Organizational Development is defined by Richard Beckhard* as “an effort that is (1) planned (2) organization wide and (3) managed from the top to (4) increase organization effectiveness and health through (5) planned interventions in the organization processes using behavior science knowledge.” I was trained by Dick Beckhard to see an organization holistically and to understand the interdependence of all systems and processes. Like a child’s mobile, if you move one part of the mobile, all parts subsequently move in different directions. The McKinsey 7S model of organizations has been the most useful tool in assessing the current state of an organization and also in identifying and prioritizing the most impactful changes to be made and in what order.
Testimonial
“M.A. (as her friends and colleagues call her) helped us to transform our organizational culture and to prepare us for long term improved performance. MA guided us through a disciplined process of teambuilding, job design, strategic analysis, and corporate alignment. The senior management team learned a lot about each other, how to work more effectively together, and how to prepare for continued success. Outcomes of our work with M.A. were new shared values, aligned corporate strategy, new organizational structure and job design, and new systems for communication and performance management. The process was not always easy and required many difficult decisions; but in the end, we learned how to play to people’s strengths which we know will ultimately lead to many new opportunities for our organization, our staff, and the customers we serve in the community.”
– Chief Operating Officer, a mid-sized company
* Richard Beckhard was an American organizational theorist, Adjunct Professor at MIT, MIT Sloan School of Management, and a pioneer in the field of organization development.