Learning from failures in O.D. consulting

Citation

(2009), "Learning from failures in O.D. consulting", Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 23 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/dlo.2009.08123ead.005

Learning from failures in O.D. consulting

Article Type: Abstracts From: Development and Learning in Organizations, Volume 23, Issue 5

Armstrong T. Organization Development Journal (USA), Spring 2009, Vol. 27 No. 1, Start page: 71, No of pages: 7

Purpose – Reports in terms of lessons learnt, failure of some organizational development (OD) interventions. Design/methodology/approach – Quotes an earlier publication accusing the OD profession of ignoring failures, submits that the profession is failure-phobic, and contends that OD professionals need to analyse failures and learn from them. Records how the author learnt an early lesson as a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia, explains that building a bridge across a ravine would not only have improved villagers lives but would have also caused, at that time, inter-village warfare, gives this first lesson as always ask “why hasn’t this been done already”, and recommends OD professionals to check assumptions at the entry and contracting stage of an intervention. Documents a second project in which a chief executive wanted to empower her workforce, relates how the executive later terminated the programme, attributes the executive’s decision to her inability to trust all her managers, and advises OD consultants to ascertain the extent of, and people to be involved in, empowerment exercises. Profiles two further cases, the first with the author acting as OD consultant for a general consulting firm on their client’s change project, outlines how billing arrangements and contract misunderstandings caused termination of the contracts, and comments on the author’s aversion to retained contracts following “scope creep” from one of his clients. Registers lessons learnt as check for change in client/consultant psychological contracts, and only accept a retainer if it is your only client. Originality/value – Provides advice on fee-setting.Article type: General review ISSN: 0889-6402 Reference: 38AH295

Keywords: Change management, Company failures, Learning, Organizational development