Out of small problems may come great solutions. That seems to be the case for Randy Lisk. An organizational consultant based in Lexington, Lisk showed up for a routine first meeting with a potential client. The client, a Japanese-owned and managed auto-parts manufacturing company, was experiencing "people problems" and wanted someone to work with their supervisors.
Lisk was one of two people at the meeting who was non-Asian. A translator interpreted his suggestions for instituting a coaching program for the supervisors that would help instill leadership.
Somehow, Lisk says, the language nuances between bossing and coaching were lost. He did not get the contract.
In his frustration, Lisk went home and wrote down ten statements summarizing his beliefs about individuals working in organizations. In time, these became the basis for his book, The Page: 10 Ways to Diagnose and Improve Your Organization and Your Life.
Lisk's loss of the contract is our gain. His resulting book is a well-written, well-researched overview of a business philosophy that deserves consideration. The book is both personal and accessible in presenting an understanding of business that is distinctly positive while simultaneously grounded in the real difficulties of work.
Lisk is an engaging writer. He starts with his own poignant history, including his education as an engineer and his work for IBM. Engineers, as every Dilbert fan is aware, are not known for their insights into problems that involve people rather than electronic circuits. Lisk describes his journey to learn "people things" rather than mechanics in honest and deeply felt terms. His points are all the more powerful coming from an insider.
Lisk is also a determined optimist. His ideas promise to take patience and work, but he believes they can urge people to improve future circumstances in their organizations and their lives. The book is an invitation to see many of the theories of business in a new light and consider how they can be applied in new ways. It's also straight talk about what needs to be done.
The 10 statements of The Page summarize what Lisk believes about individuals working in organizations. They are based on these beliefs:
• There is uniqueness and potential in all humans;
•Cooperation is preferred to competition within an organization;
• Communication cures many ills; and
• Successful organizations use systems that support both the people and the company's mission.
Using this foundation, the author thoughtfully divides the list of 10 statements into three parts: individuals, culture and organization. He invites us to take a deeper look at each of the statements and explore the relationships between the three. Lisk is an adept weaver, showing us the interrelatedness of all the statements in ways that put emphasis on their highest potential.
The process of building guiding assumptions about each of these three areas gives the book its strength as well as a structure that makes for ease in understanding. By the time Lisk discusses his core thoughts about individuals and the larger encircling culture, the organizational principles present a seemingly natural and logical overlay.
"Every organization is perfectly designed to get the results it is getting," Lisk said.
"The root cause of over 85 percent of the problems experienced by organizations is found in the systems, strategies ... etc. and not directly due to people."
There are also workshop-type questions at the end of each chapter entitled "What Now?" These are particularly insightful in suggesting how to implement the ideas discussed.
The author adds to his own understandings the influence of major business thought leaders. He particularly stresses Peter Senge's work on systems thinking. His other sources, however, are extensive, ranging from Deming to McGregor, and many other pivotal management thinkers. He doesn't shortchange more contemporary influences, however, citing authors such as Jim Collins and Stephen Covey. His reference list at the back of the book is an impressive showing of the extensive prep work he has done to develop a list of 10 statements.
It's worth noting that the book was cooperatively published in Lexington by Clark Publishing Company (See Business Lexington, Feb. 22, 2008). It's a handsome volume, on a par with any major publisher. Some of the powerpoint-type drawings are distracting, but not to the point they pull away from the text.
One of the 10 statements of The Page is that "Leadership resides in every person." Randy Lisk is to be congratulated for his leadership in authoring this fine book.