Organization Development at Work: Conversations on the Values, Applications, and Future of OD (J-B O-D (Organizational Development))

219 Pages·2003·1.25 MB·English

by  Margaret Wheatley

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About Pfeiffer
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The Change Agent Series
for Groups and Organizations
MISSIONSTATEMENT
The books in this series are intended to be cutting-edge, state-of-the-art,
innovative approaches to organization change and development. They are
written for and by practitioners interested in new approaches to facilitating
effective organization change. They are geared to providing both theory and
advice on practical applications.
SERIESEDITORS
William J. Rothwell
Roland Sullivan
Kristine Quade
EDITORIALBOARD
David Bradford
W. Warner Burke
Edith Whitfield Seashore
Robert Tannenbaum
Christopher G. Worley
Shaolin Zhang
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Other Practicing Organization Development Titles
Finding Your Way in the Consulting Jungle: AGuidebook for Organization
Development Practitioners
Arthur M. Freedman and Richard E. Zackrison
Facilitating Organization Change: Lessons from Complexity Science
Edwin E. Olson and Glenda H. Eoyang
Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the Speed of Imagination
Jane Magruder Watkins and Bernard J. Mohr
Beyond Change Management: Advanced Strategies for Today’s Transformational Leaders
Dean Anderson and Linda Ackerman Anderson
The Change Leader’s Roadmap: How to Navigate Your Organization’s Transformation
Linda Ackerman Anderson and Dean Anderson
Guiding Change Journeys: ASynergistic Approach to Organization Transformation
Rebecca Chan Allen
Balancing Individual and Organizational Values: Walking the Tightrope to Success
Ken Hultman with Bill Gellermann
The Conscious Consultant: Mastering Change from the Inside Out
Kristine Quade and Renée M. Brown
Organization Development and Consulting: Perspectives and Foundations
Fred Massarik and Marissa Pei-Carpenter
Relationships That Enable Enterprise Change: Leveraging the Client-Consultant Connection
Ron A. Carucci, William A. Pasmore, and the Colleagues of Mercer Delta
Rewiring Organizations for the Networked Economy: Organizing, Managing,
and Leading in the Information Age
Stan Herman, Editor
The Innovation Equation: Building Creativity and Risk Taking in Your Organization
Jacqueline Byrd and Paul Lockwood Brown
Consulting to Family Businesses: APractical Guide to Contracting, Assessment,
and Implementation
Jane Hilburt-Davis and W. Gibb Dyer, Jr.
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Organization
Development
at Work
Conversations on the
Values, Applications,
and Future of OD
Margaret Wheatley Robert Tannenbaum
Paula Yardley Griffin Kristine Quade
Organization Development Network
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Copyright © 2003 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Published by Pfeiffer
An Imprint of Wiley
989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA94103-1741 www.pfeiffer.com
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by
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ISBN: 0-7879-6963-X
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Organization development at work: conversations on the values,
applications, and future of OD / Margaret Wheatley .. et al.].
p. cm.—(The practicing organization development series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7879-6963-X (alk. paper)
1. Organizational change. I. Wheatley, Margaret J. II. Series.
HD58.8.O72835 2003
658.4’06—dc21
2003006231
Acquiring Editor: Matthew Davis Senior Production Editor: Dawn Kilgore
Director of Development: Kathleen Dolan Davies Manufacturing Supervisor: Bill Matherly
Developmental Editor: Susan Rachmeler Interior and Cover Design: Bruce Lundquist
Editor: Rebecca Taff Illustrations: Richard Sheppard
Printed in the United States of America
Printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Contents
Dedication and Reflections ix
Preface xvii
Acknowledgments xxi
1. Questions of Identity: Who and What Are We?
What Is Our Purpose? Whom Do We Serve? 1
2. Principles in Action 23
3. Models and Methods 47
4. Global Practice of OD 87
5. The Future 113
vii
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viii Contents
Bibliography 137
About the Series 143
Statement of the Board 147
Afterword to the Series 153
About the Series Editors 155
About the Book Editors 159
About the Contributors 163
Index 183
Pfeiffer Publications Guide 191
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Dedication
and Reflections
(cid:1)
E WISH TO DEDICATE THIS BOOKto Robert Tannenbaum and the
leadership that he provided during his life. At the beginning of this project, Bob and
Meg Wheatley scheduled a conversation near Bob’s home in California. The night
before Meg was to arrive, Bob sat down with us to share some thoughts that were
important to him. He wanted these thoughts to convey not only who he was but
to include what had created his foundation as a practitioner. We have included some
of his points throughout the book. What remains in this dedication is the essence of
Bob, which lives deep in our roots. His friend Peter Koestenbaum wrote at his death:
We grieve profoundly for the limits set to life.
We resolve to be worthy of the living gifts of friends and love.
We resolve never to let go of the message and the Commandment, from the
Universe itself, that what matters ultimately is to care and to choose to be
caring persons.
ix