Part 2: Business WorkQuakes

Living in California, I natually gravitate to utilizing an earthquake analogy. As an aside, do you
kow that earthquake faults are present in 48 of our 50 states?

With earthquakes, pressure builds up under the surface for many years. This pressure is
released along a fault line, cracks that exist in the earth's crust. The energy released is what
we call an earthquake.  The quake may be felt, and the damage caused most intensely, at
the exact spot of the pressure buildup, the quake site, but more often, far away, as the energy
waves travel below before they surface.

Business workquakes are the same. Energy in the form of issues, problems,
misunderstandings or various agendas builds up within organizations all of the time.
It could be related to employee conflicts or general business success and failure. The
economy or stock prices rising or falling create underlying energy. World conflict churns
energy. Personal issues totally unrelated to work, such as home and family, stir up energy.
This energy may never erupt or may take years to surface.

In a Business WorkQuake there is, however, a triggering release event. An example I
frequently use is the event of a
physical move. It will create a business earthquake. The
trigger event, for example a move to a new building, an onsite workspace or home office, will
become the outlet, the WorkQuake, as the pressure built up finds an outlet for the person,
department or organization’s anger, angst or fears to be released.

Yet most people or organizations do not recognize this will occur. Seeing that the employees
are unhappy, the blame is mistakenly directed at the most current disturbance, in this
example "the move", when in reality the
employees are simply transferring feelings about
other issues.
The move has become the eruption point, a company-made collision of
corporate tectonic plates releasing small vibrations or hugely destructive tremors that can
reverberate throughout the company.

Go to Part 3.
"Change we choose is entirely more palatable than
change that is thrust upon us."

-  Catherine Adams Lee
Copyright © 2011  | Catherine Adams Lee Consulting  | All rights reserved. | Trademarks.
nwp blog
blog
taking workplaces to
the next level