Those who make a difference: developing businesses through developing individuals

The success of organisational development processes ultimately rests on individual action. A recent research study supports the argument that individual development should be the starting point for organisational development. The article takes the premiss that organisational reality is anything but rational and ordered, rather it is a world dominated by self‐interest, competing coalitions and conflicting goals. The ability to make a significant difference in this environment depends on the development of key individual meta‐abilities, those underlying learned abilities which inform effective management behaviour. Organisational development takes the form of “pockets of good practice” created by individual initiatives which serve as models for others in the organisation.