Bill Brenneman
No one likes to talk about failure, but the fundamental work that I do is to establish causes of failure in organizations — be it equipment, process or product failure. LaL is about identifying causes of failure within our own selves and beginning to see and embrace failure as a learning experience and an opportunity to understand cause and effect. All of us fail at some point. LaL allows us to communicate about it rather than hide it, to not beat ourselves up or point the finger at others.
I find LaL to extremely relevant to senior managers. It focuses on personal patterns as they relate to structure and accountability in organizations. When the causes are chased deep enough you find them rooted within the players, either internal to the individuals or as a result of the way they interact with each other, which is an outcome of their patterns.
This is true at all levels of the organization, but the consequences are geometrically larger as you move up the hierarchy. As a leader, by becoming conscious of my ego dynamics, I am aware of the implications of my reactions on the organization for which I’m accountable. Being more conscious in my choices and decision-making is the leverage for organizational change.