Couldn't resist taking forward this conversation that Terry started with his compelling post titled Monsters and Change Agents.

Before I take a swing at this, here's what some of the OD rock stars have to say about this topic (Cummings & Worley, 2005, pg. 61):

"Gordon Lippitt suggested that the real question is the following: Assuming that some kind of change is going to occur anyway, doesn't the consultant have a responsibility to try and guide the change in the most constructive fashion possible?"

"Argyris takes an even stronger stand, maintaining that the responsibilities of professional OD practitioners to clients are comparable to those of lawyers or physicians, who, in principle, may not refuse to perform their services. He suggests that the very least the consultant can do is provide first aid to the organization, as long as the assistance does not compromise the consultant's values."

Argyris of course uses the provocative example of the KKK, and says that the consultant should at least determine if the client is interested in a self-assessment and willing to undergo all that it entails.

But I don't think all OD consultants wield the same kind of influence as Lippitt and Argyris, which might have made it easier for them to make this point as strongly as they did. For most of us, the choice often comes down to being clubbed with the devil, or worse, being reduced to bystanders as a change effort goes horribly wrong. Plus, very often, we underestimate the emotional strain it puts on us as OD professionals, when we work with people who don't buy into basic humanistic values.

No easy answers here. Would we want to work with such clients? At a certain level, of course! Isn't that why good girls always fall for the bad guys-- we are so sure our love and devotion will make 'em shiny and new. Does it work? I don't think so. People change when they want to change. When they are willing to do the work it takes to become a better person, manager or leader.

The important thing I guess, is to know what we are getting into, and be completely clear about our own intentions and the outcomes we should or can expect. And from a process point of view, spending a lot more time on the contracting phase of consulting would be a good idea too.

Another important question here would be to ask, who do we define as monsters in our profession? How can we tell if we 're just being finicky, or the person at the door really does spell trouble in capital letters?

Back to you Terry

Email Me      |        Technorati Tags: organization development - ethical dilemmas - value conflict - difficult clients

US scientist heralds 'artificial life' breakthrough:

"Controversial celebrity US scientist Craig Venter has announced he is on the verge of creating the first ever artificial life form which he hails as a potential remedy to illness and global warming.

Venter told Britain's The Guardian newspaper Saturday that he has built a synthetic chromosome using chemicals made in a laboratory, and is set to announce the discovery within weeks, possibly as early as Monday. [...]

The chromosome which Venter and his team has created is known as Mycoplasma laboratorium and, in the final step of the process, will be transplanted into a living cell where it should "take control," effectively becoming a new life form."

It hasn't been done yet, so who knows what'll come out of it (I'm still fighting the sci-fi images of weird creatures taking over earth). This could be one provocative debate. The one thing this does highlight for me is that, the more advances we make in technology, without backing them up with evolution in our behavior and maturity, the closer we come to endangering ourselves.

Thoughts?

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The strong winds create a visceral howl,
Swaying the branches of those strong boughs.
A thunder clap, and then the sound of rain,
Its clattering mixed with a fragrance quaint.

I watch through my window, our jackfruit tree.
It's leaves dance, as if struggling to go free.
I hear my mum rush around the house,
Securing windows- so nothing gets doused.

I break my glance from the view outside,
And another memory begins to rise.

The foothills of Himalayas majestically stretch out,
Each glorious range, lovingly draped in clouds.
We're hiking along these spectacular slopes,
Spell bound by this vista, its scale, its scope.

As the image fades, another strain from yon-
My smile speaks of hearts lost and won…

My eyes bewitched by the boy on my side,
We're walking through sunlight, filtered through pines…
The gentle breeze adding a blush to my cheeks,
Carrying our laughter, so that it ain't caught by peeps.

The sweet memory from a decade ago-
Makes way for the next one in the flow...

My then sweetheart, now life partner smiles,
He's watching me run along his side,
I'm playing with the waves, as they fall and rise,
Looking at the imprints we leave behind…

Each memory made sweeter by bonds of love,
Sheltered by nature, nay, nurtured by her…
The mountains, the lakes, the beaches, the trees,
The rain, the wind, adding life to my dreams.

I come from the earth, to her I shall return,
She's made each moment worthwhile for me.
I hope she says the same, when its time for me to sleep.

PS: Some posts around the issue of conserving energy and saving our planet  that I've written over the past year and a half:

What can you do?
Disobedience, Creativity and Light bulbs
Way to go Aussies!
This bulb's going off
Finally-Biodegradable Plastic!
The Good and the Bad

Email Me      |        Technorati Tags: blog action day - environment - nature - love - duty - joy - harmony

About a month back Gautam talked about work life balance on his blog and identified two groups of people. The first are those who are intrinsically motivated by their jobs, they love doing what they do, spend long hours on it and cannot differentiate between work and other parts of their life. The second group works because work provides them material comforts, for them work is a means to an end, and they seek to create a boundary between their job and the joys outside of it.

I think there is a third group. The group that loves doing what they do, and yet wants to have a life. And before I jump into the why's how's and what's of this discussion, let me caveat it by saying that I belong to this group. And no doubt, my being married has a lot to do with it. In the first couple of years of my career, I worked like a maniac. I did so, because I loved my job. The 14 hours a day were a pure adrenalin rush, and I was learning so much that it made me want to sing (yeah, I know, geek!). I still love what I do, and I'm still learning new stuff, and on some days it still makes me want to sing. But I don't want to work 14 hours a day. Maybe my friend and professor, Dr. Paul Yost is right. Maybe, a lot of what we are and how we behave depends upon the stage of life we're in.

However, this creates a huge conundrum for organizations, doesn't it? How does one create systems that cater to these diverse groups of people? Those who work because they have to, those who work because they just can't help it and those who work for the love of it, but want to be able to enjoy the blue sky too.

That's an important question, but I don't think most organizations are ready to ask that question yet. I think for most part, organizations are so wedded to the notion of long work hours indicating dedication and job commitment, that they just want all their employees to model that behavior. A case in point is Steven Smith's blog post titled Full Time for Half Time Work? 

I could sit here and pull out one research after another, that shows that job flexibility and work-life balance friendly policies increase job satisfaction and performance. I could point you to Best Buy's clock-less work style and its compelling results. I could reason with you and demonstrate that healthier, relaxed employees makes good economic sense. But I'm not going to do any of that.

Instead I'm going to proposition that we all need to take our heads out of the account books for a bit and take a hard look at the world view we are creating and working by. You see, people don't exist to make organizations successful. Quite on the contrary, organizations exist to further society and the happiness of the people who live in it.

And once we've turned this mirror upside down, it seems insane that we have to convince organizations to focus on work life balance issues.

It took a long while for organizations to start thinking about their impact on the environment. And we're still a long way from where our sustainability efforts should be. I hope it doesn't take as long for us to start thinking about how our organizational actions impact the families that our connected to us, the children who are raised in those families, and societal health and harmony that hinges on us.

 Email Me      |        Technorati Tags: work life balance - employee satisfaction - organizational citizenship - employee health - happiness at work