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June 2006 eNews

Dear Friends:

The office of od180 will be closed from June 10th through June 20th. Responses to messages received during this period will be answered as soon as possible thereafter. I hope that all of you will have the opportunity to take some time for rest and relaxation over the summer – not only for your own sakes but also for the good of the organizations to which you devote yourselves. We all need a break from time to time and many people will remind us of that wisdom. I also believe, though, that our organizations need a break from us every once in a while in order to prevent camaraderie and cooperation from flagging. So do yourselves and your colleagues a favor this summer and be sure to take some time away to renew your energy and creativity.

Summer Wonderment, Summer Puzzlement

For some people, summer is a time of reflection about where they are and where they are going. (I suppose it is the traditional academic calendar which gives to the season this contemplative quality.) For the content, it can be a season of refreshment and rejuvenation. 

For the not quite so content, it can be instead a time of restlessness and searching. Often, on the individual level, professional moves are considered. On the organizational level, conversation bubbles up about the fall program and early lobbying commences about next year’s budget.

As Memorial Day passes and Independence Day looms then, some of you may be looking at the transition from one annual cycle to the next and wondering how it could be that “things are so messed up.” Maybe you enter the summer looking forward to vacation yet still dogged by the question of “how did we get to where we are now!?,” If these questions are on your mind, then you might well consider engaging in the process of an organizational assessment.

Organizational Assessment and Weisbord’s “Six-Box Organizational Model”

There are a number of helpful ways to do an organizational assessment – or “diagnosis,” as the exercise is sometimes described. One of the methods we use at od180 is the “Six-Box Organizational Model” developed by Marvin Weisbord. (His book, Productive Workplaces, was my reading recommendation last month.) In essence, the method offers a way by which to look at an organization as a living system and identify not only where the problems are but also – just as importantly – how they inter-relate. Here are the six boxes he identifies:

If you are content with how your organization is operating, then now is not the time to invest in the process of an assessment. However, if you enter this season with some anxiety about where you are headed, we can help by walking with you through the exercise of looking at the six boxes of your agency.

And that leads to this month’s recommended book. When assessments are done, one of the issues that will often arise is the question of the effectiveness of how the organization is designed. The person who literally “wrote the book” on organizational design is Jay Galbraith and it is entitled (appropriately) Designing Organizations – An Executive Guide to Strategy, Structure, and Process. The key to the insights he offers on the subject are contained in what he calls “The Star Model.” And what is it?  

… Open this newsletter next month to find out what the five points of the star are and how they coordinate on the ground with Weisbord’s six boxes. Right now, it’s time to heed my own advice and give you a break from books and stars and boxes – and me!

Peace,

David

od180

Suggested Reading

The person who literally “wrote the book” on organizational design is Jay Galbraith and it is entitled (appropriately) Designing Organizations – An Executive Guide to Strategy, Structure, and Process.