In many ways, her post relates to two important concepts we try to emphasize in our work:  sync and cognitive filters.  She points to the need for a memorable message, the need for stories, action tools, partners, and “point of action” nudges.  Together, these five elements relate to creating a direction, building a culture that supports the change, giving process to the effort and connecting the ideas in concrete ways to stakeholders.

Typically, we find that most of us can’t do all these things well because they are very different strengths (i.e. filters).  By making sure that each of Rosabeth’s elements work well together (i.e. they’re in sync), you have a better chance of enabling change.

When you think about the change efforts you’ve been a part of, did leaders recognize our cognitive diversity and use that knowledge to their advantage?

But what is sync?  Simply put, in organizational terms, it is departments and people using their strengths and understanding their roles, effectively working toward shared goals.

It’s the orchestra performance when each musician plays the right note with the right timbre at the right time and for the right duration.

It’s the basketball team making the extra pass at the last second as a teammate breaks for the basket behind the perfect screen because the team understands their own strengths, weaknesses, and roles and they understand the same about their opponent.

Pick your own favorite metaphor, but we all know when it’s happening.  And we all know when it’s not.  When an organization is out of sync, it can exhibit its dysfunction in different ways.  For example:

Why do we work hard to create brand promises that our organizations aren’t ready to live up to?  (Think about the last time you promised something and your gut told you, “We can’t deliver on that yet!”)

Why is it that most organizations have core values, yet the behavior of employees and of the organization often don’t match the claimed values?  (Think Enron.)

Why do the processes of some organizations not match the claims made to consumers or customers?  (Think of the “help” desk who keeps you on hold for 25 minutes with the oft-repeated recording of “… you’re a valued customer.”)

And the list goes on.

These are some of the topics that we’ve been discussing with organizational leaders, and we thought we should create another type of forum for these conversations and observations to take place.  We hope you will bring your insights into how you promote sync in your organization and also share what your challenges are as you travel the path to higher levels of sync.