Information versus Communication
“In a recent article on Lombardi Software and in particular their Blueprint business process mapping solution, I referred to John C. Maxwell’s assertion that “information is giving out; communication is getting through.
It is an interesting perspective in that traditionally process mapping has been viewed as a way of providing an overview of the intricacies of the internal “architectures” that define and drive the modern enterprise. It has rarely (if ever) been considered a communication tool or facilitator. And herein lays the reason for its “boutique” status that has limited its practice to a select few “techies” who are perceived as being more system-oriented versus people oriented.”
Excerpt from “Using Business Process Mapping as a Communication Facilitator in the Global Enterprise” White Paper (February 2009).
Maxwell had it right when he stated his belief that “communication is getting through.”
What is interesting is that communication requires an effort in which many organizations – especially at the senior level – seem to fall short. For those who follow the Procurement Insights Blog on a regular basis, you will be familiar with past references to Bill McAneny. For those who may be joining us for the first time, McAneny wrote a book titled “Frankenstein’s Manager: Leaderships Missing Links” in which his research found that next to the ubiquitous lack of people skills, the second most frequent complaint leveled against an organization’s senior management is their inability to listen.
McAneny contended that the desire to listen is not an acquired skill that can be learnt through a seminar or class, but is instead an act of will. As a result, the limitations of traditional process mapping applications, which lack the intuitive, on-demand user interface that stimulates stakeholder participation (nee communication), meant that many projects were doomed to fail as they did not truly reflect how the enterprise operated in the real world.
When I took on the task of writing this white paper, my experience with process mapping had been deeply rooted in my IT and software development background. This of course caused me to question how the next generation of mapping applications, and in particular Lombardi’s Blueprint solution, were different.
With this latest paper, I share those insights with you. I think that you will enjoy the journey.
Use the following link to access the paper in its entirety: http://www.slideshare.net/piblogger/lombardi-blueprint-white-paper-1052432
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Posted on February 20, 2009
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