Embedding good organisational habits
I was in front of a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci. It was magical – forensically precise and yet fluid and effortless; the paper was mottled and yet the image was luminous. And then I spotted something very particular. The drawing was not in the ordinary grey of a graphite pencil but a soft, brick like red.
I had been studying drawing for a while and to be honest had hit a bit of a wall. I was becoming increasingly frustrated with my messy scribbles. But, I had hit on something! In a rush of excitement, I went out and bought the exact same pencil as Leonardo.
Sadly, when I started using it, the same messy scribbles emerged – the only difference being that this time they were in red.
The red pencil did not make Leonardo. Rather it was his lifetime of daily practice, looking and mark making. The red pencil is an easy and cheap tool; acquiring mastery of that tool is the tricky, time-consuming part.
Our clients often worry that they are missing a critical tool. I am asked questions like: “Would a theory of change help?”; “Do we need a new values framework?”; “Could agile working be our solution?”. And whenever they ask, I am reminded of the red pencil. The tool matters, but what matters much more is how you use it.
This lesson was brought home to me when two new clients started almost simultaneously.
One had used a theory of change to streamline and focus their work. The exercise had helped them clarify where they could best invest their resources and to make tough decisions about which activities to stop. For the other, the theory of change had made little impact and may even had made their problems worse.
The tool was the same. The difference was in how they used it.
There is a simple truth here: tools alone can never solve a problem. Change happens through the graft of daily practice, adaptation and learning. And that is why my advice to clients is invest in a new tool only when you can also invest the time and resource to make it work for you.
I continue to draw and slowly it is becoming a less messy scrawl. I smile when I see my red Leonardo pencil because while it didn’t do much for my drawing, it taught me a valuable lesson.
I'd love to hear the tools that have really worked to help your organisation make change happen and how you have invested in the good habits to make them work. And, if you are looking at how to make change happen in your organisation and the tools that might work best for you, drop us a line at hello@lucentconsultancy.co.uk.
Written by Katherine Rake, Director and Consultant