Where:  Hamburger University, McDonald's, 2915 Jorie Blvd, Oak Brook, IL - Directions
Agenda:  6:30 - Social and networking; 7 pm - Meeting begins
Cost:  Free to members, $15 to nonmembers
RSVP essential (even if you only think you MIGHT come)-see below:  Please call (773) 561-4919 or email odnchicago@aol.com

Topic:  Innovation You Can Depend On
Panelists:  Jorge RufatLatre (Strategos), Joan Rainsford (Human Capital Management)

Clients of organization development are often looking for optimization. Cost-cutting programs in re-engineering, restructuring, six-sigma, outsourcing and downsizing, enhanced capital utilization, reduced overhead and e-procurement all help a company cut costs and raise profits on flat revenue. Efficiency is important; over the short term profits can rise. But, revenue has to grow over the long term in order to gain meaningful improvement.

Revenue growth comes at a cost, too. In mature industries the price of growth frequently exceeds the revenue gained. As sales grown, earnings can and often do drop. In a non-profit example, the March of Dimes has had to reinvent its purpose several times as it has achieved its goals such as ending polio. When an organization’s business model has lost its impact, that is when the other side of the equation desperately needs to come into play. Innovation is the other polarity of optimization. If both sides of the polarity are well managed, the model stays alive, effective and flexible to its environment.

Our guests from Strategos focus on assisting organizations to stimulate and sustain innovation and the value of human imagination within mature organizations. Strategos is the brainchild of Gary Hamel, visiting professor at the London Business School. In 1994 Hamel co-wrote with C. K. Prahalad Competing for the Future, one of the 1990’s most influential business books. His 2002-2002 book is, Leading the Revolution: How to Thrive in Turbulent Times by Making Innovation a Way of Life, straddles the end of the technology bubble. It addresses the necessity for non-linear change.

In an interactive session our guests from Strategos will explore with us opportunities to assist our clients to expand and ground meaningful innovative thinking much more widely in their organizations. 

Jorge RufatLatre is a partner at Strategos, which has offices in Chicago, San Francisco and London. He involves the whole organization in strategy innovation to achieve competitive advantage for its clients. He has led teams to create innovation systems and develop new businesses at many Global 1000 companies, including Shell, Whirlpool, Kraft, and General Motors.

He led and supported several programs with the Dallas Citizens’ Council and the City of Dallas to align business, civic, and religious leaders in addressing city issues. He worked with an alliance of over 1,200 churches on increasing church effectiveness. He led long-term leadership programs involving administrators, teachers, and students with the Texas Commissioner of Education and several school districts in the state.

Jorge was director of the Center for Computer Research of Montréal (CRIM) and a member of the Franco-Canadian Scientific Research Project Selection Committee. The first half of his career took place at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, where he was involved in the shift from mainframes to distributed systems at Mission Control. He led research and development teams in artificial intelligence projects. He designed and developed simulations for astronaut training.

Jorge holds a Master of Science in management from the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Peter Senge was his thesis director. He also holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology and a Diplôme d´Ingénieur Génie Electrique (BS Electrical Engineering) from the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon, France. He has presented numerous papers at conferences sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the International System Dynamics Society. He speaks and writes in English, French, and Spanish fluently, and enjoys flying himself around in tiny airplanes immensely.

Joan Rainsford is Founder and Principal of Human Capital Management. HCM is dedicated to designing and implementing people and organizational capabilities to grow small and medium-sized businesses. In addition, she is a Network Partner to Strategos.

Joan has over twenty years of human resource experience with Fortune 50 companies such as The Quaker Oats Company and The Coca-Cola Company. She has significant international human resource experience and has played a major leadership role positioning the businesses she has supported for long-term growth. Her areas of expertise include change management, process design and reengineering, organization effectiveness, employee relations and strategic planning.

Joan holds a Master of Science in Industrial Relations from Loyola University. Her thesis focused on Cultural Change. In her spare time, Joan is a devoted mother of two delightful little girls. She is a native Chicagoan and enjoys the city immensely. To keep maintain her energy and her sanity, Joan enjoys cycling and kick-boxing.

RSVP:  Please call (773) 561-4919 or email odnchicago@aol.com.  If you're even thinking of coming or bringing people, send your names to odnchicago@aol.com as soon as possible

ODNChicago June Downtown Chicago Meeting
Thursday, July 24, 2003

Where:  Harris Bank, 111. W. Monroe, 20th Floor, (20C), Chicago
Agenda:  6 to 7 pm, Open Space; 7 to 9 pm, Program
Cost:  Free to members, $15 for Nonmembers
RSVP:  Unnecessary

Topic:  Innovation You Can Depend On (Repeat of Suburban program)
Panelists:  Jorge RufatLatre (Strategos), Joan Rainsford (Human Capital Management)

Clients of organization development are often looking for optimization. Cost-cutting programs in re-engineering, restructuring, six-sigma, outsourcing and downsizing, enhanced capital utilization, reduced overhead and e-procurement all help a company cut costs and raise profits on flat revenue. Efficiency is important; over the short term profits can rise. But, revenue has to grow over the long term in order to gain meaningful improvement.

Revenue growth comes at a cost, too. In mature industries the price of growth frequently exceeds the revenue gained. As sales grown, earnings can and often do drop. In a non-profit example, the March of Dimes has had to reinvent its purpose several times as it has achieved its goals such as ending polio. When an organization’s business model has lost its impact, that is when the other side of the equation desperately needs to come into play. Innovation is the other polarity of optimization. If both sides of the polarity are well managed, the model stays alive, effective and flexible to its environment.

Our guests from Strategos focus on assisting organizations to stimulate and sustain innovation and the value of human imagination within mature organizations. Strategos is the brainchild of Gary Hamel, visiting professor at the London Business School. In 1994 Hamel co-wrote with C. K. Prahalad Competing for the Future, one of the 1990’s most influential business books. His 2002-2002 book is, Leading the Revolution: How to Thrive in Turbulent Times by Making Innovation a Way of Life, straddles the end of the technology bubble. It addresses the necessity for non-linear change.

In an interactive session our guests from Strategos will explore with us opportunities to assist our clients to expand and ground meaningful innovative thinking much more widely in their organizations. 

Jorge RufatLatre is a partner at Strategos, which has offices in Chicago, San Francisco and London. He involves the whole organization in strategy innovation to achieve competitive advantage for its clients. He has led teams to create innovation systems and develop new businesses at many Global 1000 companies, including Shell, Whirlpool, Kraft, and General Motors.

He led and supported several programs with the Dallas Citizens’ Council and the City of Dallas to align business, civic, and religious leaders in addressing city issues. He worked with an alliance of over 1,200 churches on increasing church effectiveness. He led long-term leadership programs involving administrators, teachers, and students with the Texas Commissioner of Education and several school districts in the state.

Jorge was director of the Center for Computer Research of Montréal (CRIM) and a member of the Franco-Canadian Scientific Research Project Selection Committee. The first half of his career took place at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, where he was involved in the shift from mainframes to distributed systems at Mission Control. He led research and development teams in artificial intelligence projects. He designed and developed simulations for astronaut training.

Jorge holds a Master of Science in management from the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Peter Senge was his thesis director. He also holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology and a Diplôme d´Ingénieur Génie Electrique (BS Electrical Engineering) from the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon, France. He has presented numerous papers at conferences sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the International System Dynamics Society. He speaks and writes in English, French, and Spanish fluently, and enjoys flying himself around in tiny airplanes immensely.

Joan Rainsford is Founder and Principal of Human Capital Management. HCM is dedicated to designing and implementing people and organizational capabilities to grow small and medium-sized businesses. In addition, she is a Network Partner to Strategos.

Joan has over twenty years of human resource experience with Fortune 50 companies such as The Quaker Oats Company and The Coca-Cola Company. She has significant international human resource experience and has played a major leadership role positioning the businesses she has supported for long-term growth. Her areas of expertise include change management, process design and reengineering, organization effectiveness, employee relations and strategic planning.

Joan holds a Master of Science in Industrial Relations from Loyola University. Her thesis focused on Cultural Change. In her spare time, Joan is a devoted mother of two delightful little girls. She is a native Chicagoan and enjoys the city immensely. To keep maintain her energy and her sanity, Joan enjoys cycling and kick-boxing.