These values introduce new ways to judge behavior that are free from the history and tradition of the organization.
Setting:
Values are present in all organizations. They are written up in posters and
placed on walls. They are printed on the back of identification cards. But are
they the real values of the organization? The real values are more a
product of success than of proclamations or edicts. These values are rarely
stated, but clearly understood. They are the "rules of the road" that
govern behavior and to which new hires adapt quickly if they expect to survive.
These are the rules that determine which new ideas will survive and those that
will not.
Examples of "rules of the road" present in "change or die" organizations:
Solution:
Prescriptive Transformation Values are customized medicine to counter
troublesome norms. The norm of withholding a different perspective will stop
innovation in its track. The prescription, in this case, will create
acceptance of many different perspectives – new behavior that will move the
organization in the direction of the vision defined in the Boundaries of Change.
The prescription shapes counter-cultural behavior and forces people to try to
change things and make a difference. These changes are subtly
transformational and appear to be sensible and workable.
A rule of the road like "You are judged on your last failure," makes
invention practically impossible – part of the process includes learning to
fail, because without that freedom the status quo is maintained. A Prescriptive
Transformation Value in this example would make failure an accepted part of
life. Players within the change process find the new values intriguing, because
although they make sense, the new values are hard to live by. They challenge the
people of the organization to make a conscious effort to make these ways of
thinking live.
However, these values are almost impossible for insiders of the culture to create because they must be counter-cultural; they are outside the imagination of the people who live within the culture. For example: the Inuit have many words for snow. Snow is so much a part of their culture; it is necessary to create fine distinctions and judgments about it. In fact, those distinctions could make the difference between living and dying.
To some of us, snow is snow. We are, in fact, unable to perceive the fine distinctions. But what if we had to develop those perceptions in order to survive. The culture of an organization is the same; the distinctions and values are built over time by generations of employees. The formation of effective Prescriptive Transformation Values requires an alien, foreign perspective. These values introduce new ways to judge behavior that are free from the history and tradition of the organization. They may not last through the change. They provide the impetus, the initial thrust for learning new ways to judge behavior.
The Prescriptive Transformation Values help create new behaviors that will be push the organization toward the vision as defined in the Boundaries of Change They cannot stand alone anymore than any of the five other elements. In order to create lasting change, the Prescriptive Transformation Values interact with the other elements.