Philip McArthur is a partner and cofounder of Action Design, a firm that specializes in educating leaders and agents of organizational learning and change. For over twenty years, Phil has helped senior executives get results by building effective teams, collaborating productively across organizational boundaries, transforming difficult relationships, and implementing change. In addition to executive coaching, facilitating executive retreats, and consulting on organizational change, he conducts professional development workshops on creating productive conversations and building effective relationships in organizations. He has taught executive education programs for Boston College, Columbia University, and Stanford University. His clients include non-profit organizations as well as companies in a broad range of industries including pharmaceuticals, financial services, information technology, manufacturing and consulting.

Phil earned his masters and doctorate in Counseling and Consulting Psychology from Harvard University, and was trained as a family therapist at the Family Institute of Cambridge. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with his wife and two sons. He can be reached at phil@actiondesign.com

Robert W. Putnam is a partner and cofounder of Action Design. He works with senior executives to develop effective leadership groups, facilitates conversations across organizational boundaries, and consults on organizational change. He also conducts executive education and professional development workshops for leaders and agents of organizational learning and change. He has worked with leading companies in a broad range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, financial services, information technology, medical devices, and consulting.

Bob is a co-developer of action science, an approach to inquiry that emphasizes knowledge for action. He does intervention research on professional practice and organizational change. Bob is co-author of the book Action Science with Chris Argyris and Diana McLain Smith.  He has written a number of articles on reflective conversation, action science, and organizational learning.

Bob earned his doctorate in Counseling and Consulting Psychology from Harvard University.  He holds a degree in Political Science from Syracuse University and was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow in Political Science.  Before beginning his doctoral studies he was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica and worked with a nontraditional human services organization in Boston. Bob lives in Newton, MA with his wife and son. He can be reached at bob@actiondesign.com.
 

Diana McLain Smith is a founding partner of Action Design and a partner at the Monitor Group, a global consulting firm. For the past 25 years she has studied and advised leaders and their teams on how to build relationships strong enough to master their toughest challenges. Her research-based intervention approach zeroes in on the human dynamics of strategic choice and change in organizations. Drawing on a background in family therapy, organizational change, and policy disputes, Diana has a proven track record helping executives use their differences to advance, rather than stall, intelligent progress on their most difficult issues.

Throughout her career, Diana has written about teams and intervention. Her new book, Divide or Conquer: How Great Teams Turn Conflict into Strength draws on over 25 years of research to show how relationships make or break the success of leaders and their teams.

Diana received her masters and doctoral degrees from Harvard University. While there, she worked closely with Chris Argyris and Don Schon, who chaired her thesis. Prior to graduate school, Diana was trained as a family therapist by one of the field's most influential founders, David Kantor, with whom she still collaborates. She has also worked closely with Peter Senge on questions related to organizational learning and with the Harvard Negotiation Project on questions related to consensus-building in organizations.  She is the co-author of the book, Action Science, with Chris Argyris and Bob Putnam and of numerous articles and white papers.  (publications)