[Ailist] ScienceDaily: Reflecting On Values Promotes Love, Acceptance

[Roger Davies]

Cheri,

I had the good fortune to work with a small group of people where 'everyone
in the organization felt passionate--or at least committed-- about the
mission and principles and their own values tied to the organization's'.
There was a large amount of constructive dialogue, innovation, commitment
etc. That organization had built itself on a large degree of pride, not only
in the product that they made but also in values it shared about serving
each other and their community. In this organization I got most of the
experiences that led me to discover Ai and I am now as convinced as I could
be about its value and it being what will set great organizations apart from
good ones. By great I don't necessarily mean financially superior but more
an organization that achieves a balance of respect for the individual,
business success and a high degree of integrity.

I am no longer with that organization as over time it became engulfed into a
larger, less enlightened organization. One of the problems it faced was that
it was difficult to get the larger organization to be willing to want to
understand how the smaller organization worked. I now face that difficulty
in getting Ai accepted in new situations.

I have spent my professional career in large and small public and private
organizations but mainly on smaller facilities.  I have not seen any
research on the matter but my belief is that an operating unit of around 50
people is very effective. I believe that the size of an organization also
affects the quality of the interface between individuals. Maybe this is also
linked to the fact that with a smaller group more of the stories are shared
stories. With a larger group they become more fragmented and potentially
divisive.

It's a fascinating topic that there is much much more to learn about.

Roger

-----Original Message-----
From: ailist-bounces at lists.business.utah.edu
[mailto:ailist-bounces at lists.business.utah.edu] On Behalf Of Cheri
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2008 6:40 AM
To: stephanie at brainhygiene.com; ailist at lists.business.utah.edu
Subject: Re: [Ailist] ScienceDaily: Reflecting On Values Promotes
Love,Acceptance


Stephanie,

As always, thanks for sending an intriguing article.  The closing paragraph
is curious, the penchant for trying to reduce our actions or behaviors to
chemistry leaves me pondering these days.

But, onto the subject of values reflection and openness.  It would be
interesting to see how this might play out in organizations.  For example,
if everyone in the organization felt passionate--or at least committed--
about the mission and principles and their own values tied to the
organizations--how might it impact people's ability to have dialogue
(instead of discussion/argumentation)?  How might this impact feedback
sessions if they started by couching meetings, conversations, etc., in terms
of the transpersonal mission and values; having people first get in touch
with such a story?

Do you know of any research in this area?

Cheri  
-----Original message-----
From: stephanie at brainhygiene.com
Date: Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:47:47 -0400
To: ailist at lists.business.utah.edu
Subject: [Ailist] ScienceDaily: Reflecting On Values Promotes
Love,Acceptance

Stephanie (stephanie at brainhygiene.com) has sent you a link to the following
page on ScienceDaily:

Reflecting On Values Promotes Love, Acceptance
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080722113022.htm

No one enjoys being told that their behavior is harmful to themselves or
others. In fact, most people respond defensively when confronted with
evidence that their behavior is irrational, irresponsible, or unhealthy.
Fortunately, research has shown that just a few minutes of writing about an
important value can reduce defensiveness.

* Note: the sender's email address has not been verified.

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Cheri B. Torres
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