An Opportunity to Align Our Values, Our Practices, and the Purpose of Our Work
By Matt Minahan and Peter Norlin
So, how many OD consultants does it take to have a meeting? I figure it can be done with about 10:
1 to provide a model
1 to call for a vision statement
1 to propose definitions
1 to supply the online citations
1 to write a poem
1 to explain why God wants us to do it
1 to denounce the cultural arrogance of American OD
1 to question the reasons for doing it
1 to ask the bulb why it doesn’t want to change
1 to ask “What was the original question?”
So wrote noted psychologist Karl Allbrecht on the ODNet email discussion a few months back. Jud Lawrie added, “You
forgot the one to memorialize it all on flip charts. And someone to bring the donuts.” Then Anne Donnelly added, “And one to
facilitate participatory decision making!”
We laugh and we cringe at the same time. Yes, it is a bit funny, but it is also more than a bit true. We recognize ourselves and our field as if looking in a textured mirror. That is the troubling part and it is also the point of our thoughts here.