How is OD different from management consulting ?
The core of an organization lies in its energy. However energy is directly the product of emotions. Management consulting, drawing from engineering models and economic desiderata, necessarily remains within the “rational” world of inputs and outputs. OD practices and procedures in responding to the rational problems/needs also address the vital domain of emotions, helping bring about higher levels of alignment. The work with emotions reduces levels of toxic emotions (de-energizers) and develops ways and means of reducing the production of toxic experiences and processes. Management Consultants take charge of designing the new blue prints this is content consulting – OD consultancy facilitates the organization’s members to develop their own blue prints. This distinguishes it as Process Consulting. In Content Consulting the consultants finally write out the prescription, in process consulting the client develops his own prescription. This becomes possible as in process consulting the con
Again, these terms are not universally defined. OD consultants often work with managers (and others), so they are management consultants. Their work often results in improved management systems and methods, as well as other changes. But there are many management consultants, business consultants, and others, whose orientation and methods are very different from ones used in OD. They use a “doctor-patient” approach, in which the client tells them what the problem is, and the consultant performs some kind of analysis, delivers recommendations, and leaves. OD uses a “process consulting” approach, in which we join with members of the client organization to define the goals of the work, and then we guide a participative sequence, including joint data-gathering, problem-solving, action-planning, implementation, and assessment of the project. “We don’t just feed the hungry–we also teach people how to grow their own food.
