This is a list of key questions to ask an OD client before, during and after an intervention. It is a work in progress, so if you have a great question to add, please let me know.

1. Eric Sanders, MA, MBA, CPLP
585 W. Lorraine Avenue, Elmhurst, Illinois 60126-1820
(630) 290-8097, eric.sanders@ODeconomist.com
Our clients measure their own performance in terms of output, speed, quality and/or cost.
What should we ask them to tie organization development to those measures?
TOP TEN QUESTIONS TO SHOW THE VALUE OF OD
Before the Project/Intervention/Change
1. What does success look like?
a. Imagine it’s a year from now and we’re wildly successful. What do you see?
2. What is the driving need for improvement?
a. What keeps you awake at night? What gets you up in the morning?
3. What’s the cost of staying the same?
4. What projects/interventions/changes have worked (or failed) in the past?
5. What accelerators and what barriers/resistance to this change do you anticipate?
6. Who will be involved as participants, managers and sponsors?
7. What business & soft measures are you tracking, and how do I get access to them?
8. What incremental improvements (value adds) would you like to see, and when?
9. What are your expectations (of the outcomes within different time frames)?
10. How is your personal performance being measured?
a. In other words: How can I make you look good?
During the Project/Intervention/Change
1. What does success look like now? (It has probably changed.)
2. Now that we know more, how have your expectations changed?
3. Are we on track?
4. What tangible result(s) can you identify from our work so far?
5. What anecdotal stories are you hearing? (What’s the word on the street?)
6. What new variables are in play, now that we know more?
7. What unanticipated obstacles/benefits/opportunities have cropped up?
8. Who else should be involved?
9. What should I/we start, stop, continue doing?
10. Do the data still support continuing the project?
After the Project/Intervention/Change
1. What does success look like now? (It probably has changed further.)
2. How has your organization changed as a result?
3. What are the initial “soft” measurements of the intervention?
4. What are the initial changes in agreed-upon business metrics?
5. Did we meet the agreed-upon objectives?
6. Were there any unanticipated changes in other business results?
7. What other factors can account for the changes achieved?
a. Share credit when possible and appropriate.
8. What do you need in order to sustain the results?
9. What should I/we start, stop, continue doing to sustain the results?
10. What’s next?
Revised 9/2010