
Customer"
interface"
subculture
Production/"
development"
subculture
Workers interest"
Production realities
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Overcoming " Wide roles!
Alienation
Flow !
Overcoming Greed to learn!
Defenses !
!
Gemba
Flow
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16. Summary
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From Alienation to Connection
1. Overspecialization
1. Wide roles and responsibilities
! Knowledge waste
! Deep competencies in dialogue
! Coordination chaos
! Sharing workload and learning
2. Batching
2. Flow
! Weak feedback
! Immediate and consequential
! Hide details
! Work with and learn from reality
3. Conflict avoidance
3. Greed to learn
! Ignorance and mistakes
! Wisdom
! Alienation
! Empowerment
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