It happened again yesterday. This trope was trotted out in a Zoom meeting when someone was talking about something frustrating in their work life. I hear people say “speaking truth to power “ a lot, but I’m not sure anyone really thinks about what it says about them, or their workplace. This durable phrase was … Continue reading Speaking Truth to Power
Category: Creativity and Innovation
A Work in Progress
When I write about organization development in my blog, I try to keep the insider jargon at a minimum. I want my ideas to be appreciated by readers who may not be as familiar or comfortable with the vocabulary of OD. I find this to be a worthwhile challenge because (a) I should be able … Continue reading A Work in Progress
Is Anti-Racism an Ideology or is it a Practice?
Using a simplified definition, anti-racism is about actively identifying and opposing racism. It is rooted in action and its purpose is to actively change the policies, behaviors, and beliefs that perpetuate ideas and actions that are influenced by racism. Many of the critics of anti-racism describe it as a politically-motivated ideology, which I don't agree … Continue reading Is Anti-Racism an Ideology or is it a Practice?
Merging My Worlds
I received my doctorate degree in organization development after a long career of working in various businesses, mostly in the creative industries. Over this time I have become attuned to noticing the misperceptions academics have of working people and conversely, I’ve realized the misperceptions working people have about academics. I now see that each of … Continue reading Merging My Worlds
It’s Time to Share
Even though the concept is not fully developed, I feel like it’s time to share some thoughts about my book project. The idea for writing a book started with a feeling I had after completing my doctoral dissertation. I felt like most of what I was reading in textbooks and articles about organization development seemed … Continue reading It’s Time to Share
Creating a Great Experience
A couple of years ago, my daughter-in-law, Lori, was experiencing some health issues and through intuition and good detective work on Lori's part, she was able to determine that these seemingly unrelated issues were all connected to an intolerance for gluten. In short, the food she was eating was making her sick. For Lori this … Continue reading Creating a Great Experience
Revenge of the Soft Skills
I'm guessing most everyone is familiar with the concept of hard skills and soft skills; hard skills being teachable abilities, things that you might learn in school or through on-the-job training, while soft skills are considered to be interpersonal and critical thinking abilities like communication skills, how you solve problems and form judgments, and how … Continue reading Revenge of the Soft Skills
The Nature of Problems
a sample KenKen puzzle I enjoy KenKen puzzles with my morning coffee as a fun way to wake up my brain. KenKen is a logic puzzle designed to build both logic and problem-solving skills using basic math operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Sometimes, when time allows, I tackle the big 8 x 8 … Continue reading The Nature of Problems
Exploring Implicit Bias
Something I really liked about my doctoral program was that it had a cohort design. There were 15 of us in the "learning community" and unlike most doctorate programs that focus on preparing people for careers in academia, this program was designed to advance the careers of working professionals in a variety of fields and … Continue reading Exploring Implicit Bias
Why would you want to think like a jazz musician?
Lisa’s hands at the piano When I began my doctoral studies I was surprised to discover how many influential organization scholars were also jazz musicians, and there are articles in prominent academic journals and even entire books about jazz as a metaphor for leading and organizing. I find this connection between jazz and organization scholarship … Continue reading Why would you want to think like a jazz musician?
Hello, I'm Lisa Meyer 