Practicing Organization Development (A guide for Consultants) - Part 69. 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 | OUR WORK FOR THE TIMES IN WHICH WE LIVE 651 But then you look at modern organizations. We keep shortening our language and expressions. Think about how teenagers use online chat rooms. They simply select icons to indicate a thought or feeling. They do not really express themselves. They just select an icon. And so it is too often in today s organizations. We do not have time for open-ended unstructured discussions and time together. And what is happening to our relationships as a result of that The more we rely on the abbreviated expressions of e-mail the testier people become. People misread communication that is so abbreviated. The more people substitute quick e-mails for real communication the more we sacrifice ourselves. A few years ago people at Microsoft invented the term facemail. It refers to face-to-face communication. Think about that Although we cannot live without each other we have to coin a word to indicate what ought to be the most basic fundamental and expected form of communication. With that thought as backdrop think about what speed has deprived you of in the very relationships that should nourish you at work and at home. Dealing with Fear There is one other troubling aspect about living in our times. That is the increase in fear. I travel frequently and that means I step outside our culture and step back in about once a month. And this is giving me a very good lens on the shock treatments to which we are being subjected. It seems so clear to me how much of our culture is now focused around fear. We are told to fear this fear that fear whatever. If I were to describe where we are it would be that we are moving deeper into fear. I think we need to notice what happens to us during the times of fear. Parker Palmer taught me years ago that every world religion has the same fundamental view that people should not be afraid Palmer Marty 1983 . And why is that It seems to me that fear leads to the loss of our humanity our generosity and our willingness
