Coordinated Management of Meaning

By Kaj Voetmann inspired by Barnett Pearce and Vernon

Cronen

CMM Purposes

• Explain the meaning of a situation

• Explain why people do the strange things they do (seen from my personal perspective)

• Help us act wisely in the moment

• Make better self images, relationships and social worlds

What does it mean to be human?

• We have the ability to coordinate actions (stories lived) with other people ….. And many people choose not to do it

• We have the ability to reauthor the stories we bring with us (stories told)….. And many people choose not to develop this ability

• Stories lived and stories told are interconnected but they are never the same!

Reauthoring stories

• No change

• The exception that confirms the rule

• Gradual change over time

• Converting to a new world view

• Integrating stories in a larger story that brings past, present and future togetherr

Coordinated Management of Meaning – the Bowtie Model

Going on in a meaningful way

• Human beings do not need to understand things in order to act

• If they had to understand before they act, the human race would be extinct

• In stead they look for meaningful ways of going on and act

• They act from their experiences and most form the expectations they have build from their experiences

Sensemaking

• Everyone wants to make a difference for themselves and others by contributing constructively to the commuities they belong to

• Everyone needs to – be able to build and maintain their sense of belonging by identifying with

the purpose of each community– be able to visualize the preferred future together with others– be able to create a coherent story that brings past, present and future

stories together to a whole– be able to visualie the path to the future together with others and create

indicators, that shows if they are getting closer to the preferred future– know that action and reflection is only way to learn how to build a new

future– be able to handle diversity and be flexible

Core elements in sensemaking

Preferred future

Present state

Purpose/Mission

ValuesIndicators

Meaningful moments

Which future possibilities are opened and closed by the present focus?

Weaving future stories together

Individual stories

Team stories Organizational or community stories

Making preferred futures come true

• Ambitious visions (provocative propositions)

• Strategic projects

• Development resources

• Rewards for strategic efforts

Blending preferred futures

Consummatory moments

• Formulate your mission, vision and values

• Connect to other peoples missions, visions and values

• Create an experience where missions, visions and values become united

History making moments• Formulate your ideas on

actions and results clearly• Get inspiration from others• Rebuild your ideas with the

new parts to useful actions• Create experiments• If an experiment is a failure:

– Maybe the ideas weren’t too good

– But there is nothing wrong with us

Scientific Paradigms

Linear• Good science

– is written– is universal– is eternal– defines words precisely and uses

them according to the definition

• The parts are central in the study of things

• Selves are fixed in nature• Language describes the real

world out there

Social constructionist• Good science

– is spoken and shown– is useful locally– is useful in a space of time– respects that the meaning of

words are given by the use

• The whole is central in the study of things and defines the roles of the parts and connections

• Selves are social in nature• Language creates the world

Central questions

• What did we create or recreate in the patterns of interactions?– Self images– Relationships– Social worlds

• How did we create it?

• How can we create better social worlds?

Types of stories

• Slogans• Anecdotes• Rich and full stories

• Stereotyping

• Enriching self stories, relationships and social worlds

CMM the Serpentine Model

CMM the LUUUUTT Model

Stories Lived

StoryTelling

Stories Told

Unknown stories

Unheard stories

Untold stories

Untellable stories

CMM the Hierachy Model

Stories about land in our society

Autonomy Social evolution Natural use Progressive

Individual

Institutions

Community

Land

Community

Individual

Institutions

Land

Community

Land

Individual

Institutions

Land

Community

Individual

Institutions

Reframing incompatible stories through mediation

Pro abortion Pro life

• Having dinner together – no talking about abortion• Each person tells their personal story about their point of view• Everyone participate in a dialogue about how to create a social world

where we can respect the experience of all the affected people and find a mutually beneficial solutions

CMM – Strange Loops

The strange loop of modernityThis is new ≠ This is not new

Let’s celebrate! ≠ Change that!

The loop maintains itself.If the pace is slow it is not a problem.

If the pace is high, you need to see the loop as a whole.What are the stories that keeps the loop going.

CMM – Strange Loops

The strange loop of stressI must work hard ≠ I must not work hard

Sick and proud! ≠ Well and ashamed!

Promoting Well-being

• Personal well-being– Optimism– An experience of being in control and having

autonomy– An experience of mastering the challenges in

the things you participate in– An experience of being able to handle the

challenges on your own– An experience of progress and meaningful

activities

Promoting Well-being

• Organizational well-being– Effective environment – Reflective environment– Emotional environment– Coordinated environment

Promoting Well-being

• Community well-being– Clear rights and obligations– Clear possibilities and restraints

• Interpersonal clearness– Everyone else always make sense of your

actions and reactions by inventing stories that gives meaning to your behaviour

– Tell the stories people need to know to be able to be close to you