It is becoming a common practice to laugh at that slide, but try on this thought experiment: what if someone made a slide of a zoom in on the surface of a semi-conductor chip? Wouldn’t that seem as incomprehensible and “foolish”? and yet by the slow process of developing knowledge we have become capable of extraordinary […]
Month: April 2010
Obama declares people of Arizona are irresponsible
Image via Wikipedia Obama, elected by citizens, according to the law, has declared the citizens and their duly elected representatives, who followed the law to pass a law, as irresponsible. You would expect that from true believers, who see the world in absolutes: the members of this group include children, the naive, idealists, utopianists, and […]
Complexity in process consulting: a good thing?
Image via Wikipedia A colleague used the word “simplistic” in describing the 10 principles of process consulting offered by Ed Schein. I interpreted his use of the word simplistic in describing shines 10 principles as a negative thing. There’s a part of me that remembers the 10 Commandments are simplistic too. In my studies of […]
Learning from the process consultant
Image via Wikipedia Think about the last time you worked with a consultant in your organization: looking back at what the consultant did and said, were there any specific behaviors that surprised you? Did she do something that you and the faculty were not already capable of doing? If they did something new, is the […]
The persona of the process consultant: is it intentional or assigned?
Image by Getty Images via Daylife I’m wondering if you have ever had the experience of deliberately planning your relationship to the organization you’re trying to help change. I am discovering that I tend to have a particular role that I favor witches being an expert. Sometimes when I act as an expert by taking […]
How important is contextual knowledge for process consultants in business settings?
Image via Wikipedia am interested in knowing in what two or three adjectives you would use to describe the essential nature of the environment that you operate in for your business. What do you consider to be the most important environmental influences on the system that is your business? Is your environment something that your […]
Thought experiment for contract teachers
Image via Wikipedia in your capacity as a contract employee as a teacher, did you find that your employer’s request for you to offer expert advice conflicted with your perceived role as a teacher? One of our most important learnings about the use of contract services in the Department of Defense are the challenges of […]
Planning considerations for “insider” consultants
Image via Wikipedia as an inside consultant with considerable knowledge of the status quo, what kinds of procedures or checklists or attitudes do you think are necessary to ensure that we are taking a fresh look at a well-known situation to find root causes? How dangerous is it for the organization to have OD consultants […]
Authenticity for “insiders” acting as change leaders
Image via Wikipedia Have you ever tried to act as a change agent inside your organization in a way that took you out of your assigned role? What kinds of challenges did that present for you when you were trying to work with people who pigeonholed you into a certain role based on your job […]
The simplicity of the Lewin change model
Image via Wikipedia I find that the Lewin three stage model briefs very well to organizational members who have been assigned to a change management project. It doesn’t take very much to communicate the essential ideas of his process. I wonder sometimes if it is too simple and assumes away too much complexity to be […]