A Field Guide for Organisation Development: Taking Theory into Practice

Organisation Development, as a field, is messy, imperfect and hard to get hold of - it is like nailing jelly to the wall.

A Field Guide for Organisation Development offers a variety of perspectives and unparalleled experiences from practitioners and researchers who all share an interest and involvement in Organisation Development (OD). In it are multiple voices, mindsets and practices - not all of which necessarily agree with each other.

Leading OD practitioners present a contemporary, practical guide that tackles the dilemmas and polarities that face anyone studying or practising within the OD arena, and encourages them to develop their own particular practice of OD in a way that is appropriate for their context, skills and preferences, while challenging them to look beyond what comes naturally. Here are new ways to support the growth and development of an organisation from modest endeavours that are small in scale to organisation-wide change programmes.

A Field Guide for Organisation Development is as comprehensive a resource to support the practice of OD as can be found anywhere. It covers issues of organisational health as well as offering tools aimed at supporting practitioners to survive in the harsh realities of organisational life. It contains chapters on the OD practitioner, on groups, on culture, on data and evaluation. It offers perspectives on change, on the relationship between OD and HR, and on the use of external consultants.

About the Editors

Ed Griffin is an international HR Director and experienced Organisation Development consultant, who has worked across many sectors and organisational types, including Marketing, Financial Services, IT, Pharma, Education, Regulatory bodies, Retail, Energy and Not-for-profit. Internationally, his work has taken him across Europe, the USA, Brazil, Middle East and Singapore.

His experience from working in Finance, Organisation Development and HR roles gives him a unique perspective that combines performance and human factors. His work is based on the belief that it is possible to develop successful and sustainable organisations where people can fulfil their potential. He has undertaken research and writing in the fields of HR, OD and Leadership with articles published in HR Director, People Management, Strategic HR Review and Training Journal.

Mike Alsop was, for several years, the global Head of Executive Development for Securicor plc. In 2004, when Securicor merged with Group4Falck, he was appointed to the same role for the newly-created organisation, Group4Securicor (now known as G4S plc) which rapidly became one of the largest 'non-state' employers in the world, with over 600,000 people. He was instrumental in the design and practical implementation of many of the global integration processes for senior executives that contributed to the success of the merger. In 2007 Mike set up his own independent practice, and has worked on executive learning and development, talent management and organisational change initiatives (across a range of sectors) in the UK, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas. A lot of his work with individual leaders takes place in the outdoors, walking in the fresh air, often amongst beautiful scenery... helping people find a 'space to breathe' away from the relentlessness of organisational life.

Martin Saville is co-founder of Mayvin, a specialist consultancy with a mission to nurture the human spirit in organisations. Formerly Director of Strategic Planning and Operations at London Business School, Martin is known for the work he does in developing the knowledge and capabilities of OD teams and practitioners. He is on the faculty of a number of leading OD practitioner development programmes and is a regular conference speaker on OD. From 2005 to 2009 he was a Senior Consultant at the Roffey Park Institute. Martin's early career was spent in opera management and he currently serves as Deputy Chair of British Youth Opera, the UK's opera training company. He is an Honorary Visiting Professor of the Faculty of Business and Law, part of London Metropolitan University.

Grahame Smith is an experienced Organisational and Leadership Development Consultant working with public, private and voluntary sector organisations. His industry sector experience spans Telecommunications, Mobile Communications, Security Services, Retail and Financial Services. His professional background is in sales, marketing and general management gained in the fmcg sector with Cadbury, Kelloggs, General Mills and British Sugar. As a successful senior line manager, he saw OD as core to his role; 'Why would I let anyone else do this stuff for me?' sums up his philosophy. Now, as a consultant, his pragmatic approach helps executives face up to the fundamental changes and developments necessary to really deliver on their strategic intent. 'Skills development may feel like the right thing to do, but without creating the right context first it can also be a highly ineffective use of budget'. Grahame has co-written articles for the Strategic HR Review and HR Magazine.