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DESIGN in organisational development

Wednesday February 27, 2013

I have been thinking about the place of design in organisational development, surfing the web around the concepts and came across this analogy. I think it works well and might be a good way of introducing the topic of the flow of communication in meetings. See what you think. The quote comes from Ken Parry at the Griffith Business School.
“I take students through the rhythm (and riff) vis-à-vis the lyrics of music, then ask them to tell me what might be the rhythm and lyrics of an organisation. Here is some of what they tell me:

Rhythm is culture. Lyrics are policy statements

Rhythm is action. Lyrics are talk

Lyrics are policies and strategic plans. Rhythm is the emotion that they generate

Lyrics are the message. Rhythm is the vehicle

Rhythm is inspiration-vision. Lyrics are mission

Lyrics are the agenda. Rhythm is how I run the meeting.”

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