O.D. Institute Newsletter

June 2010

Information Exchange 2010: A Moment of Celebration

This year’s conference was a celebration of the OD Institutes history and the work of many of its members and their contribution to the field of OD.  Ron Hunady who was there at the OD Institutes’ founding shared many stories about the early days of the OD Institute and we all reminisced.  Everyone encouraged Ron to write an article for the Organization Development Journal on the history of OD as well as the OD Institute.  There seemed to be a need to reflect on what O.D. and the institute had meant to individual members as well as to the field.  Jeanne Maes and Terry Armstrong shared many of the triumphs and several dark periods in the life of the Organization Development Journal since its founding in 1983 by Joe Cangeme. 

Penelope Dralle and Bart Reilly shared much about their involvement with NTL and the OD NET while Tom Myers shared his experience with various groups working to bring OD to the South and especially the recent developments of the Organization Change Alliance in Atlanta.  Ken Hultman encouraged others to write for the ODJ as he shared how his contributions in the ODJ lead to the publication of several of his OD Books. 

With all the Southerners in attendance and the reference to “The Mississippi Connection” Lena Neal conducted the opening exercise and kept us grounded in Chicago and current realities while helping us remember the importance of “The Chicago Connection” to both the OD Institute and the field of OD.  Though she was appreciative of the group’s reminiscing she was the lone task master in the group who kept pointing us to the future rather than the past knowing full well that the future builds on the past.

There were also those attending the Information Exchange for the first time that shared their personal experiences in the field and enjoyed running some of their ideas past the group.  Donna Stone gave a presentation on her current theories and asked for feedback on how the group thought her ideas would be received in industry.  Mark Gladstone, who came from Idaho, talked about his practical North West OD perspective and shared an exercise he uses in a national research institute, confirming once again that OD is alive and well in quasi government organizations.  Don Mosley a colleague of Jeanne Maes attended and made us all aware that a new generation of ODers is emerging and willing to carry the OD torch. (Don’s father, Don Mosley Sr., was one of the early founders of OD in the South.)

As usual, much of the OD Institute’s work was carried out informally over food and drink. For those of you who were not there the sea food was great and Mobile Bay was still gorgeous.  Locals however, were very much concerned about the oil spill and the stories of devastation of the Louisiana coast and marsh lands are real.