Onboard a submarine, crew members must reach a delicate equilibrium of individual vs. team—and too much weight on either side can spell disaster. Read more…
published article
There is an interesting yet little known story about a model in the field of Organization Development. Referred to as the Change Formula, it is one of the most practical, widely recognized tools developed in the last 50 years. The formula describes the conditions, that when met, will move an individual, group, or whole system …
On June 17, 2015, at approximately 8:06 p.m., a young, white male who aimed to start a race war entered the historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, and joined with church members in a Bible study. For the next hour, he would discuss Bible verses and interact with the 12 parishioners who were also …
This article describes work I have been doing during the past year plus in Charleston, SC, the site of the horrific nine murders in Mother Emanuel AME Church. The work has been done with Police Chief Greg Mullen and colleagues Margaret Seidler and Chandra Irvin and the entire Charleston community. The purpose? To further improve …
Increased rates of change are driving the need to respond to ever-more complex problems. More and more situations are emerging where factions take different positions seemingly at odds with one another. Nowhere is this more present than in the work of Whole System Transformation. This chapter describes an approh that can enhance all transformation work. Regardless …
In 1992 there was a potential worldwide epidemic of tuberculosis brewing in New York. Multiple drug resistant strains were beginning to show up – the kind that known medications could not treat effectively. TB is a disease of the poor and indigent. Patients regularly moved between the Public Hospitals, Shelter System, and Prisons. The Department of Health was …
Richard H. Axelrod, Emily M. Axelrod, Julie Beedon and Robert W. Jacobs Leader to Leader, volume 17, no. 2, June 2006 We have a love-hate relationship with meetings. Sometimes we leave them energized, brimming with ideas, and eager to move forward. Too often though, we leave drained, numb, and wondering what we were doing there in …
Richard H. Axelrod, Emily M. Axelrod, Julie Beedon and Robert W. Jacobs, Our Children, Burrelles-Luce, September 2006 Sometimes it’s easy to get people to volunteer to help, but often much harder to keep them involved till the work is done. Here are five ways to make sure that doesn’t happen to you: Keep reminding people …
(edited by Bill Treasurer) with Robert W. Jacobs and 30 other contributing authors Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. (www.bkconnection.com) Paperback original— 188 pages (2005/ ISBN-10: 1576753123) M.A.D. stands for Making A Difference. Positively M.A.D. is about how to do it. This book shows that getting M.A.D. doesn’t mean getting angry, or getting even — it means using …
Richard H. Axelrod, Emily M. Axelrod, Julie Beedon and Robert W. Jacobs Seventy percent of organizational change efforts fail or fall short of achieving their intended objectives. This figure is even more astounding when you take account of a recent Oxford University study on change, which found that over 68% of employees welcomed meaningful involvement in change. Clearly, we …