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| Our History: San Antonio Association for Organization Development - Formerly SAODC From small beginnings… Once upon a time (actually it was the Spring of 1998), a not so young OD consultant looked up from his computer screen and sighed. This particular consultant was between engagements so, of course, he was engaged in an activity euphemistically called Marketing. To be specific, he was toiling away in an attempt to put together a winning proposal describing how his one-person firm, in the person of himself, would ”Facilitate a Long Term Complex System Organizational Change Strategy” with the Executive Group of a small U.S. government agency. He had learned about the potential work from an RFP he’d gleaned from the CBD. To even be considered, it had to be finished (in triplicate, effectively addressing each elements of the SOW, with all requested certifications, including recommendations by at least three Executives for whom he had done similar work in the past five years), postmarked NLT xxx date and received by the agency’s Purchasing Office (ATTN: Small and/or Disadvantaged Business), NLT COB xxx date. Unfortunately, xxx date was only 5 days hence. And, unfortunately, while our sighing OD Consultant THOUGHT he had a winning proposal, he certainly would have liked to have a friendly and knowledgeable colleague off of whom he could bounce his proposal and engagement design. It would even be great to have some knowledgeable ‘someone else’ to proofread the $%&^#@ proposal. Having been in this exact situation more times than he cared to remember, he wondered (aloud) how many other single practitioners there might be who were in the same boat (so to speak). He realized that, doing what he did (i.e. assisting leaders in organizations to deal with the people side of the enterprise equation in all sorts of critical circumstances caused by the white water of change that faces every organization), provided him the opportunity to work very closely (one might even say, intimately) with the client groups he served. However, when the assignment or engagement was finished, when his advice had been taken, when the Vision, Values, Mission, and Goals were aligned, when he had transferred his skills to the people in-house who would carry on the work – he found himself back in front of his computer screen – alone. And, other than sharing his successes and trials with his significant and long suffering other (in his case, his wife) and family members, he didn’t have a “buddy in the business” with whom he could let down his hair and really talk the talk, share insights, gripe about the occasional ‘tough’ client, or even discuss a new theory, practice, discipline or technique. Then, BOOM—BAM—BOOM, a Blinding Flash of the Obvious (BFO) smacked him on the side of his brain. He realized that he knew about eight individuals who made their living through the practice of Organization Development. And that, in and around a city the size of San Antonio, Texas, (approximately 1.6 MILLION at the time) there HAD to be many other small (one and two person) OD firms who had the same desire to know others with whom they could socialize, learn with and perhaps do business with. He corresponded via the Internet with pros in California, Tennessee, Illinois, Maryland, Virginia and even Japan and Australia but he wanted an association with flesh and blood OD folk in his hometown. Someone he could call up and meet over coffee once in a while. He looked around the town for a local chapter of the OD Network. No good. The closest were in Austin and Houston. What to do?? BOOM—BAM—BOOM – another flash! Get off your lazy exterior and make something happen. If it is to be, it’s up to me. Excelsior! Onward and upward! He noted that a writer to the OD Network listserv he frequented was from San Antonio. It was a name he didn’t know. The content of the contribution to the list serve was not only well written it was on a subject he’d had no experience with – Open Space. Our intrepid Consultant emailed the writer, introduced himself, and asked if she’d like to meet to see if they might have something in common and VOILA! He brought a few of his OD friends and she brought a few of her OD friends and the SAN ANTONIO OD PROFESSIONALS GROUP was born. While the name has changed a couple (now three) of times, the three organizing purposes of the group haven’t changed. 1. To meet and socialize with others who make their living as OD practitioners (or are otherwise interested in ANY aspect the field of Organizational Development); 2. To learn from each other (what works, what doesn't, what's new, etc.); and, 3. To understand what the local professional OD talent pool holds, in case any of us have an opportunity to do work that needs more hands (minds) than we have in our firms or our places of employment. This informal group, this band of brothers and sisters, has ebbed and flowed through the years, but the essential spirit of openness, sharing, teaching and learning has enabled all of us to have richer more rewarding lives. The SAAOD allows us to realize a very important Fourth Purpose: It allows us to give something back to the profession by encouraging and modeling the values, knowledge and philosophy of OD to the next generation of practitioners of our profession. KMS 0 0 |
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