Comments on: Organizational Life Cycles

By: ronedmondson

ronedmondson — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 03:09:11 +0000

I agree. Good reminder.

By: alszambrano

alszambrano — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 19:31:25 +0000

We discussed Org lifecycles frequently in school. While its a fascinating topic, and informative to a point we have to avoid the temptation to rely so heavily upon them we forsake good, healthy business practices. Its tempting to hit the late adolescent or maturity stage and coast along declaring that "we are mature" and not continue to stay up to date.

I've also found its sometimes difficult to pigeonhole an organization into one particular stage of the life cycle. I've seen organizations that in some ways are very mature (maybe in programming) but they have very immature systems and practices. Or maybe an old program functioning in a stable and growing adolescent phase while an brand new program is functioning in infancy.

Remembering this is a helpful tool and not the be-all,end-all textbook on organizational function and management is important when examining the your organization from a life cycle standpoint.

By: ronedmondson

ronedmondson — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:06:18 +0000

Thanks for sharing. Not familiar with it.

By: Dr. Tom Cocklereece

Dr. Tom Cocklereece — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 19:47:24 +0000

There is a great biz book that looks at the total life cycle but its focus is the "Renewal" step. I think it's called "Jumping the S-Curve." Good article!

By: ronedmondson

ronedmondson — Thu, 27 May 2010 15:13:38 +0000

Thanks for sharing. I'm sure several, including me, need to check this out.

By: Dan-Leadership Freak

Dan-Leadership Freak — Thu, 27 May 2010 11:41:16 +0000

Ron,

Thanks for your post. I'll add a resources for your readers that helps me understand, predict, and manage organizational life cycles. "Managing Transitions" by William and Susan Bridges.

Thanks for your work,

Dan Rockwell
Leadership Freak

By: The Value of Unstructured Growth/When Growth Outpaces Structure @ Ron Edmondson

The Value of Unstructured Growth/When Growth Outpaces Structure @ Ron Edmondson — Thu, 27 May 2010 11:15:36 +0000

[...] however, that doing so may limit future growth. We are adding more structure (I wrote about that HERE previously), but we will also continue to allow unstructured growth to [...]

By: Ben Reed

Ben Reed — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:42:18 +0000

It's always helpful for me to think through where we are as a church in this life cycle, and to plan accordingly for future growth. Thanks for the post, Ron. .-= Ben Reed´s last blog ..Reactive or Proactive? =-.

By: Dustin Huibregtse

Dustin Huibregtse — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:27:44 +0000

Hey Ron, Thank you for this article. It is very useful for looking at student organizations as well and use it as a sort of measurement to see where a stud org is and where they are going. Definitely will be using in the future! .-= Dustin Huibregtse´s last blog ..FYI: 10 Powerpoint Tips for Preparing a Professional Presentation =-.