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Each month, the Organization Development Network shares articles from a number of journals and publications to support the advancement of our members' OD practices.
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Chair
Sherry Duda
Vice Chair
Martha Kesler
Treasurer
Amy Cowart 

Marco Cassone
Steven Goodwin
Jean Hartmann
Jamie Kelly
Sanjay Naik
December 2016
GLOBALIZATION
Harnessing the Best of Globalization
William R. Kerr, MIT Sloan Review

Traditional strategies for going global start with a mindset of taking the company’s best products or services to other countries. But some companies are taking a different tack — one that involves a business model grounded in globalization.

Executives in large companies are seeking to harness globalization in new ways when launching their ventures — and for good reason. The opportunities for global businesses are expanding thanks to rapidly emerging product markets, the worldwide race for talent, and the widening impact of digitization. Moreover, success stories such as Airbnb Inc., Uber Technologies Inc., and Rocket Internet SE are spurring the imaginations of new entrepreneurs while highlighting the vulnerability of many traditional businesses.

How Resilient Company Cultures Ensure Business Continuity 
Daniel Newman, Forbes

It is fascinating that in only a few short years, the entire business community has changed. What’s more, it’s only going to keep changing as attitudes and technologies continue to evolve. To stay on top, a business must remain relevant and be prepared to make the most of the constantly shifting market. Endless ideas and tips are thrown at business owners as a result — with the number one focus on adopting an agile company culture. Is agility the only key to success?

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LEADERSHIP
The Traits of Leaders Who Do Things Fast and Well 
Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, Harvard Business Review

An exceptional leader we know would occasionally get a question from his direct reports in a variety of forms but with the common message, “Do you want this done fast or right?” His answer was always the same: “Yes!” He chose not to compromise on either dimension. For this leader and for most highly effective leaders we know, making mistakes is not an option. But neither is slowing down.

Over the last few years we’ve been increasingly interested in the impact of a leader’s preference for speed versus a “slow and steady” mode of operation. It’s clear that overall, organizational processes, communications, and human interactions in the world are speeding up. Many organizations are looking for ways to become more agile. Perhaps leaders worry that their organizations cannot move faster if their employees operate slowly.

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The Three New Skills Managers Need

Monideepa Tarafdar, MIT Sloan Review

“Within the next five years, how will technology change the practice of management in a way we have not yet witnessed?”

In the coming years, both business leaders and their employees will face a number of challenges as they deal with changing digital technologies. In particular, they will need to learn three important new skills: (1) how to partner with new digital “colleagues”; (2) how to create a mindful relationship with increasingly ubiquitous digital technologies; and (3) how to develop empathy for the varying technology preferences of their human coworkers. Organizations, for their part, will need to design programs and processes to support these efforts.

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Why Understanding Other Perspectives Is a Key Leadership Skill

Steffan Surdek, Forbes

In one of the management courses I deliver, as well as with the clients I coach, one of my favorite topics to cover is understanding perspectives.

Participants often tell me this topic is one of their key takeaways. For me, there’s great value in recognizing different perspectives in conversations because these enable us to hear and react to things very differently. One of my close friends often says: “Change how a situation occurs to you, change how you will respond to the situation.”

What is the distinction between perspective and reality?

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OD IN PRACTICE
Finding a Lower-risk Path to High-impact Innovations
Joseph V. Sinfield and Freddy Solis, MIT Sloan Review

The pursuit of major innovations is often seen as a risky endeavor. However, there is a lower-risk way to commercialize certain types of high-impact innovations — by viewing initial applications as “lily pads” that a company can reach before leaping to the next market.

3 Conditions for Driving Organization Change 
CIO Staff, CIO

To get a sense of the degree to which companies struggle with innovation and change, consider these two points: 1) despite great technological advances, we struggle with many of the same problems that we faced years ago, and 2) few companies are able to hold their positions on the Fortune 500 list.

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Company Culture: By Design or Default
Aileron, Forbes

As a business owner, you’re challenged with creating a culture that inspires your employees to be the best they can be, and helping them to become it.

Culture derives from the way it feels to work at a company. And, as Wes Gipe, Aileron Business Advisor, describes in the video above, building a culture of trust, openness, and authenticity — and one that encourages boldness — is something that has to be done intentionally.

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TECHNOLOGY
7 Technology Trends That Will Dominate 2017
Jayson DeMers, Forbes

Personally, I’m amazed at the technology we have available to us. It’s astounding to have the power to retrieve almost any information and communicate in a thousand different ways using a device that fits in your pocket.

There’s always something new on the horizon, and we can’t help but wait and wonder what technological marvels are coming next.

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Where Technology Meets Marketing: Nine Tips for a More Cohesive Company
Forbes Technology Council, Forbes
Departments shouldn’t exist in a silo. In particular, tech departments should work with stakeholders throughout the business in order to achieve maximum results.
As marketing shifts focus to be more analytical and tech-oriented, technology and marketing departments should work together to put the customer and their experience first. Below, nine technology executives from Forbes Technology Council offer their best tips on working with your company’s marketing department to improve the company as a whole.
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