ORID 2

The probe-and-learn process, according to Garvin, “can be used to generate knowledge in a variety of settings.  It’s advantages should be obvious:  immediacy, relevance, and the involvement of users under real-world conditions (pg. 149).”  This process enables organizations the ability to properly plan experiments in an ambiguous environment.  In addition, “the approach to exploration has four critical elements:  a starting point, one or more feedback loops, a process for rapid redesign, and a stopping rule (Garvin pg. 147).”

O R I D

Objective Questions:

What happened?

I was blamed for something regarding commencement and it was never discussed.  It was assumed that I was totally at fault.  Others were equally responsible but I took the hit.  This is one problem with learning environments when you work with teams and not one single person oversees an operation.  When something goes wrong, someone takes a hit - not the group.

What do I remember most?

How I felt after being approached by my boss telling me I did something wrong but not spelling out exactly what I did and that the VP was very unhappy.

Reflective Questions:

What was surprising to me?

What was surprising to was that the VP did not come to me initially.  That I was given may more credit for the errors than were my actual fault and that my boss did not have an open and frank discussion with me; he just immediately walked over to my office and chewed me out after meeting with the VP.

How do I feel about it?

5 months later - I still feel very hurt.  I am a big girl, don’t get me wrong, but when my character is attacked, I take it personal.  I met with the VP shortly thereafter to try and mend fences, but she would not have it - she built a wall and it is still there to this day.  The fact that this behavior is allowed is astonishing to me.  I know she was extremely embarrassed and I take responsibility for my piece of this puzzle but there were so many more pieces that contributed to this that were not my fault.  This is the largest “take it on the chin” situation I have ever experienced.

Interpretive Questions:

What did I learn from the experience?

Unfortunately and fortunately, I learned to be more guarded, to slow down, to fulfill promises and to not take on so much extra responsibility.

What could I have done at beginning, middle, end?

The problem here is that everyone thinks they are in charge of their pieces of the puzzle but also everyone else’s.  Due to someone NOT being the lead and guiding everyone, processes were broken and cohesion was lacking.  Commencement was very disorganized and I was blamed for it.  I have a very small piece of this puzzle like line up and stage seating.  Everyone wants to be in charge and quite frankly, it is a circus act.

What does this mean for the future?

I will not work on commencement again nor work with this individual unless I absolutely have to; she feels the same way - it is quite obvious.  I have never had a working relationship like this in my entire professional career.  She is a bulldozer pushing people out of the way.

Decisional Questions:

What will I do differently next time?

I will try and remember to apply probe-and-learn processes to large scale experiments/projects that need to be carried out by:

1. Creating representative, inexpensive prototypes (plans and processes that are clearly organized and mapped out)
2. Collect feedback directly from the market (seek input from stakeholders)
3. Expect to revise repeatedly (once input is received, immediately put in place changes)
4. Employee a comprehensive measurement package (agree on objectives before implementation)
5. Know when to stop (establish guidelines in advance)

Personally, I will pay more attention to promises I make like promising to get the program to the VP in time to work on her script.  She was new last year and the prior VP kept everything a secret so we guessed at what should be done in certain circumstances.

What resources/support is needed to carry this out?

When I am put in charge of a project, I will not act like the captain of the Costa Concordia and work as a “one-in-charge” leader.  I will take lessons learned from the failures made by Costa Concordia and apply them in some way to how I conduct projects.

References

Garvin, D.A. (2000). Learning in Action: A Guide to Putting the Learning Organization to Work.  Boston: MA. Harvard Business School Press. Chapter 1, pg. 5.