FC NOW: The Fast Company Weblog
August 8, 2003
Making Organizations Change
Pegasus Communications' Systems Thinking in Action conference has been scheduled for Oct. 8-10 in Boston. Concentrating on the theme "Changing Our Organizations to Change the World," the gathering features speakers such as Peter Senge, founding chair of the Society for Organizational Learning Council; H. Thomas Johnson, professor of quality management at Portland State University; and David Thomas, professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.
Actively involving staff members of Roca Inc., a youth development and peacemaking organization working with gang members, community activists, and educators in Chelsea, Lynn, and Revere, Massachusetts, the conference will address change, complexity, leadership, diversity, and communication -- as well as systems thinking in general.
Posted by Heath Row at August 8, 2003 5:47 PM | Category: conferences |
2 Comments
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The link page carries an important line...
'We invite you to begin now where you are.'
At the risk of over-simplfying what isn't really a complex issue, I can't help wondering if many organised events become counter-productive... in the same way as sending money to [cause of our choice] cheers us and makes us feel we're enlightened and not really 'part of the problem'.
The page also states 'How do we get a critical mass of people doing things differently? Through the sharing of generative ideas, ideas that can change how people think and act.'
That's a good (and perhaps great) point - and one which I hope is supported by the event.
Personally, I'm inspired by Ghandi's 'Each of us must be the change we want to see in the world' - it's a great rallying call to those who genuinely want to 'make difference'... and ties neatly with 'We invite you to begin now where you are.'
Someday maybe there'll be an outbreak of common sense and decency... and we'll wise-up to how we could be living.
Meantime, though... I wish well any sincere initiative.
Organizational Change does NOT have to be complicated, but it does have to be coordinated and strategic. GOALS are the primary driving force behind any organization, and unfortunately are the first thing to be ignored when addressing change.
At the risk of sounding immodest, I'd like to invite anyone who reads this post to go to my company’s website (www.bttsolutions.com). There, you will find a FREE Organizational Assessment tool. It is a 5-10 Minute assessment that gives valuable information on the state of an organization, its relative sophistication, based on 8 different areas of Organizational Development and the results are immediately available to participants.
This tool was designed to give the respondents a rudimentary indication of where their Organization's strenghts and weaknesses are, as well as the areas witin the organization that may be impacted by ignoring these deficiencies.
I believe this test is a good starting point to for anyone considering instituting a program of change management. The assessment takes about 5 minutes, and it is the first, and only assessment of its kind available for free on the internet.
Robert Flores
COO BTT Solutions Inc.
www.bttsolutions.com
Author of "My budget is Gone, My Consultant is Gone, What the HELL Happened?!?!? - A practical guide to Organizational Development and Operational Effectiveness, as well as tips on avoiding the New Jersey Devil Consultant"