Understanding Transformation Lores

(This is Part 1 of Transformation Lores: An Essay in 3 Parts)

Lores

Along my exploration into power and organizational transformation, I came by the notion of lores from a great series on the topic.

Particularly fascinating to me is the PNB model mentioned in it:

Lore molecules are triads comprising three atoms:

1. An archetypal Posture in relation to a domain
2. A Narrative suggesting a way of acting within it
3. An actual Behavior that acts on that domain

You can remember this with the acronym PNB. Lore is a swamp of PNB molecules of various species.

Source: Raw Lore

Based on my observations in organizational transformations, I was inspired enough to attempt to apply the model to what I call transformation lores – the lores told in organizations about transformation.

An Evaluative Model of Transformation Lores

Taking huge inspiration from the notion of PNB in the article “Raw Lore”, I hereby introduce to you a simple thinking tool that helps you identify transformation lores.

There are three aspects to think about the transformation effort of your organization:

• Proposition: What’s your take on transformation? What’s your prescription for it? What’s the first mover of it?
• Narrative: How do you justify your proposition? What stories do you tell to explain it? How to you get buy-in from others?
• Behaviour: What do you actually do to make transformations happen? Are your proposition, narrative and behaviour actually aligned? Is what you do defined by what you say, or vice versa?

Let’s look at them one by one.

Three Propositions

Your proposition on transformation answers questions like:

• What’s your take on transformation?
• What’s its first mover?
• What’s your prescription for it?

There are three common propositions: technology, culture and institution.

The Technology Proposition

In taking the technology proposition, you believe that:

• Technology is the first mover of transformation;
• Organization’s transformation is deeply coupled with technological advancement;
• Even though technology is created by people, it’s the effect of technology, intended or not, that triggers the need or willingness for transformation.

The Culture Proposition

In taking the culture proposition, you believe that:

• Culture is the first mover of transformation;
• Organization’s transformation is deeply coupled with shifts and changes in organizational culture;
• Even though culture is created by people in a social way, it’s the effect of culture, intended or not, that triggers the need or willingness for transformation.

The Institution Proposition

In taking the institution proposition, you believe that:

• People, and the institution behind them, are the first mover of transformation;
• Organization’s transformation is deeply coupled both with people’s growth and the evolution of their institutional mechanism;
• Even though institution is created by people, it’s the effect of the institutional mechanism, intended or not, that triggers the need or willingness for transformation.

Three Narratives

Your narrative on transformation answers questions like:

• How do you justify your proposition?
• What stories do you tell to explain it?
• How do you get buy-in from others?

There are also three common narratives used to justify and explain transformation effort: crisis, movement and innovation.

The Crisis Narrative

With the crisis narrative, you’re telling a compelling story of surviving a crisis through transformation:

• We’re seeing an emerging crisis related to your proposition, and that crisis could disrupt or destroy the competence or existential foundation of the organization;
• In order to survive the crisis and thrive post-crisis, the organization needs to transform ;
• Either we change, or be changed.

The Movement Narrative

With the movement narrative, you’re telling a compelling story of riding or leading an inevitable movement both along the historical line and inside the futures cone:

• We’re seeing emerging trends that signals a momentum for a movement, and that movement has profound impact both on the organization’s survival of the present and on its thriving in the future;
• The trends are becoming clearer and clearer, and, with increasing certainty, the movement seems almost inevitable;
• Depending on the timing, we’re either seeing a closing of or currently experiencing a tipping point for that movement.
• In order to strategically align ourselves with and take full advantage of the movement, the organization needs to transform;

The Innovation Narrative

With the innovation narrative, you’re telling a compelling story of inspiring advancement of humanity through brave innovation:

• Our technological, cultural or institutional environment is brimming with exciting new opportunities and is ripe for innovation;
• Our organization is in a good position to pursue those opportunities through innovation;
• In order to thrive in the present and survive the future, we need to build the optimal organizational context for innovation. Accordingly, the organization needs to transform;
• Either we innovate, or we’re left behind by new innovations from elsewhere.

Two Behaviours

Your actual behaviours in making transformations answers questions like:

• What do you actually do to make transformations happen?
• Are your proposition, narrative and behaviour actually aligned?
• Is what you do defined by what you say, or vice versa?

Behaviours are either aligned or misaligned.

Aligned Behaviours

There are consistent and abundant observable evidence, which makes people believe that your proposition, narrative and behaviours are aligned, and that you’re making genuine efforts towards transformation.

Misaligned Behaviours

There’s barely any or no observable evidence that makes people believe you’re making genuine efforts towards transformation. Even when there’s observable evidence, it’s often inconsistent.

Nine Transformation Lore Archetypes

With three propositions and three narratives, we end up with nine archetypes of the transformation lores:

	The Technology Proposition	The Culture Proposition	The Institution Proposition
The Crisis Narrative	Technocrisis	Cultural Crisis	Institutional Crisis
The Movement Narrative	Technological Movement	Cultural Movement	Institutional Movement
The Innovation Narrative	Technological Innovation	Cultural Innovation	Social Innovation

I wish I had concrete examples to back it up, but research takes time and I’m taking all the time I need towards it.

For now, I’ll just point out three personal observations:

Firstly, if you’ve heard anything about transformations in organizations, chances are most of them are about Technocrisis or Technological Innovation, with flavours of Cultural Crisis, Institutional Movement or Social Innovation sprinkled around.

Secondly, bestselling books on leadership often talk about it from a Culture Proposition angle, where opportunities lie in crisis, movement or innovation. By contrast, books on transformations are often written by people who do technology and consequently their authors often take up the Technology Proposition.

Thirdly, nonprofit organizations might tend to frame it based on an Institution Proposition.

Those are very personal observations that are inevitably biased.

That’s where you can help – let’s exchange ideas:

What are your observations?

What kind of transformation lore archetypes do you often observe?

Why do you think you observe them?

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