I’ve recently read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, thanks to a friend who recommended it. It’s a book that has been around of 25 years, but the concepts remain current today.
Ostensibly it is a book about quality, object and function. The anecdote that gives the book its title relates to two motorcyclists. One who takes interest in maintaining their own motorcycle and the other whose pleasure is in riding it, and is happy defer to the expertise of mechanics to do the necessary work. There are, of course, merits in each approach and I would commend the book to anyone interested in a philosophical view.
I was recently challenged about what makes some Consultancies different from others and was minded to think about the difference between change as an object (a motorbike) and as a function (a series of processes).
I think this simplifies..
If you hop into an expensive Mercedes taxi they will take you from A to B very quickly. It may cost you quite a bit, but you will be at your destination. The problem is that there has been no learning and for your next trip you’ll need another taxi. This is change as an object: a destination.
If you take driving lessons in a quality Honda it may take longer to learn how to get from A to B, but you’ll then have the skills to go anywhere you like thereafter. This is change as a function: a series of processes.
The latter is about living the business, being part of the process, not a passenger but an integral part of the change. This is what makes Project & Change businesses different from regular Consultancy firms who fail to integrate Advice + Execution + Learning.
Please use the comments box below to let me know, what you think, and how you feel about this?
Tim Rogers
Mobile - +44 7797 762051
Skype - timhjrogers
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