Page Title

A Recipe for Glue

November 8, 1999

"The increasingly voiced question is, 'After all the layoffs, early retirements, reengineering, and restructuring, what is the glue that will hold this organization together?'...  A recipe for preparing the gooey stuff that will hold organizations of the future together is necessary.

The Recipe

FILL Glue Pot with the fresh, pure, clear water of undiluted human spirit:
-Take special care not to contaminate with preconceived ideas, or to pollute with excess control.
-Fill slowly; notice that the pot only fills from the bottom up.  It's impossible to fill it from the top down!

STIR in equal parts:
-Customer focus.
-Pride in work.

BRING to a boil and blend in:
-A liberal portion of diversity.
-One part self-esteem.
-One part tolerance.

FOLD IN:
-Accountability
-Openness to learning.

SIMMER until smooth and thick, stirring with:
-Shared leadership and clear goals.

SEASON with:
-A dash of humor and a pinch of adventure.

LET cool and garnish with:
-A topping of core values.

SERVE by coating all boxes in the organizational chart, with particular attention to the white spaces.  With proper application, the boxes disappear and all that can be seen is productivity, creativity, and customer service. --David M. Noer  ("Breaking Free" - Jossey-Bass)"

Reference:  Staff. (1997, January 20).  A Recipe for Glue.  Teamwork:  Your Personal Guide to Working Successfully with People, p. 2.

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Created: 2009-01-06, Updated: 2009-01-16