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Juliette Powell Interview on Social Media in Organization Development: Part 1

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[youtube]idEZ9lO6owI[/youtube]

I recently conducted a two-part interview with Juliette Powell (author of 33 Million People in the Room) at the OD Network Conference in Seattle, just after she delivered the final keynote speech, titled “The Technology of Relationships: Social Networking and the Future of Human Communities.” This first interview gives you a behind-the-scenes look into Juliette’s take on the field of OD after delivering the keynote and meeting with OD practitioners for several days. You’ll especially want to watch if you were at the keynote or you plan to watch it on YouTube when it gets posted by the OD Network. I highly recommend you watch that keynote address when posted; her points are crucial for OD practitioners to remain relevant in the shifting organizational and media landscape.

You won’t want to miss our upcoming blog post featuring the second interview. There she clears up the misconception from the keynote address around her provocative comment regarding the demise of traditional conferences. She also further elaborates on her upcoming Leadership Engine project – an exciting new development for OD.

Here is a quick glimpse of that comment regarding the future of conferences during the keynote address

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Posted in Collaboration, OD Insights, OD Network, Social Media Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Relive the 2009 OD Network Conference with Plus Delta’s pictures from Seattle

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Click here to view more conference photos courtesy of OD Network staff photographer Robin Reid

Posted in Events, OD Network Tagged with: , , , , , ,

Community – Online and Offline: A guest post from OD Network Conference 2009

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We have a strong commitment to provide the Organization Development community with a series of conversations highlighting the use of social and collaborative media within organizations. We believe that these technologies can be an empowering and enabling force for human potential. We have asked Jackie Alcalde Marr to write a guest post from the OD Network Conference 2009. Her new book, along with authors Arthur Jue and Mary Ellen Kassotakis highlight the use of new communication technologies in the workplace. After reading her post, please share (in our comments section) your experiences with these technologies in the workplace, or what you wish you could do for organizations with them.

cover of Social Media at Work

This week at the OD Network Conference, organization development consultants – -seasoned and newly inspired – gathered to hear one of our favorite thought leaders, Peter Block. Block spoke of the “collective possibility” to “create a future distinct from the past.” This conference, like so many others, lives off of this premise – that people come together to share experience, debate new ideas, learn from each other in order to move their cause, profession or passions forward.

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Posted in Collaboration, OD Insights, Social Media Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,

Plus Delta Hosts a ‘Fireside Chat’ with Charlie & Edie Seashore Discussing the Future of OD (Organization Development)

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Our adventures at the Organization Development Network conference continued last night with our firm hosting an exclusive fireside chat with Charlie and Edie Seashore. This amazing couple has been in the field of OD for almost 40 years and their experience and accomplishments are legendary. But what impressed me the most about these two last night was their humility and willingness to give back. They have generously donated their time to countless events like ours and continue to give back to the field that has given them so much.

The topic of the conversation last night was the “Future of OD”. Here is what these two had to say about their professional (and personal) past, and where they see the field going in the future:

part 2
part 3
part 4

This quiet venue was the perfect ending to an action-packed day, and we deeply thank the Seashores for their time!

PDC and Seashores

Where do you think the field of OD is going? Is the future bright or dark? Join the discussion on our Future of OD group on LinkedIn and provide your initial comments below!

Posted in Events, OD Insights Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

The Future Of OD and the Role of Web 2.0: A Tipping Point?

Posted on by Jeremy Lurey

Are Web 2.0 and social networking technologies the next “great app” in the field of OD to enable self-organizing systems and to build better working relationships in the organization?

If I were a betting man, I would bet that half of the attendees at this year’s OD Network conference would click “Delete” on their email application if this showed up in their mailbox. The other half (or less?) would be intrigued and hit the “scroll down” button to read more. Are we at the “cutting edge” of OD by talking about the role of Web 2.0 technologies instead of talking about “authenticity”, “power and affiliation needs”, or “process facilitation”? Or are we so far off base in introducing this vernacular into the lexicon of OD professionals that we will see it fall off the radar screen of OD and into the abyss of other “flash in the pan” concepts?

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Posted in Accelerated workplace, Collaboration, OD Insights, Social Media Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Are we Tour Guides or Expedition Specialists?

Posted on by Jeremy Lurey

Plus Delta Team with Rob and Harry

Last night, several of Plus Delta’s team members attended a reception hosted by Geoff Bellman in Seattle. It was designed to be a warm welcome to kickoff this year’s OD Network annual conference, and boy was it ever! The food was excellent, the wine was superb, and the conversation with our OD brethren – some long-time friends and colleagues, and others new acquaintances – quite delightful. The high point of the event though was a presentation by Rob Fijlstra and Harry Wullings, two seasoned OD practitioners from the Netherlands (click here for more on them).

Fijlstra and Wullings

In their talk, Rob and Harry posed the question of whether or not those in attendance were “Tour Guides” or “Expedition Specialists”. To paraphrase them a bit, a tour guide is someone who leads his/her client group on a safe and well-planned journey to sites that he/she has probably experienced many times over again. While the metaphor may sound reasonable for many – and even necessary at times – this type of OD guidance may never get a client group out of their comfort zone or beyond something that might be called incremental change.

An expedition specialist, on the other hand, takes his/her client group off of this somewhat traditional path. In essence, he/she would say, “You know, I’ve never been down this road before, but I think you’ll enjoy the journey. Just trust me. Everything will be OK!” And the right type of client with ample trust in his/her OD guide might just agree. That’s the type of relationship and type of work I aspire to. Realistically though, I’m still committed to meeting my clients where they’re at and believe that incremental change is better than no change as long as it puts them on the path.

So are you a tour guide or expedition specialist? Check out these links to their presentation to learn more from Rob and Harry’s approach to OD:
Presentation part I
part II
part III
part IV
part V
part VI

Posted in Events, OD Insights, Workplace Policies Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

Are you a Level 5 leader? Jim Collins reminds us why you need to be

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As I mentioned in my other post on the Inc. Awards, we had the opportunity to hear Jim Collins speak at the Inc. 500/5000 conference in September. It was amazing to hear him speak about what makes good companies ‘great’. According to Jim, great companies are not made by accident, but by careful planning and flawless execution. Here’s what else he had to say during a Q&A session:

Posted in Accelerated workplace, Events, OD Insights Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,

Tony Hsieh of Zappos tells us about importance of customer service at Inc. Conference in DC

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Tony H

Another great speaker at the Inc. Conference in September was Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh. Tony came to talk with us about customer service. I decided to sit up straight and listen because this guy took a small-time internet company with less than $2 million in revenue to generating $1 billion (yes, with a ‘b’) in sales in less than 10 years. His main philosophy and road to success? Great customer service. Now many companies say the same thing, but here’s what makes Tony’s company different:

• All new employees – no matter what level – work in the call center and shipping docks for at least two weeks. This gives them a solid understanding of the needs of the customer.

• Zappos doesn’t spend a lot of money on direct marketing (magazine ads, billboards, etc.). Instead they put their money into the ‘wow’ factor for customers. This may take the form of free overnight shipping or other enhancements.

• The company doesn’t have restrictions on their customer service call centers. Customer service reps can talk as long as needed to ensure that the customer gets their needs met. According to Tony, the longest customer service call was over 5 hours!

• Lastly, Zappos has very easy access to customer service. The customer service hotline is on every page of their website (instead of buried at the bottom of a ‘contact us’ section) and they boast a 365-day return policy.

Way to go Tony! To learn more about Zappo’s culture and how Tony is leading the charge in customer service, check out their website.

Posted in Events, OD Insights, trends, Workplace Policies Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,

DEWA212 Masuk Online x Loyalty – Plus Delta Consulting

Posted on by Jeremy Lurey

loyalty building

In the saturated digital landscape, where access points blur together, DEWA212 transforms the routine act of “Masuk Online” into a strategic gateway for true engagement, moving beyond simple transactional exchanges to cultivate a behavioral ecosystem where loyalty is not just rewarded, but algorithmically understood. This is where Plus Delta Consulting becomes the silent architect behind the curtain, leveraging deep data science to construct a loyalty architecture that adapts in real-time to individual player journeys, creating a symbiotic relationship where retention and satisfaction are mathematically preordained rather than hoped for. By treating every login as a nuanced data point and every interaction as a commitment signal, DEWA212 shifts from a mere platform to an intelligent partner in the user’s entertainment narrative, offering a frictionless experience that feels inherently personalized and impossible to replicate elsewhere.

Customer loyalty.  It’s critical in every business and every industry.  In the consulting service arena, it is often a “make or break” proposition for independent consultants, small firms, and even the large consulting houses.

What creates customer loyalty?  Clearly, delivering promised results is an essential ingredient.  But what are the essential qualities of the consultant who can nurture the kind of partnership with their client that leads to a steady stream of work, project after project.  And, better yet, does their work lead to unsolicited referrals to other clients?  What does the client look for when hiring a consultant, or more importantly, what does the client receive from a currently engaged consultant that makes them want to “hold on” to that consultant for the next project, and the next, and the next, etc.?

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Posted in OD Insights, Workplace Policies Tagged with: , , , ,

OD: The Field of Organization Development Defined

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Org Development and Change textbook

What is OD? How is it defined, and is there one correct definition? I have been asked this several times over the years from various places including my family (my mom still isn’t quite sure what I do for a living), to clients and the random person on the airplane. So I decided to do some research and come up with the best definition of OD. In my opinion, the best one comes from Cummings and Worley in the 6th Edition of their book “Organization Development & Change” and is as follows:

“Organization Development is a systemwide application of behavioral science knowledge to the planned development and reinforcement of organizational strategies, structures, and processes for improving an organization’s effectiveness”

This definition is a blending of the various facets of organization development and, in my opinion, is a great hybrid of Burke, French, Beckhard, and Bennis. But don’t take my word for it; here’s what these four men had to say about OD:

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Posted in OD Insights Tagged with: , ,

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