OD Seasonings
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Volume 6, Number 3 • Fall 2009
From The Editor
Perceived Weirdness Index
By Jonno Hanafin
Change agents, by definition, are different. For leaders, consultants, politicians, activists and others desiring to bring about change, the question is how different do they have to be, and how different are they allowed to be if they are to succeed in orchestrating change? Agents of change have to be different if only because they are advocating a departure from what the majority wants to sustain. The way things currently are may no longer be productive or supportive of an organization’s best interest. But unless someone sees things differently and commits to changing it, momentum will prevail and the system will continue to do what is has always done, getting what it has always gotten.
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From the Flintstones to the Jetsons
By Elham Assadi
I have a beautiful view of oak trees and the surrounding mountains from my office, and I use this view to relax my eyes and refresh my thoughts. Sometimes, during these brief moments I reflect on the impact technology has had on my life and my practice.
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An Old Sea Dog Can Learn New Tricks – The Power of Solution-Focus
By Bob Faw
I want to tell you why my approach has changed so radically over the years. I want to tell you why I love my work now more than ever and why my clients do as well. I’ve grown into using the OD approach known in Europe and Japan as Solutions Focus1. We’ll start with a true story.
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Lessons Learned: My First Organization Development Intervention
By William H. Freemel
Life appears to go around in cyclical patterns. Circumstances and commodities such as clothing, slang, music and change tend to reappear after their decline from vogue. “The more things change the more they seem the same.”
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Innovative Ninjas and High Potentials Nurtured by a Supportive Organizational Culture
Two Book Reviews: “The Leadership Advantage” \and Zappos’ “The Culture Book – 2008”
Reviewed by Don Bushnell
Recognizing the value of becoming an innovation organization and the benefits of identifying and investing in the training of leaders in innovative skills is well understood by most CEO’s. However, innovation skills training is not enough. Creating an organizational culture to support it is one of the primary challenges. A company focused on innovation and openness to new ideas gives an opportunity for organizational consultants to coach and prod management into creating a work environment that encourages high potential leadership development at all levels as well as innovative practices in production, marketing, and sales. These processes, go beyond the suggestion box and special awards, and can create a culture in which “innovation ninjas” thrive - to use a term coined by Dave Hamel in his Wall Street Journal column entitled “Innovation Hackers.”
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