Organizational Health

DR. ICHAK ADIZES pulls together more than 40 years of experience and knowledge in organizational consulting to give us a simple overview of what is needed to create and maintain a healthy organization that can weather the ups and downs of any marketplace.

- DR. ICHAK ADIZES

This is the beginning of my forthcoming book on the theory and practice of organizational therapy. First, it will present a definition of organizational health. Then, what makes it sick, and which of the dysfunctionalities are normal, abnormal, or critical, and why. Next, it will discuss how to treat the dysfunctionalities or organizational maladies contingent on where the organization is on the life cycle.

It is all based on my work in the field and my observations and clinical work in developing the theory and applying it in practice. It was tested in almost every industry, in over 52 countries, and in organizations from start-ups to Fortune 100s. Adizes-certified associates validated that the theory and practice are transferable and achieve the same results I would have achieved if I had done the work. It is thus a scientifically proven methodology to heal organizations and bring them to their peak performance (see Adizes.com for testimonials).

In this piece, I define what I understand is a healthy system. The principles presented here apply to different types of organizations, for and notfor-profit, public, private, or government, and it applies to families or countries as well.

Defining health

A healthy organization is symbergetic, both symbiotic and synergetic.

Symbiotic means that the components that comprise the organization have a mutually beneficial interdependency. For that to happen, there must be mutual trust that each contributing element believes, has faith, and trusts that there is a common interest and that it will eventually benefit from the interdependency to which it contributed.