One image that can help create great leverage is the "deerhunting" metaphor, developed in one of my projects by my colleague Lin Ward.

Deerhunters set out for the forest, shoot a deer, and carry it back home. Right?

Well, not exactly. They carry the body back, but the essence of the living deer remains in the forest.

The same happens in a lot of organizational development projects. Managers go hunting for the right program or concept for changing their organization. But when applied "back home," day to day reality takes over, and results are often disappointing. The trophies are there, as certificates on the wall. But the essence of what the programs were trying to achieve is somehow lost.

Many organizations experience this phenomenon, with programs on "teamwork," "vision and values," "empowerment," "leadership," following each other in quick succession. Something is learned through each activity, and the organization is nudged in the right direction. But the results are often marginal, and employees often end up frustrated and cynical:

• "Here we go again."
• "The new flavor of the month!."
• "What will the focus be next year?"
• "We're engaging in change for the sake of change."

The programs eat up time, add pressure to already crowded schedules, and create a lot of disillusionment. They don't impact the organization effectively because they are introduced within the context of the old organization, the old culture and the old system of politics, without appropriate accommodations being made. As in the case of project teams in a Model 3 organization, the changes tend to be superficial, and are recognized as such by those with operational responsibilities.

To take a simple example, consider what happens when an "empowerment program" is introduced in a Model 1, 2 or 3 organization. The limits of "empowerment" are usually quickly felt as people run into the constraints imposed by the existing hierarchy. They quickly feel that they are "empowered in a box," and cynicism and disillusionment soon set in. Model 1, 2, and 3 organizations often plough millions of dollars into empowerment and teamwork development, because they would like to have an "empowered staff" taking more interest and initiative in to their work. But they rarely "bite the bullet" and modify their basic model of organization to allow the new initiatives space to flourish. If they shifted attention and focussed, for example, on creating Model 5 or Model 6 initiatives in places where teamwork and empowerment was really needed, they would have much greater impact. The deer would truly come to life!

The power of the deerhunting metaphor is that it can help create awareness and dialogue around the dead or dying nature of so many organizational development programs. As a result, it can create new leverage on the basic problem: that despite massive expenditures, forces within the established organization typically work against the new initiatives, holding old styles in place.

This can begin to reframe an organization's whole approach to change. It can redirect energy and focus attention on developing the living essence of programs, so that they can be kept alive in practice, rather than just hang as trophies on the wall.

Related Resources Include:

• Imaginization book excerpt: 6 Models of Organization
• The Art of Managing Context
• Images of Organization, new 2nd Edition

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