Living Strategy: Putting People at the Heart of Corporate Purpose

SECOND TENET We search for meaning

Let me share with you an insight from the Leading Edge Research Consortium. I first came across the concept of written and unwritten rules in 1985 when I met Peter Scott Morgan who at that time was beginning to develop a process which he called 'the unwritten rules of the game'. Briefly his thesis was that within organizations there are 'written rules' in the policy statement - management communications - and 'unwritten rules' - the rules of the game which are understood by employees and rapidly learned in the socialization process by new employees. I was intrigued by Peter's work and in the subsequent years he and I collaborated and introduced the 'rules of the game' methodology into the Leading Edge research. ...