Pablo Picasso was painting Gertrude Stein’s portrait.
Gertrude said, “I don’t look like that.”
Picasso replied, “You will.”
– Cited by James Baldwin in a 1984 Paris Review interview.
Whoa! Ouch!
How about Pablo; painting it like he will see it!
And, judging by her reaction, Gertrude didn’t think it was a pretty picture …
* * * * *
There’s one or two OD/change management lessons here.
Yeppir …
First off, how the organization performs in the future may hardly resemble how the organization is performing today…
Time — aging — will have its way. Things will change.
Without the critical development of structure, process, culture, and talent, time — and change — will wreak havoc. Capabilities will erode. New capabilities will be needed.
What is needed is an artist’s rendition of that future picture; and it’s needed now …
Luckily, there actually are people in organizations that have that prophetic artistic vision. They are scattered throughout; they do their day jobs in plain sight, with diverse titles, and responsibilities, working from the top, bottom, and middle of the organization chart …
All they need is a blank canvass, and the opportunity.
And a healthy dose of courage.
For, like Gertrude, leaders will likely not like what they paint.
“We don’t look like that” they will say, with some indignation. Because the portrait of the organization’s future is, well, not pretty.
“But we will …” is the sometimes timid, sometimes frustrated, sometimes exasperated response.
* * * * *
I remember a long time ago running into a particularly striking list of critical leadership attributes. The first one was “see reality.” I couldn’t quite wrap my head around that at the time.
Now, I’m not quite sure there is any better gift to leaders than a projection of what will happen over time and through change.
1. The people with the special ability to project need to paint the picture like they see it. Like it will be.
2. And the leaders need to see it; really see it; and start making plans …
If not … not pretty.
For real.
johnponders 
I think that individuals that have both the ability to project with some realistic success rate and the courage to deliver the mesage are few and far between. It seems that many of the rest of us are quick to reject messages that are different than what we want to hear. We spend our time trying to change reality instead of changing our perceptions. Too bad there are not any EasyAnswers r Us stores close by!
Except that when I want a portrait of a loved one, I want it as a freeze-frame of that will help me remember their best day (not one reflecting over-the-hill!).
Ok, ok, that’s not what you meant, I know. But seriously, a “current” snapshot of “where we are now” followed by a “where we want to be” is always a great visual for employees to burn into their minds. That’s why the 13, or 24, or 36 month trend graphs often work so well when setting goals. Like a visual road map to the future (the “Merlin Factor”), which only works when the map shows the whole route (where’ve we been, where are we now, and where to we want to be).
Imagine getting bopped over the head, (knocked unconscious), then waking up in an unfamiliar, seemingly uninhabited, rain forest a couple of days later, with a note safety-pinned to your chest instructing you to meet me at Shedd’s Aquarium in Chicago at high noon on August 10, 2013. Now you, John, certainly know where the Aquarium is, and you could probably find your way there in the dark (ha, Chicago never goes dark) and in your sleep…. But ONLY if you KNOW where you are RIGHT NOW. Without a map that shows an “X” (you are here), you’ll probably miss the deadline, since you could be on any one of 4 continents that have rain forests!
Yeah, I know, that’s not what you were talking about either; those were just my first thoughts. But the first “feeling” I got when reading your post was “the poison of complacency” and that was certainly a good reminder. Complacency can kill an army of giants!
Thanks for another great post!
Loved this…. So true!
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