Practicing Organization Development (A guide for Consultants) - Part 56. Organization development (OD) is about planned change. As change has turned into the only constant, many managers and other people are pursuing change strategies with vigor. OD is a major strategy for leading and managing change at the individual, group, intergroup, organizational, interorganizational, and large systems levels. This book is about what it takes to be an effective change manager, change leader, and OD consultant | BRINGING EVERY MIND INTO THE GAME TO REALIZE THE POSITIVE REVOLUTION IN STRATEGY 521 The revolution in strategy that we see emerging is one that values inclusive dialogue over rational planning active experimentation over analysis. Brown and Eisenhardt 1998 and others have demonstrated that while ongoing incremental improvements are essential they may not be enough. High-performing organizations operate at the edge of chaos improvising and learning as they go. Johnson and Huff 1998 discuss the necessity of everyday innovation. Five-year plans are of little use when adaptation must occur on the spot. When operating at the edge of chaos we can expect complicated behaviors we cannot rely on established rules or routines to guide responses. Strategic planning becomes strategic learning when improvised actions suddenly open up streams of previously unconsidered possibilities. This is no doubt why Mintzberg 1994 has pointed out that what s important in strategy is not just the plan itself but the learning that occurs while dialoging and deliberating. This reminds us that strategy formulation is a discovery process. What makes strategic formulation transformative is that as participants consider various scenarios they are inventing and discovering possibilities simultaneously. Strategic learning implies the power of discovery as a strategic resource. Often organizations especially command-and-control hierarchies try to eliminate surprise. However since surprises will never go away we need to ask a different question What is the most advantageous way to approach organizing so that surprise and discovery are invigorating rather than noxious Here Hamel 2000 makes an important distinction between knowledge and insight. Access to data and information does not lead to insight about how to creatively apply this data or how to act in innovative ways. What are the sources of insight and discovery and why do we assume that they are relegated to insiders and trained analysts A line
