Comments on: Messing with Mr. InBetween

By: jbentley

jbentley — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 16:08:40 +0000

In reply to Madison McCue. Madison: This is an excellent review and analysis - very complete and thoughtful. jcb

By: jbentley

jbentley — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 16:07:01 +0000

Austin: Your question is an excellent one. The Knowing -Doing Gap, (we know what we should do but we don’t do it) has most to do with “Solvable Problems,” i. e. the Tame ones. These are the ones that need to be addressed first by analyzing the obstacles that stand in the way of Doing what we Know and then doing it. The gap between “Not Knowing and Doing” is much more complicated. We don’t know what to do, but we still must act. Acting in ignorance – the default condition with Wicked Problems – is extremely difficult, yet it is what we need to do. Go for it, look at the consequences, make changes, and try again. American Artist Jasper Johns put it this way: “Do something, then do something to that, then do something to that, and soon you’ll have something!” Taking action without knowing is what makes Taming Wicked Problems so difficult, yet it is our most important work, be in in a marriage, or a family, or in a business organization. job

By: Austin Camren

Austin Camren — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 05:22:49 +0000

In a Harvard Business Review case study of the challenges facing The St. Martin de Porres High School. The administration was “knowing and not doing” because they knew that there was a gap in the accountability and vision of the students and teachers. They had extremely high tardiness and failure to graduate students on time. As the school appointed new leadership it implemented school branding and empowerment programs. They even began summer leadership programs with universities for the students. Another action they took was that they listened to student input. They were successful and eventually circumvented the gap because they developed a strategy.
My two favorite quotes from this article were:
“Vague intentions don’t help, and may make things worse by creating unrealistic expectations.”
and
“Structure: A sequence of planned events and tested activities that when executed will actually lead to change.”
This article was fascinating, and refreshing. It has already given me a strategy to think about decisions in my everyday life, for the hopeful betterment of the people in my circles of influence. I am beginning to evaluate where my shadow lies and analyze when and where I, “know what needs to be done, but don’t do it.” I may even experiment with labeling some of these places where I am Mr. In-Between and using GE’s Workout program.
Thanks Professor Bentley!
One question:
Can the two most troublesome gaps have an evolutionary connection? Can a business navigate and climb to a higher ground by first addressing the “knowing and not doing” gaps within the business and then finding that their business is moving so fast that they then have to begin addressing gaps of the “not knowing and just doing” analysis?

By: Madison McCue

Madison McCue — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 19:00:53 +0000

Messing With Mr. InBetween

“ ’In between’ is where many of our most serious problems can be found:
• Between our good intentions and the consequences of our actions;
• Between what I think is the problem and what you think it is;
• Between our stated values, and what how we actually act;
• Between what we know we should do and what we end up doing;
• Between me thinking you are responsible for the problem, and you thinking that I am.
• Between what we say will do and what actually do.” (J Bentley, Oct. 20 2014)

Understanding and getting to know the “In Between” is where we can discover what the problem truly is.

The “In Between” is the GAP. It is the difference between where we are and where we want to be.

The “In Between”, the GAP is the Shadow in T.S. Elliot’s poem The Hollow Men its “between the idea and the reality” and its “between the conception and the creation”.
The Shadow is used to represent the ‘dark and unknown’ this where we discover the GAP and the ‘bridging’ and ‘closing’ of the GAP is how we bring light and understand the problem in which we face.

Two of the ‘most troublesome gaps are’:

The Knowing-Doing GAP –
This comes into play when we know that there is a GAP and what we should do about ‘bridging’ or ‘closing’ it but we do nothing.

The Not Knowing-Doing GAP –
The “Not Knowing-Doing GAP” has been described as being more problematic of the two. This is where we may have no idea of how to ‘bridge’, ‘close’ or even define the GAP but we still take measures in order to resolve this problem we are facing.

We must mess with Mr. InBetween in order to narrow, bridge or close the GAP. Good intentions are not enough!

Examples of companies that have implemented tactics in order to ‘mess with Mr. Inbetween’:
– GE Workout
– Google’s TGIF – Climb, Confess, Comply

Analysis –
In order to fully address, understand and grapple with a problem we must get used to ‘messing with Mr. Inbetween’. Here in the Shadow we can understand where we are and where we want to be in order to narrow, bridge or close the GAP. Successful companies with strong leadership can see the importance of involving employees in the process of understanding the GAPS that lie within the organization not all may be seen from the top. Not only does this involvement help leaders better understand the actual problem and its implications at every level from various points of view but it also leads to empowerment. As we are dealing dynamics of Generation Y involvement and empowerment is essential to a thriving workforce and is combining knowledge and resources to better address the issues that organizations face.