We conducted a series of interviews, and as is typical in South Africa, when we would ask a direct question, the respondents would launch into long narratives that took many tangents seemingly unrelated to our questions. We took copious notes, and met back with our team members to consolidate the information. We had no clue how to sort it, but as we began to group the chunks of information around similar themes, it became quite clear.

Your change framework emerged as a natural way to organize the information in a way that made clear where the stakeholders were aligned. It also provided a clearer sense of where they wanted and needed to take the organization. When we presented the information back to our clients, the energy in the room changed completely. It was the first time in a while that they could share a vision of the community center, and it helped them figure out what strategic initiatives to take next.

As a tool, the change framework is effective, and it’s true power really revealed itself when we put it into practice.

And, I believe, there is another dimension at play that you might consider for your next blog — the tradeoffs between generalists and specialists in OD.

As I look around at the IT world today, there are generalists who work in organizations that provide outsourced turnkey IT service . . . and there are specialists who are hired to do a particular application such as an ERP or build a call center, etc.

IF line managers are truly taking in the body of knowledge that we have called OD, then they become the generalists, and the OD practitioners have to become more specialized, providing advice and counsel to the generalists.

I know that a lot of folks in our field have specializations, and will do fine in this new world if it evolves as you suggest. But I’m concerned about the generalists who have not invested in a specialization and who a Jills and Jacks of All Trades, but Expert at None.

Matt

I agree with everything being said here. I also appreciate the mention of increased risk. Something that is rarely presented in the story of the hero who slays the dragon, is that all those before him/her perished in attempting to do so. Those who perish are more frequently regarded as having been foolish rather than courageous. I think that a rising executive would be well served to climb these steps, but also be as cautious as possible, as the risks are real and consequences for mistepping are also very real. For instance, in step 5, “Challenge point made” could lead to a perception of insubordination, rather than adding value. Consequences could range from being regarded as pompous, to being precluded from advancing professionally, particularly if the point in question was particularly important to the senior executive. To prevent this from happening I think it would be essential for the rising executive to understand the person standing across from them and know how they have received challenges in the past. They should also have a thorough understanding of what they are talking about, rather than challenging for the sake of it.

I think you could add a seventh “P” to your formula for peak meeting performance – Follow uP. As you say in this post and your post “How to run a great meeting”, “all meetings start before they begin and end well after they are over.” To continue the momentum from a meeting and truly make it productive, attendees need to Follow uP by paying attention to the materials sent after the meeting, especially the meeting record or minutes, which ideally will include agreed upon outcomes or decisions, key insights, action items or tasks assigned, next steps, etc. Then, they need to actually work on and complete the action items assigned to them during the meeting. The concept of Follow uP fits in perfectly with your Ramp Up – Meet – Follow Up framework for running a great meeting because it reinforces the notion that each meeting is one in a series that is essential to ensuring that an organization achieves its goals better, faster, and cheaper.

In my office, I am responsible for emailing our meeting records, which include a summary of what was said and agreed upon, next steps, and tasks assigned along with agreed upon dates of completion. These emails (aka, Follow uP reminders) have increased staff follow through on action items tremendously and also have helped to increase staff participation in and preparation for future meetings. Ultimately, through our meeting process, which closely follows your Ramp Up – Meet –Follow Up framework, we have been able to reach our goals faster, expand our services, and have increased our ability to be proactive instead of reactive exponentially. The results of the six (or seven) Ps speak for themselves. I appreciate your ability to capture their essence succinctly and in a way that make them tangible and actionable.

Cheers,

Katie

Often, having a resume design and format that reflects your industry is also vital to coming across credibly on first impression. Designing a resume to be modular can make it much easier to modify the document for a particular job or audience. And if more information is inciting, these days most people can create a decent web page using free tools, or at least fully develop a LinkedIn profile, that the resume can “jump” to for further information.