When we view organizations as meaning-seeking systems, with the intelligence and capacity to create, adapt, and to self organize around an identity; when we understand that intelligence emerges as a system connects to itself in different ways; and when we create environments where people feel free to explore and discover; we can then begin to see the possibility of what might be.

This requires a willingness to be open and playful, to have courage and humility, to be of service to others. In doing so, we inspire each other through an appreciative and respectful approach in our work and in our reverence for life.

Such positive attitude influences our values, beliefs and behaviors, creating patterns of meaning that profoundly change an organization's culture, its energy and its ability to produce.

As Marshall Goldsmith has pointed out: 'What got you here won't get you there.' The global environment is moving through a profound transformation. Leaders must transform themselves to survive. -- hrk

Our approach to organization development is to engage the whole system in a parallel process of inquiry and learning. Whether our work is with individuals, groups or at the system level, we maintain a whole systems perspective. We use many methods and models to explore a change, depending on what best fits.

One right question at the right time can fundamentally change an existing paradigm that has an organization stuck in a pattern. While the power of conversation is at the heart of most human achievement, conversations on their own will not necessarily achieve anything--as we all know from the unproductive meetings we've attended. Most of those meetings, however, weren't about real conversations, just people getting their point made. Productive conversations require honest inquiry and listening to understand another point of view. What is working for you today? What meaning does an issue have for the company, for leadership, for you personally?

To create conversations that matter we use methods such as guided facilitation, Appreciative Inquiry, process consulting, the World Cafe and others. In our work developing human potential and improving business outcomes, we incorporate the latest in theory and practice from the fields of organizational psychology, leadership, business, knowledge management, communications, culture and change, and more. Learning is a key piece of our core philosophy.

What are you looking for in a consultant? It is important to know this if we are going to achieve something meaningful. For this reason, we often ask a new client or prospect this question.

Our experience confirms that there is more to a client-consultant relationship than just the work itself. When we work with a client, we seek to develop new internal capabilities. If we have done our work well, the client can now do the work we just completed, on their own. The learning was generative and has been internalized. Clients should also come away with a new understanding about their organization and culture, and a better understanding of human and organizational behavior. If we have done our work well, some level of transformation has occurred.

Developing Insight

Often, it's not what you do, but how you do it. Organizational capability is influenced by leadership's beliefs and behaviors. Part of our work centers around developing new insights for leadership so that we, as a team, can see new opportunities. New methods of discovery can help to shape constructive conversation in a new light, bringing out the best in people and guiding the process of discovery toward new opportunity.

In our work, we tend to use the tools that help people connect with each other in a process of active participation and learning. We listen and explore for the deep structure of meaning in an organization about why things are the way they are, and why people do what they do. We develop strategies for change.

In our work, we expect the client and consultant to come away with a new perspective about the organization, its role and overall capabilities. Such change occurs at a deep level and those who participate will likely go through some degree of personal and professional transformation. Our experience has demonstrated that such transformation is a positive sign of a significant effort by all who have been involved in a project. It is also a predictor of success.

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