Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.
Helen Keller, author, political activist, humanitarian
S. T. Hunter, K. E. Bedell and M. D. Mumford, from the University of Oklahoma, tell us that climate is people’s perception and experience of their work environment. Climate is commonly explored by asking questions like whether employees feel free to express their ideas to their boss, or whether people are not afraid to take risks around here.
Many organisations have a climate that is downright hostile towards implementation: a climate that discourages the creation and execution of great projects. While many of these organisations talk a good game, and will have words like innovation, integrity and accountability in their core values, the truth is that they are geared towards maintaining the status quo rather than exploring brave new worlds.
Implementation is hard enough without having a climate that makes it even more difficult, or even dangerous. A key part of the implementation imperative at an organisational level is creating an internal climate in the organisation that is conducive to the implementation of great projects.
Once again, as we can see in figure 15.1, this comes down to the three stages of implementation (start, persevere and complete).
Figure 15.1: implementation climate model
Think about how your organisation handles the three stages of the implementation process ...
