About
I spend a lot of time thinking about organizations.
Some of that happens through consulting. Some through reading. Some by noticing small things that don’t quite fit the explanations I already have.
Over the years I’ve found that many of the most useful ideas about organizations don’t come from organizational development itself. They come from biology, architecture, psychology, economics, systems thinking, and other disciplines that are wrestling with similar questions under different names.
OrgRiver is where I collect those ideas.
Sometimes they’re observations from client work. Sometimes they’re essays inspired by a book I’ve been reading. Sometimes they’re simply questions I can’t stop thinking about. I’m less interested in defending a particular framework than I am in finding better ways to understand how organizations actually work.
If something here helps you see your own organization a little differently, then it was worth writing.
About Me
I’m an organizational development consultant who has spent the past fifteen years helping organizations navigate culture, leadership, employee experience, organizational design, and change.
I’ve worked with organizations across healthcare, financial services, defense, technology, manufacturing, energy, higher education, nonprofits, and government. Those experiences continue to shape what I write here, but they’ve also convinced me that many of the best ideas about organizations come from outside organizational development itself.
That’s why you’ll find references to biology, architecture, economics, psychology, and systems thinking throughout this site. They’ve changed how I see organizations, and I suspect they still have more to teach us.
Working Together
I work with leaders on organizational design, culture, employee experience, leadership development, and change.
If you’d like to talk about consulting, speaking, or simply compare notes about organizations, I’d be glad to hear from you.
“We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.”
— Winston Churchill