There is need for a culture of mutual trust and respect, a culture of cooperation and collaboration.
I am talking about the introduction of synergy, where two plus three is not five but six. In the interaction of diverse entities, two being different from three, something new is created through cross pollination; it is a value that couldn't have been created unless there was an interaction among diverse opinions or know- how’s. For collaborative interaction to exist in diversity, there must be mutual respect.
This interaction however must be based on perceived commonality of interests. If the diverse parties do not share interests, do not share in the value they have created, why would they constructively interact? It must be symbiotic. There is, however, a problem: Since over time, as conditions change, commonality of interests get threatened, to endure, mutual trust is required.
But Mutual Trust and Respect (MT&R) seem to be internally incompatible. For mutual respect there must be disagreement, a byproduct of diversity. On the other hand for mutual trust, we should be in agreement. How to resolve this Catch-22?
What should we agree on?
On our common interest.
And what can we disagree on?
On what to do and how to create value for the benefit of us all.
Let me repeat: we should agree on what we are prone to disagree about (what are our common interests) and we can disagree on what we are prone to agree in order to avoid the pain imbedded in arguing (disagree on what and how to do).
MT&R is the foundation of a true socio-democratic system. It is Democratic, which means we learn from each other's differences of opinion. It is Socio, in the sense, that there is a social consciousness to share obtained added values with everybody, not just a certain part of the society at the expense of other parts of the society.
So, how should we grow as a society, or as a company, or as a family? By growing jointly. By capitalizing on each other's differences for the benefit of everybody. That is what Adizes Methodology is all about. That is why I call it a Symbergetic™ system. It is Sym from symbiotic, for mutual interest and it is bergetic from synergetic, which means growing.
How do we make that happen? Not just with good intentions. There is a tested well documented program. (I have published more than twenty books about the subject and there are over thousand pages of manuals providing protocols on how to do it.) It takes between one to three years to bring companies to full utilization of the system. The results have been exceptional. It produced exceptional sustainable growth.
If you have the right people who: 1) welcome disagreements because they learn from them, people who have controllable egos; 2) the right collaborative disciplined team decision-making process; 3) the right organizational structure that fosters diversity and not sameness, and 4) have unifying common vision and values, you will create and foster a culture of mutual trust and respect.
It has been proven with evidence, working with thousands of companies in over fifty-two countries, from start up to the largest on earth. It will minimize disintegration and maximize the freed energy from internal destructive conflicts to be devoted to the external market for a competitive advantage. It applies to any system, whether it's a country, a business, a family, or an individual human being.
Just sharing,
Ichak Kalderon Adizes