Today in class, we had the pleasure of listening to Zoe Klopf Switzer speak. Zoe is an Organization Development Consultant and spoke to us about general organization patterns and how she approaches her clients. Her work seems fascinating, and I'd like to share some of the knowledge I gained today. A little background about Zoe... Zoe's Biography Zoe has been a facilitator and instructional designer with ImprovEdge for the past six years. She has a Master’s Degree in organization development from Bowling Green State University, and has been working in the field, with particular focus in the retail industry and non-profit business sector, for the past 11 years. She specializes in designing and facilitating learning experiences, meetings and interventions that drive transformational learning in individuals, teams and organizations. She resides in Columbus, Ohio with her husband and two children. via: (http://www.improvedge.com/ensemble/) Connecting to a previous blog post about for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, Zoe discussed her take on different types of organizations and their structures based on her experiences. Explored on her chart attached at the bottom of this blog, she has worked for for-profits, not-for-profits and government organizations and has found some generalities. These points she makes are interesting because they look at a new perspective and way to approach organizations. Consultants like Zoe seem to be a new method in organizational development. In fact, collaborations between organizations and "management consultants may be an important means" through which companies continue to learn and develop (Massey). A consultant like Zoe can be extremely beneficial in giving organizations a 'pair of fresh eyes', so to say. For example, when I interned at the Ridgeview Foundation last summer, the staff there had me learn their organizational processes and while participating in them, see if there were any parts that I saw opportunity for change in. One interesting thing to take away from Zoe's presentation is her focus on "Results, Process's, and Relationships" (Klopf Switzer ). She discussed how when evaluating an organization, she evaluates them by these elements. She said that the best organizations, according to her standards, are those that are, "ruthless with tasks, but patience with people" (Klopf Switzer ). Overall, all of Switzer's ideas are crucial to the future of organizations. In an ever changing environment, organization development is the portal through which "organisations are able to transform themselves through planned change" (Massey). My favorite thing I learned from Klopf Switzer was her idea of belonging. When she talks over the "relationship" idea, she discusses how relationships make a good work environment; how respectful relationships are the key to people wanting to come to work in the morning. Additionally, when evaluating organizations that need help in the relationship area, she uses the idea of how organizations can productively, "shift [their] conversations from the problems of the community to the possibilities of the community" (Block). Reflection Personally, I think what Zoe does is awesome and something I would really like to do. I find the idea of evaluating relationships and dynamics of an organization fascinating and think that I could be successful in evaluating and providing new ideas. Zoe was very inspirational and it was exciting to 'meet' someone who has made a successful career out of this! Block, Peter . The Structure of Belonging . San Francisco : Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2008. Web. Klopf Switzer, Zoe . "Observations from Consulting to For-Profit, Not-for-Profit, and Government Organizations." Marquette University. Skype, Milwaukee. 23 April 2012 . Speech. Massey , Claire . "Aiming for organisational learning: consultants as agents of change." Learning Organization . 6.1 (1999): n. page. Print. 
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