Before Mal's colleagues saw how effective he is at implementing change in large enterprises, they used to tease him about his "folklore approach." His ethnographic training makes him sensitive to how people think — why or how differences matter, the value of differences, and how things actually get done. So, when implementing strategy he is able to design projects that harness the unspoken attitudes of employees and managers, sweeping people into the process and avoiding unnecessary resistance.

Mal also studies play in the workplace or "playful work." Through this experience he is able to create transitional space "where the rules are changed and people feel free to let loose their true talents." The result for a client: a way to encourage greater creativity in the service of productivity. In the consultant/client teams Mal leads, people are able to harmonize their skills to produce results.

Skills/Knowledge/Abilities

• Organizational Development - Builds capabilities that support strategic directions
• Strategy with Top Teams - Works with leaders and their teams to set direction
• Initiative Design - Knows how to pull together people and resources to support change efforts

Recent Projects

• For a multi-billion-dollar market leader in insurance and financial services, led teams that conducted multiple, long-term projects to improve distribution systems.
• For a large, private foundation, led a systemic effort to change the way state and local government manage adoption and foster-care programs. Improved efficiency of many organizations and introduced innovative techniques for managing change in government agencies.
• For a closely held manufacturing company, worked with the family in succession planning, long-term strategy and organizational development.

Professional Facts

Ph.D. in Folklore, University of Pennsylvania

Faculty member, Program in Organizational Consultation, The William Alanson White Institute, New York

American Folklore Society Long-range Planning Committee

International Society for the Psychoanalytical Study of Organizations

Selected Writing

"Managing Strategic Policy Initiatives."
(with D. Stark) 1994. Building Support for Innovation Inside Child Welfare Agencies. 1999.

"A Working Life" and "Patterns of Change,"
films screened at the Museum of Modern Art, and the New York Festival of Independent Film and Video.