The document is a summary of a Dutch book told through a visual journey by Alice as she falls through "Organisationland" and learns about written and unwritten rules that shape people's behaviors and emotions. She speaks to different characters like a clock, birds, bubbles who explain how underlying systems and motives influence what is and isn't done even if it's not written down. Alice realizes people don't always follow the written rules and don't act as logically as she thought. She learns to understand different perspectives to get a fuller picture of reality.
4. W hen she is finished falling, she scrapes the remaining pieces of cloud from her dress
5. S he looks around her and sees a magnificent grainfield ready for harvesting
6. S uddenly she hears voices ⊠She turns around
7. We will starve this winter because so little harvesting has been done The rainy season is coming. The grain will decay in the fields
8. â W hy on earth are the people tĂĄlking about the grain, whereas they should be harvesting it ? â Alice asks herself loudly
9. ⊠people donât behave as logical as a clock To this I know the answer âŠ.
10. A lice turns towards the clock She is very eager to hear what the clock has to say
11. â The written rules shape the first system. This structure determines part of your behaviourâ
12. â ⊠behind the intended system a second system lies. Both are tied together and preserve each others state âŠ..â
13. â Everything which is not visibly regulated is regulated nevertheless, you see?â the clock says
14. A lice would gladly see the invisible, but the sight of pregnant grain is catching her eyes instead
15. â Maybe you will get the picture if I show you some unwritten rules Look âŠâ
16. â Ik zal je een aantal ongeschreven regels laten zienâ â Ik zal je een aantal ongeschreven regels laten zienâ Donât make mistakes Make the boss happy Be the bringer of happy news Never putt down your colleagues Do not speak your true mind Donât speak directly to someone higher in the hierarchy You can say NO and do YES
17. A lice has become pretty dizzy watching all those rules that are unwritten!
18. â Dizzy or not, people tend to follow the rules which are nĂłt writtenâ
19. the clock calls out before Alice continues falling â Believe behaviour, not wordsâ
20. A fter Alice hits solid ground, she continues her journey
21. S he thinks about the man who recently told her that his door always stands open for her âŠ
22. S he can see now that people donât always walk their talk, but she doesnât yet understand why , especially not if people get hungry by doing so!
24. m a k e s ur e y o u c l a r i f y t h e m â Every behaviour has its roots in its motivesâ the motive says
25. â Motives? Hmmm⊠having enough to eat, being important, cosiness, making friends, being able to harvest well, gaining respect, status, earning money, climbing the social ladder, recognition, acknowledgmentâ Alice runs down a few
26. â People want to satisfy several motives. When they canât, they simply freezeâ the motive knows â Wait, I will show you âŠâ
27. Behaviour: working hard to harvest the grain Motive: Cosiness Motive: Gaining social status ⊠. My colleagues will think I am a eager beaver ⊠. I will then get recognition from my boss
28. â Are you showing off when you work hard? How I would like to break this circleâ Alice calls out before she continues falling
29. W hile Alice tidies up her hair a bit (which is not an unnecessary luxury after falling) she hears distant twittering
30. â Emotion is the reason why people will be hungry this winterâ the birds twitter in her direction
31. â Thoughts about the written rules paint the colours of peopleâs emotions. They thereby make a painting of reality. But their emotions do not represent reality itselfâ
32. â You can not check whether your emotion is ârealâ, because if you go looking for it, you summon it ..
33. â⊠but the colour of your emotion dĂłes affect your behaviourâ
34. Je kunt niet controleren of je emotie echt bestaat, want als je ernaar zoekt roep je de emotie op â If you are feeling bad, youâd rather not play or work together and your memory does not work as well eitherâ
35. â Then, harvesting the grain will probably not belong to the possibilities?â Alice asks while summoning an angry mood
36. â Thatâs right. The way you think determines the way you feel and behave Acknowledge the power of thinking habits!â
37. â Emotion is a closed system of chain reactions. Stand beside the dominoes and try to see what your emotions tell you about the situationâ
38. W hile the dominoes fall, Alice falls further and further âŠ
40. â Most people donât see the other person, but an image they have formed of someone. In this way they donât talk to the other, but to themselvesâ the bubbles say
41. â⊠. but the behaviour of others is determined by a lot more factors than your opinion about themâ
42. â But how do I break down this system âŠ.â Alice sighs
43. â By asking if what you are seeing is right. Thatâs how you break the second systemâ the bubbles bubble
44. â You can start by putting on different glasses to look at the same thing âŠâ
45. â⊠. you can only complete the picture by wĂĄnting to understand the point of view of everyone involved âŠâ
46. If you comply with unwritten rules like âDonât keep asking questionsâ and âDonât speak up to someone higher in the hierarchyâ your picture remains one sidedâ
47. But is your picture right ? â You will have to verify !â Alice calls out in an euphoric state
48. â Thatâs right ! â a proud bubble says, bursting into pieces as a result of pure joy
49. A lice feels her journey through organisationland has come to an end She thinks about what she has learned
50. â If you use your eyeballs well, you can find out how people interpret the written rulesâ
51. â⊠and if you know how unwritten rules come about, you can change them!â Alice concludes feeling as light as a feather
52. F rom that moment on ⊠Alice fell happily ever after
53. Epilogue by Alice: Unwritten rules have diverse effects from which people suffer, while the same people also cause them by keeping to the unwritten rules. People often donât know that and they almost never do so on purpose. No one is to blame! And that is just as well, because feeling guilty makes you freeze and do nothing and we wouldnât want thĂĄt. TsssssâŠ
54. You were watching the visual interpretation of the book âAlice in organisatielandâ as seen through the eyes of Marina Noordegraaf ( www.marinanoordegraaf.nl ). With very special thanks for checking the English to my dear friend Tim Bowen, who has been my penfriend from England for over 16 years now Through the eyes of Marina Noordegraaf