The After Action Review [AAR] is a process that provides a feedback loop between intended and actual results in a team meeting. It can function as the 'heartbeat' of a cycle that brings leading, learning, and execution into the service of sustaining success for your organization. You can leverage the process in for in-person and virtual debriefs of your next session, meeting, conference, or event.
Read MoreOur basic fundamental theory in OD work should be Open System Theory. And Open System Theory means that we look at input, throughput, and output with a feedback loop.
But what we spend entirely too much time on is, especially on the outset of a consulting project, is throughput, because throughput is much more exciting, because that's about leadership and culture, climate, and all those things that we're known for and like to like to work on. So the client then gets up and gets concerned when you're talking OD stuff and you're not talking performance. And so one of the things that might be a good idea for all of us to have on our desk is a book like ‘Performance Management for Dummies.’ You might want to keep something like that handy so you can talk the language pretty easily – it’s right here on my desk.
Read MoreWhat allows an organization to be sustainable? And what’s the difference between change management and organization development? There are two things bugging Warner Burke. First, he is bugged by the undercurrent warfare between OD purist and Change Management. Second, he is bugged by notions of performance, results, and outcomes in research, particularly with regard to surrogates for performance. In wrestling with the things that bother him, “Good to Great by Burke” is based on data available for manufacturing organizations turned up the following criteria:
Succession has worked - the organization has lasted past its first generation.
Sustained profitability and performance over decades.
No Union.
… read on.
Ever had a supervisor tell you, "Well, you really should have talked to [x]!" - and dismiss your efforts because a key person or role was not part of the decision? Did you ever begin a project only to have to make a major revision, because a key constituency had been overlooked that brought new data to the table requiring adjustment?
RACI+F = R-responsible, A-accountable, C-consulted, I-informed, and F-facilitating; is a tool to make sure you don't miss the critical roles for any project, big or small. It ensures that all key insights and opinions are part of moving you forward in your change effort, because if you miss just one role - it can make all the difference.
Read MoreHave you ever attended a meeting and questioned, “why am I even here?”
What if instead, you could be part of a collaborative change engagement, where facilitators leverage the fact that people support and defend what they have helped create? Ron Lippitt, one of the founders and thought-leaders for the field of organization development, intuitively asked these 3 simple questions to guide the design of any collaborative meeting or event.
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