Resistance to change and the rep effect
During my body pump class yesterday I was mulling over the discussion we had at work last week on resistance to change. The body pump class works on The Rep Effect ... 'In a typical BODYPUMP class...
View ArticleTrellises and vines
My balcony currently has no plants on it but I have a vision of a small green jewel that I can look out on, sit on, smell bee-loving plants on and generally enjoy in any spare moment I happen to...
View ArticleCan organisations learn?
I repeatedly hear 3 phrases in my organisation: 'We've done that before', 'what's the problem we're trying to solve?', and 'who shall I ask?' I hear each of them several times a week and have tended to...
View ArticleUtility players v generalists
I've read a couple of articles this week on a no-growth economy. One, for example, Stunted growth: the mystery of the UK's productivity crisis comments that 'global demographics are changing, with the...
View ArticleWork and transferable skills
Last year (2015) the UK's Department for Work and Pensions reported that 'The employment rate for people aged 50 to 64 has grown from 55.4 to 69.6 per cent over the past 30 years, an increase of 14.2...
View ArticleCharting the future
Several conversations this past week have involved questions on when the 2020+ organisation design will be unveiled. What people appear to have in mind is a traditional organisation chart at 'now'...
View ArticleTransformation is a team sport
Like many organisations intent on using new (digital) technologies to improve business performance, we've got a strapline running that 'Transformation is a team sport'. The 'rules' of the sport include...
View ArticleConsulting skills for HR or not for HR?
A few years ago I wrote an article published by Croner, 'HR and Organisation Development: what is the relationship? Is it going anywhere?' in which I said:The history of the two disciplines [Human...
View ArticleWhat Works: Gender Equality by Design
If I'd started by reading the last chapter of Iris Bohnet's book, What Works: Gender Equality by Design first instead of beginning at the first chapter and working my way through to the end, I would...
View ArticleDifferent perspectives
I spent last week walking the Great Glen Way in Scotland. It's a glorious route and we were lucky with both the weather and the lack of midges. If I believe all the research then I should be back at...
View ArticleThe Ship of Theseus
The other day I read something about a broom that someone had used for 20 years and during the period it had needed 7 new handles and 8 new heads. The question was 'Is it the same broom as it was when...
View ArticleCreating a community
We all know that the UK population voted on its view of community on Thursday, about which I am not going to comment, except for noting that whatever the size of 'community', there are certain things...
View ArticleHuman and high performing organisations
One of my colleagues has posed us the question 'What can and can't we do in the service of creating a more human and high performing organisation?' I started by wondering what she meant by 'creating',...
View ArticleTry not to thingify
The opposite of a systems approach to organisation design and development is a 'thingifying' approach. (And many thanks to Fiona for giving me the word). This considers viewing something problematic...
View ArticleBig data informing and uninforming?
There's an inherent promise in the idea that 'big data' will help us unlock various mysteries, solve all types of problems, and see or understand things from new perspectives. At a meeting I was at...
View ArticleBurning, bumping and what does good look like?
We're having an ongoing conversation about how we can 'transform' the organisation. We're pretty much agreed that things have to change. But there is some disagreement on whether there is the 'burning...
View ArticleThe Post Brexit world
The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. (Alan Watts)A friend in Brazil and a friend in the US have each asked me this week 'How are things with...
View ArticleEvaluating organisation design and development work
To Kiran: Thanks for your email about how to evaluate the effectiveness of organisation design and development work. I take it that by 'evaluate' you mean passing a judgement on whether the...
View ArticleWhat do other organisations do?
Threaded through the books I've written are stories about how real organisations design and redesign. People like to read about exemplars, examples, comparators and case studies. The organisations I've...
View ArticleA word not much heard in the workplace
Years ago (1987) Roger Harrison wrote a 'Focus Paper' published by the Association for Management Education and Development called 'Organisation Culture and Quality of Service: a strategy for releasing...
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