LLC: A Case Study of Org. Learning - Outcomes

LLC: A Case Study of Organizational Learning at EDS

Chapter Ten, Outcomes

"... and he doesn't buy lottery tickets anymore."

Participant Change -- Scott

The LLC participants told us of numerous significant changes in themselves and in their relationships with others. The stories are far too many to list, however, we have included several which we feel are representative of the experiences shared with us. We were surprised by the openness and honesty of the people with spoke with. This is true of not only the participants, but all the people we interviewed. What was most unique, however, about the participants is the level of personal sharing that exhibited itself within the brief one to two hours that we spoke with each of them. In telling these stories, we hope that you the reader can gain a better perspective of the magnitude and impact of the LLC program.

This story starts with the phone call to Scott to set up the interview. He was not expecting the call and was unaware of our thesis project. Upon explaining our mission, he replied that he was deeply indebted to EDS and Fred Kofman for changing his life and he would cooperate in any way possible if in some way it helped say thank you to Kofman and expand the LLC concepts. Fellow workers of this LLC participant have described his change as a total metamorphosis. In the past he was apparently a traditional EDS manager with a command and control style. One peer indicated that when the participant returned after the first week session, it was obvious that the experience impacted the way he viewed his job and the way he accomplished his work. The peer said, "Scott was exuberant. He was filled with different ideas and perspectives. He was no longer interested in the everyday details of the job. He wanted to share the concepts he was being exposed to and felt strongly about. He looks at things differently from a personal responsibility standpoint." His champion commented that Scott has been a big sponsor of individual responsibility in the technical world. A prior direct report commented that "...When you're with Scott, it is like being with yourself. He is never judgmental, but won't let you make excuses. He makes you understand that you did something because you made a choice. ...he acts honorably with all people that he comes into contact with..." She felt that Scott was doing everything he wants to do in his life in a complete and full way. She also stated that if EDS told Scott they no longer valued what he is doing, she thought Scott would leave EDS and figure out some way to do "this" somewhere else.

And what does Scott say about his change? He acknowledges that he has changed and immediately told us one of his favorite elevator stories. He called it his picture book story. He said he draws an outline of a book and asks which way the book is facing. If people respond that the book is open towards them, he explains that it could also be facing away from them. He said, "LLC is about possibilities. There is always more than one possibility, there are multiple possibilities. After LLC, you can never see just one possibility." For Scott, it was about seeing things that he could not see before. It was about getting "unstuck". He stated that he realized incremental change was not going to make it--both for EDS and for him personally. He wanted to take a bigger risk in life. The biggest risk he was taking was the fact that he wasn't taking any risk. Scott has given a lot of thought to what he is doing with his life. He says, "...Life is harder now; before it was so easy to just go fix something. Now, I know I don't really have the answer, so I have to work harder, from a personal perspective, to achieve a good result." Scott made a significant career change as a result of LLC. He is no longer managing a sector of the business, but is a full time LLC facilitator. He is focused full time on changing the culture of the Health Care SBU. For Scott, this career change was "courage of conviction".

Scott told us that his spouse told him LLC made him more caring and open. Scott shared the following story about his son. Hair length was an issue (in the 1960's) with Scott and his father and Scott vowed he would never battle his kids over hair. His son's hair was somewhat unique, but Scott never made an issue of it. However, his son wanted an earring. Scott made an issue of this telling his son "no" in no uncertain terms. What Scott realized, during LLC, was that the earring was the same as the hair -- only it was a different generation. After Scott and his son had discussions about LLC learnings, Scott's son came home from college with an earring. His son asked Scott what he thought and Scott told him it looked good. He also told his son he took a big risk (referring to Scott's old opinion of earrings). The son's comment was that it wasn't a risk at all, he knew that it now wouldn't bother Scott and would be "OK" to do this.

Scott commented that his expectation was high that everyone would love LLC and embrace it. The reality is that not everyone does. The coaching was a big help in understanding this and accepting this disappointment. He continued, "...it seems the people who need it the most are not able to accept the help." Scott looks at these situations with a personal responsibility and tries to figure out how he can make a difference. Scott believes there is a growth happening at EDS. "It is like an atomic bomb; it is mushrooming out." He believes there are many people at EDS who will never let this new feeling die. They would leave EDS as opposed to letting these concepts go. At one point, within the last year, he indicated, there were five people from LLC who were seriously contemplating leaving EDS because they felt they no longer fit in the organization.

One last comment about the impact that Scott has had in an organization of approximately 500 people. A fellow manager said, "If you ask if one person can make a difference, the answer is yes. Scott certainly has made a difference here."

Participant Change -- Nancy

One of the other participants, Nancy, made a big career change as a result of LLC as well. This change took place because the individual no longer fit her old position. As Nancy changed and "grew" the organization resisted accepting her in a new role, despite her skills. One fellow coworker indicated that it appeared that the more skilled, in organizational concepts, she became, the stronger the resentment or unwillingness to let her play the new role became. Nancy had been more of a team member, operating within the team. She had not established her role as a peer to the group of leaders she was trying to provide advice to. It appeared they only remembered Nancy as she was ten years ago when she was just starting her career. She ultimately moved to another SU where she can use her skills to make a larger contribution to EDS.

Nancy commented about her personal change in this way. She thinks about the "other" person and what is going on in their mind. She says she speaks her mind, but in a constructive manner. She thinks about how conversations affect "her" and is aware of how she feels on the inside when others are speaking. She recognizes all people have different opinions and she is not going to force her opinion on others. She uses a lot of inquiry. She strives to turn negative complaints into opportunities for what could be done or changed. The key is to focus that same energy into productive ventures instead of just complaining. She has a "caring attitude", but further explained that this "caring" can cause irritations. Life was easier for Nancy when she didn't care as much. For example, a new employee will question why everything is the way it is. Nancy would like to say "...it's this way because I said so ...", but knows this is not the right answer. The correct way to handle the situation makes her work hard and takes a longer time, but produces a much better result. She says, "LLC makes you always feel responsible for thinking about the "right things".

There was a point in time when Nancy was skeptical of the program. She questioned why she wasn't having as much of a transformation as others. One participant was very much into the concepts and people kept referring to the fact that this person had found "religion". This difference in acceptance levels kept her from engaging in deep dialogues with some of the participants. She had thoughts that if non-participants perceive this as an effort to create fanatics it may hurt the overall support and buy in by the masses within EDS.

She gave an example of how LLC impacts the business world. Nancy told us one particular story which involved EDS and a customer trying to put together a business deal. The discussion was not going smoothly and Nancy felt the customer was struggling with whether EDS really knew what they were doing. Nancy took a risk and vocalized, for the customer, what she thought they were thinking and framed the comment as such. Nancy was right on target. The true issues then surfaced. Prior to LLC, Nancy, says she would not have taken this stance. She would have just let the meeting continue with the customer keeping their opinions to themselves. EDS was able to address the concerns and the discussion was very productive. The action that Nancy took in exposing the customers opinions was a direct result of her LLC training.

Nancy hopes that people who have been involved in LLC or influenced by it, will continue with their application and use of the LLC values and tools. She hopes people will just do "it" and not really be aware that "it" is even happening. Some of the discussion within the first LLC group dealt with an uncertainty on the part of the participants as to how do you go back and have discussions with people who don't understand what "we" understand. Nancy felt this was very detrimental to the sustainability of the concepts. Not everyone has to have the same knowledge. Those that have been trained need to use the tools as part of their everyday life and not make an issue of it. "You don't turn LLC off and on!"

A coworker of Nancy's shared these thoughts about the changes she saw in Nancy and another LLC participant. She felt Nancy became more willing to look at things with a new found openness and was less critical. She commented that both participants had a vocabulary change that indicated a mind-set change. The other participant did not appear to change as much as Nancy. The other participant was already open to relationships and willing to share her knowledge. She was a fast paced person and always appeared to be thinking about three things simultaneously. The interviewee stated this person became much more introspective after LLC. She thinks the LLC participant reached a new level of sharing by showing her vulnerability by talking about her problems.

This same coworker expounded on how she had changed as a result of her everyday association with these two LLC participants. She indicated she spent time just talking to Nancy and learning from her. The coworker says she now tries to be more careful of other's feelings. She can now register complaints and apologies while maintaining the dignity of both herself and the other party. When she has a problem she can verbalize to others what that did to her effectiveness. She said the participants have influenced her the way people you respect influence you.

Participant Change -- Another Story

Another participant told of his efforts in building a team within his group. He is the only LLC graduate in his organization so he does not have a resource team to draw on. He devotes one hour per month of his staff meeting to LLC concepts. He has implemented check-ins and check-outs and has basically used the same method and process that he experienced in LLC to share the concepts with his staff. Overall, the group is receptive to LLC. Some people initially struggled with it. Recently, one of his staff members told him he started check-ins with his account employees. He knows he is starting to make an impact, but desires a critical mass to help accelerate the change. The transition to improved teamwork is difficult considering the old EDS paradigm of rugged individualism. He is mentoring a few members of his staff that have exhibited a high degree of interest in the subject. He believes in a pull system. They ask and he willingly shares, but they must be willing to invest the time in the learning. The participant told them their first assignment was to read The Fifth Discipline.

The LLC participant says he believes he personally has changed for the better. He is more sensitive about human nature. He knows his perspective on life is different than others and he needs to be flexible in the way he interacts with employees, customers and everyone he comes in contact with. He feels he has changed from the traditional EDS advocacy position to a person who now inquires. He says he asks more questions then he used to and is receptive to how the various groups approach situations and make decisions. He is a much better listener. Another outcome was a deep discovery about himself. He found himself on a learning edge where he learned some significant things about himself. This can be a very emotionally painful experience, but the discovery helps explain ones' perspectives and mental models. As an adult he found it difficult to tell people he cared about that he loved them. The LLC process helped him to realize this is a result of mental models formed when he was young. As a small child he was adopted by his Aunt and Uncle. If he told his step parents he loved them, in front of his natural parents or vice-versa, he was made to feel guilty. As a result he avoided telling anyone he loved them. LLC has helped him realize and adjust his behavior. He also feels he is a better father as a result of LLC and is very careful in his interactions with his young children. He has always been a person that focused on results and did what ever it took to get the desired result. Now he says he realizes you are only as good as your team.

He told of the difficulty encountered when members of the team change. Once the team is established there is a high degree of trust and efficiency. When the membership changes the trust falls to ground level and has to be built up again with the new member. He estimates it takes at least two months before the team has rebounded and the new member is "in".

When asked about pushing the LLC concepts "up" the ladder to his boss, he responded that his immediate boss does not have a staff so they don't have regular staff meetings where they can use the tools. However, recently she was signing off on appraisals he had written on his employees. He had made several references to The Fifth Discipline in the appraisals. She commented that he must really like the book. This opened up the opportunity for a discussion. He told us that subsequently he saw a copy of the book on her desk.

Summary

The testimonials regarding personal change, team building and business improvements are numerous. The outcomes are varied and many defy traditional measurement systems. SBU Presidents to individual performers all agree that LLC has had a favorable impact on the business.

We would like to conclude this chapter with two extracts on the outcome of LLC from an interview with Kofman. The first comment deals with the dissemination of the LLC concepts. Kofman told us, "During the program people connect with themselves and learn skills that enable them to accomplish things that were impossible for them before. And by just being this way, and operating this way, in their everyday business, they touch and help a lot of other people around them and there is a nuclear reaction." Table of Contents | Previous topic | Top of Section | Next topic

Acknowledgements

The authors hereby grant to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document whole or in part.

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