What’s Wrong With My Organization

What’s wrong with my organization Introduction

An introduction to Org-ology and the field of organization development and design.

Are you sure that’s the right question to solve for?

Have you ever optimistically started out on a project—CERTAIN that you’ve got just the right idea. And then as you’ve gone along, you’ve ended up with a bigger problem than you started with? Today we’re going to look at that tricky question of solving the right problem.

So, after our last podcast you sent along an article to me and I have to say. It was highly amusing. But I was fascinated that you felt it related to the workplace. It was about a prison in Rome. Can you sketch out what it was about, and how on earth did you think that relates to your clients?

So—assuming that most of your work does not involve prison inmates and guns—how have you seen this play out with your clients?

How do you encourage clients to take that step back and pause, before rushing into a solution?

Is there any foolproof way of knowing that you’ve selected the to solve the right problem?

People or process? The difference matters

Do you ever have the feeling that UPS deliveries purposely leave before you have any chance of catching them at your door? Is it that the individual delivery person is out to get you—or do they have an algorithm cleverly planned to ensure you’ll always have to run after them? Some days it can feel like both. Let’s talk to our resident experts for their opinion—is it the people or the process?

Do you really know what you need?

We recently let friends stay at our place while we were out of town. It took a three-page single-spaced set of instructions to give them an overview of our place. And after their visit, I have the sinking feeling that there are still too many things I failed to mention—doesn’t everyone’s pipes sometimes rattle? Should I have said the fridge needs to have its door jiggled? This puts to mind that we really, often don’t know ourselves as well as we might. If we don’t know our homes, how well do we actually know our businesses?

Don’t believe the hype—think for yourself

Size matters. Or, at least, we’re told it’s oh so very important. That sends people to Walmart and Sams Club—to buy cases of peanuts and toilet paper. Or getting on new airplanes that can carry 400 people at a go. Size does buy advantages—but as a small business is that case of peanuts really what I need, for me and my business?

Gird your loins: planning for risk

I used to have a friend who loved it that when you walked through the city at night, you could see through your neighbors’ curtains and see what their lives were like. Yes, perhaps—somewhat nosey, but we do love seeing what others are doing behind their curtains. Let’s proverbially look through our neighbors’ curtains and ask our consultants what their clients are up to.

Organization design sized small, done right

Ah, summer. If you’re anything like me, it feels like the time to put your feet up on the lounger and lay back. Have you accomplished something this year? Haven’t you? It’s always an interesting time to take stock. Rather than self-reflecting and considering if I’ve been hitting my targets, let’s check in with our consultants on what some of their clients are up to.

Innovation theater: not the newest Broadway trend

Oooh. Wasn’t it exciting to see at the shops the other day: coca cola has a new can size. And Oreos now come in pink and green for springtime. Have you looked at these items and thought: how on earth did anyone think that would solve the world’s problems? Or, create a new market need? Does creating a new soda can size actually increase a company’s sales? What’s the value created by offering 12 colors of a consumer product, say a KitchenAid mixer, rather than 4?

Can you say that again?

Let’s dig in—is there an easy way to be sure you’re choosing inclusive, appropriate language?

Ah, I’m sure we all remember some holiday, years ago, when the old, out-of-touch uncle tried using some more current language, and you cringed at the use of “groovy” or “clugy” or another such word. Words matter—and the right words matter. Particularly in the workplace. With the rise of a diverse and inclusive workplace, the cost of getting that language wrong is more expensive than ever. Is there a simple path forward?

So you’re doing diversity, equity and inclusion: is it actually working?

It’s been a long year of reckoning and change for so many businesses around the questions of diversity, equity and inclusion. 2020 brought so many unjust social events that touched individuals and businesses: naming merely George Floyd’s murder understates and leaves out so many others. I guess now’s an interesting moment to look back at how organizations responded with DE&I  programs and ask: is it working?