{"id":1174,"date":"2011-12-03T10:16:09","date_gmt":"2011-12-03T10:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saasoft.com\/blog\/?p=1174"},"modified":"2011-12-03T10:16:09","modified_gmt":"2011-12-03T10:16:09","slug":"nigyysob","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/?p=1174","title":{"rendered":"NIGYYSOB"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>This is the image of an infamous headline printed on May 4th 1982 in a well known\u00a0UK newspaper.\u00a0 It refers to the sinking of the General Belgrano in the Falklands war.<\/p>\n

It is the clarion call of revenge – the payback for past grievances.<\/p>\n

The full title is NIGYYSOB which stands for Now I Gotcha You Son Ofa B****<\/em> and is the name of one of Eric Berne’s Games that People Play<\/em>.\u00a0 In this case it is a Level\u00a04 Game – played out on the global stage by the armed forces of the protagonists and resulting in\u00a0both destruction and death.<\/p>\n

\n

The NIGYYSOB game is played out much more frequently at Level 1 – in the everyday interactions between people – people who\u00a0believe that revenge has a sweet taste.<\/p>\n

The reason\u00a0this is important to the world of Improvement Science\u00a0is because sometimes a well-intentioned improvement can get unintentionally entangled\u00a0in a game of NIGYYSOB.<\/p>\n

Here is how the drama unfolds.<\/p>\n

Someone\u00a0complains frequently about something that is not working, a Niggle, that they believe\u00a0that they are powerless to solve.\u00a0Their complaints are either ignored, discounted\u00a0or not acted upon because the person with the\u00a0assumed authority to resolve it cannot do so because they do\u00a0not know how and will not admit that.\u00a0\u00a0This stalemate can fester for\u00a0a long time and can build up a Reservoir of Resentment. The Niggle persists and\u00a0keeps irritating the emotional wound which remains\u00a0an open\u00a0cultural sore.\u00a0 It is not unusual\u00a0for a well-intentioned third party to intervene\u00a0to resolve the standoff but as\u00a0they too are unable to resolve the\u00a0underlying problem – and\u00a0all that results\u00a0is either\u00a0meddling<\/em> or diktat<\/em> which can actually make the problem worse.<\/p>\n

The outcome is a festering three-way stalemate with a\u00a0history of failed expectations and\u00a0a deepening Well of Cynicism.<\/p>\n

Then someone with\u00a0an understanding of Improvement Science appears on the scene –\u00a0and the stage is set for a new chapter of the drama because\u00a0they\u00a0risk of being “hooked”\u00a0into\u00a0The Game.\u00a0\u00a0The newcomer knows how to resolve the problem and,\u00a0with the grudging consent of the three protagonists,\u00a0as if\u00a0by magic, the Niggle\u00a0is dissolved.\u00a0 Wow!\u00a0\u00a0 The walls of the Well of Cynicism\u00a0are breached by the new reality and the three\u00a0protagonists suddenly realise that they may\u00a0need to radically re-evaluate their worldviews.\u00a0 That was not expected!<\/p>\n

What can happen next is an emotional backlash –\u00a0rather like a tight elastic band being released at one end. Twang! Snap!\u00a0Ouch!<\/p>\n

\n

We all have a\u00a0the same\u00a0psychological reaction to a sudden and surprising change in\u00a0our\u00a0reality – be it for the better or for the worse. It takes time to adjust to\u00a0a new\u00a0worldview and that\u00a0transition phase is both fragile and\u00a0unstable;\u00a0so there is a risk of going off course.<\/p>\n

Experience teaches us that it does not take much to knock the tentative improvement\u00a0over.<\/p>\n

\n

The application of Improvement Science will generate\u00a0transitions that need to be anticipated and proactively managed because if this is not done\u00a0then there is a\u00a0risk that the emotional backlash\u00a0will upset the whole improvement apple-cart.<\/p>\n

What appears to occur\u00a0is:\u00a0after reality shows that the improvement has\u00a0worked\u00a0then\u00a0the realisation dawns that the\u00a0festering problem was always solvable, and\u00a0the chronic emotional pain was avoidable. This\u00a0comes as a\u00a0psychological shock that can trigger\u00a0a reflex emotional response called anger:<\/em> the emotion that\u00a0signals the unconscious\u00a0perception\u00a0of sudden loss of\u00a0the old, familiar, worldview. The anger\u00a0is often directed externally\u00a0and at the perceived\u00a0obstruction that blocked\u00a0the improvement;\u00a0the person who “should” have known what to do; often the “boss”.\u00a0 This backlash,\u00a0the emotional payoff,\u00a0carries\u00a0the implied\u00a0message of “You are not OK\u00a0because you hold the power, and you could not solve this, and\u00a0you were too arrogant to ask for help and now\u00a0I have proved you wrong and that\u00a0I was\u00a0right all the time!”\u00a0 Sweet-tasting revenge?<\/p>\n

Unfortunately not. The problem is that this emotional backlash damages the fragile, emerging,\u00a0respectful relationship and can\u00a0effectively\u00a0scupper any future tentative inclinations\u00a0to improve. The chronic emotional pain returns even worse than before; the Well of Cynicism deepens; and\u00a0the walls are strengthened and become less porous.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0improvement\u00a0is not maintained and\u00a0it dies of neglect.<\/p>\n

\n

The reality of the situation\u00a0was that none of the three protagonists actually knew what to do – hence the stalemate – and the only way out of that\u00a0situation is for them all to\u00a0recognise and accept the reality of their collective ignorance – and then to learn together.<\/p>\n

Managing the improvement transition is something\u00a0that an\u00a0experienced\u00a0facilitator\u00a0needs to understand. If there is a\u00a0them-and-us cultural\u00a0context; a\u00a0frustrated standoff; a high pressure store of accumulated bad feeling; and a deep well of cynicism\u00a0then that\u00a0emotional\u00a0abscess needs to diagnosed, incised and drained\u00a0before<\/strong>\u00a0any\u00a0attempt at sustained improvement can be\u00a0made.<\/p>\n

If\u00a0we\u00a0apply direct pressure\u00a0on an\u00a0emotional abscess then it is likely\u00a0to rupture and squirt you with\u00a0cynicide; or worse\u00a0still\u00a0force the emotional toxin\u00a0back into the organisation and poison\u00a0the whole system. (Email is a common path-of-low-resistance for emotional toxic waste!).<\/p>\n

One solution is to appreciate that the toxic emotional\u00a0pressure needs to be released in a safe and\u00a0controlled way\u00a0before the healing process can start.\u00a0\u00a0Most of the\u00a0pain goes away as soon as the abscess is lanced – the rest dissipates as the healing process engages.<\/p>\n

One model that is helpful in proactively managing this dynamic\u00a0is the Elizabeth Kubler-Ross model of grief which describes the five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.\u00a0 Grief is the normal emotional reaction to a sudden change in reality – such as the loss of a loved one – and the\u00a0same psychological process operates for all\u00a0emotionally significant changes.\u00a0 The facilitator just needs to provide a game-free and constructive way\u00a0to manage the anger by reinvesting\u00a0the passion\u00a0into the next cycle of\u00a0improvement.\u00a0 A more recent framework for this is\u00a0the Lewis-Parker model which has seven stages:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Immobilisation – Shock. Overwhelmed mismatch: expectations vs reality.<\/li>\n
  2. Denial of Change – Temporary retreat. False competence.<\/li>\n
  3. Incompetence – Awareness and frustration.<\/li>\n
  4. Acceptance of Reality – ‘Letting go’.<\/li>\n
  5. Testing – New ways to deal with new reality.<\/li>\n
  6. Search for Meaning – Internalisation and seeking to understand.<\/li>\n
  7. Integration – Incorporation of meanings within behaviours.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    An effective tool for getting\u00a0the emotional rollercoaster moving\u00a0is\u00a0The 4N Chart\u00ae – it allows the emotional pressure and pain to be released in a safe way. The\u00a0complementary tool for\u00a0diagnosing and treating the cultural\u00a0abscess\u00a0is called AFPS (Argument Free Problem Solving) which is a version of Edward De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats<\/em>\u00ae.<\/p>\n

    The\u00a0two are part of the\u00a0improvement-by-design framework\u00a0called 6M Design\u00ae which in turn is a rational, learnable, applicable and teachable manifestation of Improvement Science.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    This is the image of an infamous headline printed on May 4th 1982 in a well known\u00a0UK newspaper.\u00a0 It refers to the sinking of the General Belgrano in the Falklands war. It is the clarion call of revenge – the payback for past grievances. The full title is NIGYYSOB which stands for Now I Gotcha … <\/p>\n

    Continue reading “NIGYYSOB”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6,23,35,41,42,45,47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-4n-chart","category-6m-design","category-history","category-reflections","category-stories","category-how","category-what","category-transactional-analysis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1174\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}