Trying to explain organization development (OD) to someone who has never heard of it. – It’s like trying to explain music to someone who’s never heard music. Where do you start?
I’ve read dozens of descriptions of Organization Development and most fall short of conveying the reasons why I find this field so interesting. And I’m not alone. An Amazon review of a leading OD textbook said “Imagine stuffing 10 saltine crackers in your mouth and having no water…. that’s how dry this book is. A topic that should be interesting, insightful, abundant with steps for diagnosis and cure is written with an eye for clinical sterility.” Ouch!
While wrestling with this challenge, I was reminded of something Steve Jobs said about his vision for Apple. He said that you’ve got to start with the customer and work backwards to the technology. For Jobs, this meant his starting point was the bundle of incredible benefits he saw Apple‘s technology giving to the customer, as opposed to designing some awesome technology and then figuring out how to sell it. Importantly, he said if you get it right, the customer doesn’t have to know anything about what’s in the box because the value is in what the box can do for them.
This is an interesting way to think about organization development. Maybe we focus too much on our theories and techniques as “what’s in the box,” and neglect talking about the incredible value of this work to organizations.
I often talk about how OD can take on many guises and be manifested within organizations in a variety of ways including how meetings are run, how teams are developed, how work is designed, in strategic planning processes, dispute resolution, leadership styles and more. That’s a cool thing about it. With the right approach, OD can have an impact at every level of the organization.
It’s also interesting to observe the many ways organization development shows up in people. Many people working as OD are professionals who are trained in interventions that focus on change and finding solutions to specific organization problems. These people tend to be either internal consultants working in large organizations or independent consultants working with organizations of all sizes.
But, there are also many people working at different levels inside organizations who are integrating different aspects of organization development into all kinds of professional work. In my doctoral cohort alone there were people holding positions in management, public administration, humans resources, project management, health care, the arts, diversity and inclusion, higher education, law enforcement, and consulting. These people become skilled at viewing problems from a systems perspective. They understand group dynamics, they identify interdependencies and use learning to close gaps in understanding. They become good at connecting the dots in a holistic way.
My personal focus is on what I believe to be the most valuable way organization development shows up in people — as an executive function that is concerned with alignment at a systems level. Here is where “OD thinking” can impact an organization through alignment of purpose, business model, design, culture, strategy, processes, policies, incentives and technology.
This is why I was attracted to the field of organization development. It was more through intuition than knowledge of the field and it started with making observations about how an organization’s culture, their ability to attract and retain talent, their ability to work across teams, and innovate, all impacted their business success. I saw a need for greater alignment between organizational culture, performance, business models and branding strategies, and that OD perspectives integrated into the cultural and strategic fabric of an organization help to promote growth that is more purposeful, profitable and sustainable.
What I love most about OD is that it’s a great way to be of value. As Steve Jobs said, if you get it right, the customer doesn’t have to know anything about what’s in the box because the value is in what the box can do for them.
Hello, I'm Lisa Meyer 