Last night to my horror, in an ineffective attempt to clean my smartphone, the screen protector peeled off.  So early this morning, I trotted off with George to a nearby store to buy a new one, armed with gloves and a face mask. The streets were full with people walking their dogs, or dogs walking their people. It’s hard to know these days. A dog is great protection for the city hall and police “Public Health Enforcement Units“.

When I got my phone back, I spent half an hour trying to think how to disinfect it. In the end, I thought, fuck it, it is what it is. How the hell can I spend even more time trying to control something I cannot? This is a very Israeli attitude.

So I thought, what else characterizes an Israeli reaction to the present panic. A good subject for my third letter from Tel Aviv.

Last night, our totally inept and incompetent health minister, Yaakov Litsman, who is accused of trying to prevent the extradition of suspected pedophile  Malka Leifer, said that he does not support the positions put forth by the Health Ministry, which he heads.

To make things worse, the Deputy Managing Director of the Health Ministry, a distinguished professor of public medicine, and his boss, a third rate economist and hack, the Managing Director of the Ministry of Health, disagreed about how many corona cases there actually are. The gaps between assessments were amazing.

The Minister of Health has also campaigned for allowing religious life to go on, albeit that many people have been infected in houses of worship. He also has stated that he hopes the Messiah will solve this problem before Passover, which falls in a few weeks.

Secular educated Israelis have learnt not to expect very much from leadership. What is happening in the Ministry of Health is natural-: ” what do you expect from a government hack and health minister from an ultra-Orthodox party?”

More traditional (right wing and religious) Israelis expect government to `fight hard`, whatever that means. And if they lose the fight, it doesn`t matter because the left probably undermined them. So we have someone to blame.

Whether this is bad or not is not so clear to me. The expectations from leadership to solve this problem appear to me to be absurd. These are the very same leaders who got us into this mess by under-spending on health. How can they ever extract us from this awful mess?

Furthermore, if we expect too much from leadership, we shirk our own ownership of the problem. And in Israel, everyone is often his or her own general, the healthy skepticism towards leadership transfers responsibility to the families and individuals.

And when the politicians speak nonsense, no one really gets all that upset like the Americans do.

Of course, a blend between appropriate expectations from leadership and total skepticism towards leadership is a contradiction that must be constantly  balanced, but I prefer a society in which people do not expect too much of the guys in charge, who cannot do anything expect try to catch up on decades of poor assumptions about health care.

And by the way, the leaders care mainly about themselves. It is always `what`s in it for me`.  For these leaders the day-after corona  is the real nightmare-not The Plague that we plebs are experiencing. 

Before I fall asleep at night, thoughts pass through my mind until “sleep knits up the ravelled sleeve of care/”. In the past few years, these thoughts have focused on Montreal winters, summer jobs I had, lost love, my Dad, and the roller-coaster of my life, for indeed, my life has been far from routine.

Ever since the virus has erupted, different and less personal thoughts find their way into my rambling thoughts before I slip away for the night.

For example, what was it like listening to propaganda in a fascist or communist state? Being exposed to Goebbels’ vile rubbish or reading Streicher’s shitty, shameless, vile rag? Or getting the news from Pravda? Or gulping up then-Peking’s Ren Min Ri Bao? How long did/does it take to inculcate nonsense, hatred, or stupidity into someone’s head?

Another example, if liberty and freedom are such key values why is it so easy to shut people up in their homes? Why are those guilty of under spending on health care the same people locking us up at home and shoving fear down our throat? How did we cave in so easily?

I have no answers to these questions. However I do hope things will change. Unlike Bernie Sanders who after a heart attack wants to be president, I want to spend my remaining years doing the things I love-but I do hope change will come from those, younger than me, who will not succumb to tyranny on steroids, powered by smartphones.

During the day, other thoughts occupy my mind after I have walked George, exercised, read, blogged and spoken to friends, After all, it’s only 11 AM. What has happened to the voice of expertise, which is totally overwhelmed by social media? Where is the voice of dissent which could be saying, “there is a very nasty virus going around, keep your distance and wash your hands”, allowing life to continue? Is death so taboo that we need lock everyone up? Where the fuck is common sense? Maybe I am the crazy one? “Allonchik, you always look at everything differently; that’s why you married me”, claimed my late wife Hadassah.

Yes, she called me Allonchik-a diminutive of Allon, although I am anything but small.

There will be time. There will be time.  There will be time. Time when I will not agree to be locked up in a cage by people who are “caring for my wellbeing” by denying me my basic freedom. But in the meantime, I stay indoors.

I feel like Hans Falada-a stranger in my own land.

Let’s take a look at Anna who works as a cashier is large hardware store in Raanana* Israel. Until the corona crisis broke out, Anna was just one of the gang. She came on time, brought a sandwich from home, ate lunch with her shift buddies, slowed down to punish problematic customers, and gave somewhat more personalized service to the nicer people.

Anna’s academic achievements were always poor; she married the wrong guy and now she regrets it. She reads the newspaper and has her nails done once a month. She has one son and two dogs. Plain Anna.  But now, she shines. Anna is fearless. All her life, she has never known fear.

Ever since corona broke out, Anna works very hard, projects a super positive attitude and serves as an inspiration for her coworkers. Why? Because her fearlessness has given her a clear advantage.  Until now, it  has never counted for much; in the crisis, she shines with a charming resilience.

Anna shows up every day, has a super positive attitude, helps people bag their goods, and carries on friendly conversation with the customers. At lunch she calms down her anxiety-ridden colleagues. Anna has become a leader.

Let’s now look at Alex. Alex is the deputy manager of the hardware store where Anna works. Alex is orderly, highly disciplined, emotionally withdrawn, reserved yet very fair. A bit too fair for the relationship-driven culture of Israeli society.

If someone has a nickname, Alex never uses it. Roberto is Roberto not Bobby; Svetlana remains Svetlana and not Svet;  Anna remains Anna and not Anya.

Until the crisis broke out, the staff obeyed Alex, mildly disliked him and his humourlessness but did what  they were told  because he controlled the “extra hours” budget, with extra hours bagging a 180% premium.

In the crisis, there are no extra hours. As a matter of fact, no one (except Anna) wants to work. Alex’s cold disposition has crippled his ability to control staff. Just yesterday, Alex told Svetlana to take her earphone out, and Svetlana told Alex, in Russian, to carry out a certain sexual activity with his mother. All the cashiers laughed, and started putting in their earphones as well.

In the past, Alex would have fired Svetlana on the spot. Now, finding a cashier is like finding an honest politician;  Alex’s leadership is ruined.

When the context of work changes, the skills which are valued change-and so some people shine and others fall flat on their face.

And thanks to Dr Eva Rimbau for giving me the idea for this post.

*Raanana was founded by my grandfathers’ brother and sister-Uncle Jack  and Auntie Ida with the beginning of the British mandate which took over Ottoman-controlled Palestine.

The organization development practitioner is not tooled to support managers in a crisis of the present dimensions. As it is, the standard OD practitioner over-relies on outdated values, pre-packaged tool kits and one-size-fits-all products. The present crisis is way  over the head of our profession as it has been degenerated in the past two decades.

Furthermore, the severe cash flow problem of clients will put most OD practitioners out of work almost immediately. The externals will go first, quickly followed by the internals. So a few of us may have something to say, but no one will have money to pay.

And this is a war, not an organizational crisis. The enemy is invisible, but there is as a war going on. Even In civilian organizations, OD is, at best, a luxury.

But OD in the military is not a luxury, because the army is geared for severe crisis. I was lucky enough to serve as an OD consultant in the military, both in peace and in 2 wars. Thus, I do have a few tidbits of advice which I have put together. Here are a few ideas that managers might want to consider.

1. There is no time to waste.  Control priorities by strong focus and massive de-focus. 
2. Over-communicate your key messages. Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, tell them what you told them.
3. Be aware that some very average people can shine in a crisis. Furthermore, some top performers crack under pressure.
4. Promise nothing, because you just don’t know. Your credibility is your most important asset.
5. Be fair, because when this crisis ends, and it will, being fair is what you will be most remembered for.
6. Encourage short cuts however, don’t throw the rule book down the toilet because an organization can easily spin into chaos. Manage the balance between fast and orderly, re-calibrating the balance constantly..
7. The more pressure there is, the more important it is to remain calm when addressing others. If you cannot do so, I have no advise for you.
8. Sideline incompetent people around you as soon as possible, if at all possible.
9. When in doubt, encourage fierce opposition to the ideas you propose, and once you have made a decision, enforce with heavy hand if necessary,
10. Never forget the day after. As I mentioned before, when the crisis ends, you will only be as strong as your honesty, integrity and sense of calm that you have projected in these most difficult of days.

Dear readers,

The streets are empty; there is a run-on-food and its derivative, toilet paper, and the present battle against an invisible enemy has struck more fear into peoples’ hearts than the very many missiles which have been lobbed at us from Gaza.

During the many attacks on Israel, the major worry of most Israelis has been “where do I find parking”, even though a warhead may be flying at you. But corona has succeeded in instilling fear where Hamas and Hezbollah failed.

How has this impacted me? Well I am seventy years old, and fit as a fiddle except for back pain which I have had all my life. According to the TV medical experts of which there are many, I am in a threatened target group, not only because of my age, but because I had asthma in the past. Of course, fat people, smokers, alcoholics, drug addicts, workaholics appear to be better off than a fit 70 year old-which says a lot about all the expertise that floats to the service during a crisis.

It’s my experience that the number of experts stands in reverse relation to their ability to solve the problem. The more experts, the fewer solutions. Israel has more Middle East experts than a cow has flies near its butt. Back ache specialists are a dime a dozen-and the conflict is a hundred years old and my back still hurts.

My guess is that mass media’s peddling all this fear will backfire. At one point, people are going to say if everything is so dangerous, I might as well have a good time, get drunk, have sex and a good meal before I am struck down. But of course, media has become a source of entertainment, and this is a great story. I am sure that clap or genital warts have infected more people than corona in the last few months, certainly in Tel Aviv. But that’s not the story de jour.

And if you ask me, the government is peddling fear because as long as the public fears, the anger won’t be turned on the government, which has paid for many ridiculous things over the last decade except for health care. We have promoted Jewish education in the diaspora, financed many religious causes, built illegal settlement, purchased a plane for Netanyahu, developed warheads that can kill a mosquito on a terrorists’ bum in downtown Tehran, but our health care lack sufficient bandwidth. So of course the politicians want the public to fear. It’s working till now, because the Israelis know how to complain, but have yet to turn their complaints into action.

The only thing that really worries me more than choking to death is the breakdown of social order. It’s a matter of weeks until mass poverty takes the spotlight; most people need two salaries to survive. Older people need their savings which are being ravaged. Soon, there will be no economic life left at all. So instead of people dying of corona, they may die in civilian strife. A lot of the solidarity I read about on social media is a lot of hokum. In the end, it will take massive force to maintain law and order when there is no money left. That’s my worry-the breakdown of social order, not coughing and a fever.

So my dear readers, no OD today, just the ramblings of yours truly on yet another day of gruesome isolation.

Be well.

Allon

Business Unit Manager Paul Thibadeau has just come out of a meeting during which CEO Stan let off some steam. “There have been far too many examples of not assuming ownership of customer problems, and as a result, all the turds get piled up on my desk. People take problems that comes their way, and by default, transfer the issue to someone else. Get this ownership issue straightened out. I am not your fucking babysitter!”

Clearly, Paul felt a certain degree of urgency after Stan has expressed his concerns in such a cogent form.

Paul’s business unit sells “value adding extra services” to the company’s major products, medical devices. Paul ‘s unit sells to 1200 clients in all continents.

Paul knows all too well that ownership is being shirked even in his business unit. However, his staff does not have a clue that anything is amiss. Here is what Paul’s direct reports think-

Baharat in Mumbai believes that Paul, being business unit manager, must clarify who owns what, and then his own job will be to carry out Paul’s directives loyally.

Sivan in Tel Aviv believes that she herself owns all problems that come her way, but also expects her own team members to own all issues, even if it means confronting someone in another department who is not doing their job correctly.

Aimi in Japan believes that doing what the customer wants is synonymous with ownership of problems.

Som from Thailand believes that the lack of ownership belongs to HQ for releasing immature products, and she will never express this opinion.

Stephanie from Taipei thinks that Paul Thibadeau should protect her from such pressure and deal with corporate politics on his own, without dragging her into the fray.

Marvin in Australia believes that anyone who assumes ownership gets shafted, and until the company changes its culture things are not going to change.

And US based Nick thinks that planning is chaotic and if “we planned better we would have less ownership issues”.

Paul set up a 20 minute call to “get the ownership issue nailed down”. During the call, Paul repeated Stan’s message. Everyone on the call expressed their willingness to improve, except Marvin and Aimi who fell asleep since it was the middle of the night local time. And true, Sivan did argue with Paul all through the call, but assumed that she would be the first to comply, albeit in a sloppy fashion.

Remember Aesop’s Fables? There is always a moral to the story. In this case, the moral of the story is that “assuming ownership” means different things in different cultures. It may mean obedience, assuming the position of an advocate, following the rules, or doing whatever the customer wants. Thus, the assumption of ownership is so vague and means so many different things, that it is useless to talk about it unless operationalizing “ownership” behaviourally,  factoring in and adapting the relevant cultural assumptions.

During my long career, I am lucky to have been asked to facilitate 12 major mergers/acquisitions.  Each project lasted between one to five years; nine were successes; two were total failures (I was fired twice)  and one is still far too early judge.

Lots of myths exist in the domain of mergers/acquisition.  Mergers and acquisitions are a nightmare, filled with power struggles and severe anxiety.

The prevalent myths about the boundless opportunities of a merger remind me of the “happy happy fun fun” times promised around holiday time, when families get together, people get depressed , fat and/or drunk and trauma rooms fill up with attempted suicides.

In this brief post, I will share my lessons learned about the fascinating area of organization development in mergers and acquisitions.

• There are no mergers-just acquisitions. One company becomes dominant and in a Darwinian struggle, the acquired company is partially digested. Even in the best of cases, the acquiring company remains with a case of mild indigestion whilst the acquired company is dominated.
• It is impossible to take the best of two cultures and form new improved culture. The very claim that this can be done is pure alchemy, fake news and charlatanism. What does occur is a protracted Darwinian struggle between a stronger and a weaker culture which fizzles out about 10 to 15 years later, or when people from legacy companies leave or die.
• Interpersonal trust is the most important glue that was ever invented. Trust is built in face to face meetings, intensive travel and lots of informal quality time together. Building trust in conference calls or on-line chats is like using a shower curtain as a condom.
• For about a year, everything is a struggle: budget codes, travel policy, nomenclature, titles-it becomes a fucking bloodbath unless decisions are taken early. The more buy-in and agreement one tries to establish, the longer it takes to make decisions and the worse the fighting becomes. Fast authoritarian decisions taken quickly work best.
• Managers who cannot build relationships of trust and transparency across geographical borders should be axed if they cannot adjust with 3 months.
• If things are broken in the senior management team, the merger will fail. The senior management team is where most OD effort is needed.
• Mergers and acquisitions are very painful for a long time. Expectations must be adjusted accordingly.
• Cultural differences are important, but far less important than competency of senior management who manage these differences. Too often, poor management will blame cultural differences for problems that management could have solved if more brain power was available.
• Many people who were competent in their legacy companies become incompetent because their former skills are not scalable or relevant.
• Due diligence before mergers/acquisitions is highly flawed and tainted.  After the ink has dried, those who lied and/or misrepresented need to be pardoned or removed