Teshuva or Teshuvah is a Hebrew word that is often translated by repentance but it means much more than that. It means identifying what we did wrong in the past, acknowledging it and fixing it when possible; it also implies acknowledging what can be improved of the present and how to prepare for the future to avoid reproducing questionable patterns.
We can look at it differently: it takes courage to do all these things. It takes work; it is sometimes painful at first but always beneficial in the long run. It is not self-sacrifice or head-on opposition with the strategic direction of the organization; it is plain old courage of being able to step outside our comfort zone but still in a way that maintains fruitful relationships with internal and external counterparts in the organization.
While it is fundamentally an ethical concept, its introduction in an organization has considerable strategic benefits. It allows improving the consistency and the robustness of the strategy and reinforcing the resilience and sustainability of the organisation.
TeshuvaTM is a process that can work with organizations of all sizes, vintages and nationalities. Nevertheless, I believe that is particularly suitable for large US organizations.
