166 Formulating the Mess 8.3 TeLLing The STORy Messisnotaprediction;itisanearlywarningsystem.Properpackaging and communicating of the message is as important as the content of the message itself. Formulating and disseminating the mess is a significant steptowardsolvingit.Moreoftenthannot,knowledgeofthemesshelps dissolve it. A believable and compelling story that reveals the undesirable future implicit in the current state has to be developed. Assume that things will go wrong, if they can, all at the same time. Try to produce a resonance and show how a system breakdown can occur. The challenge is to create a believable shared understanding of the current reality and its undesirable consequences, thus creating a desire for change. The story should consider thestake,influence,andinterestoftherelevantstakeholders.Itshouldnot assess blame or make people defensive. The mess should be presented as a consequence of past success, not as a result of failure. Remember, the worldisnotrunbythosewhoareright;itisrunbythosewhocancon- vince others that they are right. Generally, there seems reluctance on management's part to share the mess with other stakeholders, especially the members, under the pretext that this might discourage them. Not only does this practice defeat the purposeofformulatingthemess,butitisalsocounterintuitive.Ithasbeen myexperiencethatmembersofanorganization,moreoftenthannot,are awareofthenatureofthemess;inmostcasestheyaresimplynotallowed to talk about it, or they might not be able to articulate it as completely as during the formulation of the mess. What they really do not know is whether management is aware of the mess or not. Usually, sharing the mess brings a sigh of relief and a willingness to confront it. 8.3.1 Formulating the Mess: A Case Review (Story of utility industry) Thissectionisasampleofarealmessformulation.Itrepresentsthemess of the utility industry during the early 1990s. Figure 8.4 represents the context of the utility industry where the oil crisis of 1979 had created a mindset of insecurity. This mindset resulted in a double jeopardy of over-supply of power generation combined with policies that reduced demand. Counterintuitively in a fixed cost regu- lated environment this combination resulted in a higher per unit cost of electricity leading to a vicious circle of reduced competitiveness, down- sizing, recession, layoffs, and an increasing number of nonpaying cus- tomers, thus adding to cost of supply and pressure to restructure the industry. XYZ is a name of a fictitious corporation reflecting a typical utility companyatthetime.Iamsuremanywilleasilyidentifywithit. MappingthemessoftheXYZCorporationfollowedthestatediterative process.Itinvolvedobservinghowthesystembehaved,understandingits