Liberating Structures

When Keith and I speak of including everybody we frequently hear, "Yes it's a nice idea but including everybody is impossible; it's not practical; it would take too much time; it would cost a fortune". These reactions aren’t surprising since we all got trained in environments where planning and decisions were made in small groups or by one person, then cascaded down the rest of the organization. If one hasn't seen it done, if one hasn't practiced it oneself, the idea that it is possible to include large numbers of people effectively and efficiently just isn't credible. For us Liberating Structures changed all that since they provide many practical options for including everybody in shaping their future with groups of any size. This has convinced us in practice that choosing to include everybody early in small and big decisions that will affect them is by far more productive than choosing to include everybody later when it is time for them to implement decisions from which they were excluded. So it was gratifying to read in a recent McKinsey Quarterly an article (The social side of strategy) that describes how several companies are benefiting from including hundreds of their workers in the development of what are traditionally the most centralized decisions, namely strategies. I shall quote only one sentence to give you an incentive to visit the McKinsey Quarterly website and read the rest of the article. Here is the quote: “If you ever wondered how to inject more diversity and expertise in your strategy process, to get leaders closer to the operational implications of their decisions, or to avoid the experience-based biases and orthodoxies that inevitably creep into small groups at the top, it may be time to try shaking things up.”

It would help if you included the link to the article mentioned.

Here is the link to the article https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Organization/Strategic_Organization/The_social_side_of_strategy_2965

Re your last quote: getting an entrenched power structure to do the obvious like experience front line service or diversify the decision-making 'core team' has been impossible. There is no incentive for those who are in the clique to change. A classic power issue. How can you entice them to change when they enjoy the fruits - however tiny - of perceived power?

"How can you entice them to change?" This is a bit like the question "How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?"
Answer: The number is irrelevant - first the light bulb has to really want to change.
With that in mind you can concentrate on the problem in a systemic way. Maybe get some workers together and present some case studies showing how profits (always a weak spot with management) rose following the change or maybe employee engagement or customer satisfaction or whatever grabs their attention and panders to their pride, shame, honour, greed or other weak spot.
Failing that - riot - that often wakes them up.

I'm an Operations Analyst for a public tech company that's been around for 45 years. Everything has developed in silos and we need an Ecosystem approach. I create small teams from various departments and the first thing I have them do is vent--tell me every single pain point you have. We do this together, and we talk about how each pain point is causing additional work/stress/expense.
Then when everybody has had their say, we all know everything we need to fix. Nobody has to be persuaded. Get the right people, lead with enthusiasm and let people say whatever they think, without judgment. The problems rise to the surface and if you stick with it the answers will too.