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PROCESS CONSULTATION & FACILITATION |
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| The OD Learning Group’s Meeting for the month of July was on
Process Consultation and Facilitation. Quite an event it was!
The meeting took place on Tuesday, July 24, 2000 in the Skyroom at 100 Memorial Drive. A lovely view of Cambridge, the Charles River and the Boston skyline was visible from this top-level fully-windowed conference room and the outside deck. This event was a multi-media occasion involving videotaping, PowerPoint projection, a live theatrical presentation and discussion groups. There was good food, too. The evening began with OD business and networking from 5:30-6:30 followed by a dramatic presentation. PART I: A DRAMATIC PRESENTATION The "dramatic" theatrical presentation started the Process Consultation portion of the event. The drama centered on a case study involving Jupiter Software, Inc. [Download the PDF Script] A description of the case and the cast follows: THE CLIENT Jupiter, Inc. is a software company that develops complex software applications for industrial customers. It was founded in 1990 and currently employs 400 people. Jupiter has grown to its present size by customizing software for its various industrial customers on a project-by-project basis. As the market for these particular software applications has grown, opportunities to incorporate software developed for one customer into a system for another customer have increased. Several "customized" software modules have evolved into marketable software packages that have sold successfully. Based on this, the leaders of the firm adopted a strategy that emphasized product development over custom development projects to generate revenues. The strategy to become a ‘product-driven company" rather than a project-driven concern was a prominent part of the story that was told as the firm prepared for and completed its initial public offering (IPO) of stock on Wall Street. A ‘VP of Product Development’ was hired and efforts were begun to organize the work processes to support product development. One outcome following these strategic changes has been a series of missed product delivery dates. Wall Street is watching. THE CAST Wiley Coyote, Acme Consulting……………………….Michael DiIanni Ellen Rappaport, VP Product Development ….…..…Cassandra Goldwater Clark Kent, Principal, Positively Process Consulting …Grant Harris Narrator………………………………………………………Nicole Merrill Jupiter Manager……………….Jonathan Mozenter, Tom Matera, Jim Murphy, Joe Dabek, Karen Corbett Jupiter Employees………………Workshop Participants (yes, this means YOU) The stellar performance by the cast captivated the audience. There were 2 interludes in which audience participation was enlisted by the narrator, Nicole Merrill. During Interlude #1 the group generated an interesting comparison on the differences between the Expert vs. Process Consultants. The chart below describes the audience-generated list:
During Interlude #2 , the whole group broke into small groups of 3- 4 people to discuss 2 themes that emerged from the drama:How do you access your ignorance in your OD work? How do you resist the temptation to be the expert? The responses that were generated from the small-group discussions were:
After Interlude 2, the play continued with an entertaining wrap-up in which the VP, Ellen Rappaport, met with her group of managers to discuss her work with the consultant, Clark Kent. The managers expressed their concerns but agreed to go through with the project to address the problems Jupiter Software were experiencing. This ended the first half of the evening and segued into the Facilitation portion. PART II: FACILITATION TECHNIQUES The OD Learning group participants were informed that they were the employees of Jupiter Software and, if they agreed, they were to embark upon a major change initiative. The next move was to break into 3 different groups to begin to address the issues raised by the collaboration with the Process Consultant, Clark Kent. To help the employees decide upon which break-out group they wished to join, the facilitators of the group gave a brief description of the focus of each group. THE INTERVENTION FACILITATORS The Johari Window …………………………………Jonathan Mozenter, Tom Matera Dialogue …………………………………………………...……Jim Murray, Joe Dabek Group Problem-solving and Decision-Making ………..………………Karen Corbett ______________________________________________________________________________ To learn more about the facilitation techniques discussed at the meeting see Three Facilitation Techniques.
After a 45-minute period of discussion in breakout groups, the participants returned to the whole group for the final wrap-up. Nicole Merrill facilitated the wrap up discussion by having each group report back on the process, themes and issues raised in their respective facilitation groups. The meeting concluded with feedback from the group on this experimental modality. The presentation was generally well received with some suggestions for improvement primarily in the technical realm (speak louder please!).
For more info on Process Consultation and Facilitation Techniques follow these links: The Ten Principles of Process Consultation Consultation Styles: Expert vs. Process Consultation
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