קווין מרי, פינת דקארי

עזבתי את מונטריאול לפני 55 שנה, אך איני מצליח להוציא מראשי את קווין מרי, הפינה של דקארי. ואני אסיר תודה על כך.

בפינה הצפון-מערבית של הצומת הזה עמד הקיוסק שבו נהגה ננה סיידי לקנות את העיתונים האמריקאיים שלה, שכללו את ה”דיילי מירור”. מעולם לא שאלתי את סבתי הקטנה והקשישה, שנולדה במונטריאול וידיה היו מעוותות מדלקת מפרקים, מדוע קראה רק עיתונים מניו יורק. זה נותר תעלומה בעיניי.

באותה פינה ממש הייתה גם המסעדה של מיס סנודן, שבה ננה הייתה לוקחת אותי לארוחת צהריים. המנה האהובה עליי הייתה כבד עם פירה. הייתי מזמין בצרפתית, וננה, שכישורי השפה שלה היו אפסיים, תמיד אמרה לי שהיא גאה בי. “אני מתביישת מאוד שאני לא יודעת לדבר צרפתית”, היא הייתה אומרת לעיתים קרובות. “אבל גם אם הייתי מנסה – לא הייתי מצליחה ללמוד”.

מעבר לפינה הייתה חנות השוקולד, לורה סיקורד. אבא שלי סיפר לי אלף פעמים שלורה הייתה “שונאת יהודים מטורפת”. ננה הסכימה ואמרה שלמרות זאת, לורה סיקורד היא “השוקולד הכי טוב בעיר”. היא הייתה מזמינה כמה שקיות קטנות של ממתקים, כולל פקאנים מצופים בשוקולד.

בפינה הדרום-מערבית של דקארי וקווין מרי הייתה חנות תכשיטים בשם הוּל (Houle). זו הייתה חנות קטנה עם סחורה יקרה. סבתא שלי הייתה נוהגת להביט בחלון הראווה שם. כנראה שלא רק להביט – כי פעם אחת מונסייה הוּל בירך את ננה במילים: “בונז’ור מאדאם שוורץ, קומוֹ סָה וָה?”

חנות הבגדים של מוֹלִין הייתה בפינה הדרום-מזרחית של דקארי וקווין מרי. מוֹלִין הייתה שייכת לפיי זאק פורמן ליברמן, סבתי השנייה האהובה, הבריטית. חנות מוֹלִין נשדדה, וננה פיי איבדה הכול; הביטוח שלה פג שבוע לפני הגניבה. מאז הפכה להיות תלויה כלכלית בבנותיה, מה שלא הפריע לה לחיות כמעט עד גיל 100, תבורך נשמתה. עד היום אני יודע לחקות מבטא בריטי באופן מושלם.

בפינה הצפון-מזרחית של דקארי גרו פפה הארי וננה פיי – כלומר, חיו באותו דירה. לומר שהם “חיו יחד” זו הגזמה, ואפילו גדולה. פפה הארי נפטר כשהייתי בן 6, אבל אני זוכר את הדירה שלהם היטב. אני גם זוכר את גברת פוסטר, שגרה מול ננה פיי ופפה הארי. היא בטח הייתה בת יותר ממאה. ננה פיי תמיד קראה לה “הזקנה פוסטר”.

בסביבת הצומת של ריין מארי ודקארי היו ה”האוס אוף וונג”, חנות של מורי הפטס, רייטמן ו-וולוורת’ס.

התחבורה הציבורית של מונטריאול (MTC, היום CTM) הפעילה קווים רבים שעברו דרך הצומת הזה: קו 48 לסנט ז’ק (סנט ג’יימס); קו 17 לקרטיירוויל; קו 65 למרכז העיר מונטריאול; קו 19 לשכונת המפסטד. וגם קו 66. ועוד אחרים.

רופא השיניים שלי, ד”ר ווסברג, גם היה לו משרד באזור הזה, ממש ליד מיס סנודן. מגיל 8 הייתי הולך לשם לבד, נוסע בקווים 116 ו-17, עם החלפה בתחנת גארלנד. היו שני רופאי שיניים בשם ווסברג: קלרנס ופרד. פרד היה רופא השיניים שלי.

כן, פרד היה רופא השיניים שלי; פיי וסיידי היו הסבתות שלי, ועד 1970 מונטריאול הייתה העיר היפה שלי, שבעיניי עודנה תופסת מקום מיוחד בזיכרונותיי.

I left Montreal 55 years ago yet I cannot get Queen Mary, the corner of Decarie, out of mind. And I am very grateful for that.

On the North West corner of this junction stood the kiosk where Nana Sadie used to buy her American “papers”, which included the Daily Mirror. I never asked my petite elderly Montreal-born grandma, her hands gnarled by arthritis, why she only read newspapers from NYC. It remains a mystery to me.

On that same corner was Miss Snowden, the diner where Nana took me for lunch. My favorite dish was liver and mashed potatoes. I would order in French and Nana, whose language skills were zilch, told me she was so proud of me. “I’m very ashamed that I cannot speak French”, she often told me. “But I couldn’t learn even if I tried”.

Around the corner was the chocolate store, Laura Secord. My Dad had told me a thousand times that Laura was “a rabid anti-Semite”. Nana agreed and told me that Laura Secord is, nevertheless, the  “VERY best chocolate in town”. She would order a few small bags of goodies, including pecans covered with chocolate.

On the South West Corner of Decarie and Queen Marie was a jeweler (bijouterie) named Houle. It was a small store with expensive merchandise. My grandmother used to go window shopping there. Not only window shopping, apparently because one time, Monsieur Houle greeted Nana with, “bonjour Madame Schwartz, comment ca va?”

Moleen’s dress shop was on the South East corner of Decarie and Queen Mary. Moleen’s was owed by Fay Zack Foreman Liverman, my dear other grandmother, the British one. Moleen’s was robbed and Nana Fay lost everything; her insurance had expired one week before the theft. After that, she became financially dependent on her daughters, which did not interfere with her living to almost 100, bless her soul. To this day, I can imitate a British accent perfectly.

On the North East corner of Decarie, Papa Harry and Nana Fay lived, ie, lived in the same apartment. To say that they lived together is a stretch of the imagination, a big stretch to be honest. Papa Harry died when I was 6 but I remember their apartment pretty well. I also remember Mrs Foster, who lived opposite Nana Fay and Papa Harry. She must have been over one hundred. Nana Fay always called her “old Mrs Foster”.

In the vicinity of the Reign Marie et Decarie junction were The House of Wong, Morrie Hefts, Reitman and Woolworths.

The MTC (now called STM) had many buses passing thru this junction. The 48 to St Jacques (St James); the 17 to Cartierville; the 65 to downtown Montreal and the 19 serving Hampstead. And the 66. And others.

My dentist, Dr Vosberg also had his office in this area, right next to Miss Snowden. From the age of 8, I used to go there on my own, taking the 116 and 17, with a change at Garland station. There were two Vosberg dentists: Clarence and Fred. Fred was my dentist. He died only recently.

Yes, Fred was my dentist; Fay and Sadie were my grandmothers, and until 1970, Montreal was my home, a beautiful and elegant city, which I hold  in a special place in my memories to this day.

Lately, I’ve been immersed in the work of Philippe Bourgois, particularly his research on homeless heroin addicts. This is a natural continuation of my long-standing sociological and political interest in marginalized groups: the downtrodden, residents of housing projects, street gangs, mobsters, and petty criminals. My journey began years ago with Street Corner Society and Tally’s Corner, and Bourgois’ work is a powerful addition to this lineage.

Bourgois exposes fundamental flaws in public policy regarding the treatment of homeless heroin users. He critiques how the system handles everything from recurring abscesses to the misplaced obsession with preventing bloodborne diseases via shared needle use. His central argument is striking: these individuals need ongoing treatment—not cures.

He illustrates the futility of interventions aimed at ending needle sharing, for example, within a culture where sharing—and betrayal—are deeply intertwined. It’s not just addiction; it’s a social world with its own logic, codes, and contradictions.

In contrast to the profound dysfunction Bourgois describes among homeless heroin users, most organizations are not completely broken. Yes, a few may resemble the “deep pits of hell” he portrays, but most are not entirely dysfunctional. Still, all organizations carry some degree of incurable pathology.

These include chronic political infighting, ceremonial status shaming, bureaucratic numbness, narcissistic leadership, and more. Organizational Development (OD) professionals too often approach these issues with an air of misplaced certainty—as if they can be “cured” with the right tool or framework. This is misguided. Coping better? Yes. Solving or eradicating them? No. These pathologies are, by and large, permanent features of collective human endeavor.

Why? Because organizations are, at their core, groups of people coming together to get something done. This dependency naturally breeds anxiety, which manifests as dysfunction. The messiness—conflicts, inefficiencies, and political undercurrents—is the sawdust of collaboration.

At 76, I doubt many are eager to read long reflections like these—especially in an era of Gemini and ChatGPT, with their sleek, bite-sized wisdom. But if you’ve made it this far, here’s my core message:

Don’t try to “fix” organizational pathology. Focus on mitigating it.

This approach has guided my work for over 45 years and has served clients well. No new fad, framework, or tech revolution changes this truth.

Missile alarm- “again? won’t this ever end-continue watching TV and watering my plants”.
Missile alarm 2- this sounds serious, maybe I will check out what’s going on in the shelter. ok-I know. 3/4 of the building, kids playing and screaming, hot as witches’ tit and everyone looking at their cellphone. Going back upstairs.
Missile alarm 3 (middle of the night)- fuck them, I am going back to sleep.
Missile alarm 4 to 9- See #3
Next day-shooting pains in my gums, but not in the same area. Twitch in lips. Very bad itchy back. No “palpable” fear.
Missile alarm 10-in the shelter, daytime. Jesus H Christ, I wonder if the building fell. That was close.
Missile alarm 11-in shelter. “this ain’t no joke”. Still no fear but noise sensitivity developing.
Missile alarm 12-11pm. I am lying in bed. Horrendous fear; shaking from anxiety. It lasts 3-5 seconds, and then, off to sleep. Poor sleep. 3 hours. I am SO fucking tired.
For the rest of the war I am not fearful, just very tired and sensitive to noise. No patience. Anger easily.
It’s over. Itchy back for two more days. My dermatologist (Boaz) says that emotions can make scar tissue sensitive. (from BCC removal)
Then, finally, it’s all over. 9 hours of sleep.
Another beautiful day.

It is not easy to “catch up” on sleep during the day; the phrase “catching up”, if you ask me, does not apply to sleep.

And believe me, I wish it was possible.

Most nights, the following routine applies. Your phone emits a series of screeches warning you that within minutes that sirens will sound in your area. Alas, that is what happens, generally 5 to 10 minutes after the telephone heads up.
Then, you can either go to the shelter, or, stay put.

A few minutes later (7 to 10 minutes), massive booms are heard. These booms are either Iranian missles landing or Iron Dome/David’s Arrow taking the missiles out.
There are no words which can describe the noise. Ten minutes of waiting after which it is safe to leave the shelter. (I no longer go the shelter in the middle of the night.)
All this happens two or three times at night-at about 10 pm, 3 am and 5 am.
Today at 4pm, we had to enter the shelter at 4PM. Everyone looked gutted.
The main complaints in the shelter include poor wifi, weak fans, noise that children make, and sarcastic comments like “are we winning”?

I am an avid reader-but I cannot read in the last few days. However, my house is very clean. My closet is orderly. Everything is, “fix-fox”-in perfect order. I even ironed the shirts that I had made for me in Uganda.

My 16 year old dog, George,  is senile, so he walks very slowly, and often in circles. But he loves to eat and smell leaves. So, he gets about 6-7 outings a day. Or maybe, he is walking me.

I have relatives whose kids are in the service. They are nervous wrecks. Every incoming phone call, every knock on the door triggers fear.

As opposed to situations in the past, no one that I know questions the necessity of what is being done; left, right, centre, secular, religious, Jews, Arabs-wall to wall support for defanging Iran – albeit for very different reasons. Even the Turks support Israel, so that they can take an even bigger bite out of Syria. The most amazing part of this all is that the Jordanian air force downs missiles headed to Israel, Israeli jets fly to Iran over Syria and Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy in Lebanon, hasn’t even thrown a stone at us.

We are witnessing a total transformation of the middle east.

I just hope that this ends soon.

I need to get back to the gym.

A Boy Named Sue by the great unforgettable Johnny Cash  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z1Ple-qYuU&list=RD-Z1Ple-qYuU&start_radio=1&ab_channel=JohnnyCash-Topic

In Camus’ classic, L’Etranger (The Stranger), the hero Meursault encounters Salamano coming down the stairs with a dog, and remarks that the dog and his neighbour Salamano have come to look alike.

So much for the metaphor; when a consultant and an organization work together on change, not only does the consultant enable change for the client, the consultant himself undergoes a process of change. This is by and large a very positive phenomenon by which mutual adaptation occurs-augmenting trust.

Here are a few ways that clients have changed me over the years. One client taught me never to discuss ‘too much pressure’ because in this profession, if you cannot take heat, you cannot work in a kitchen. Once I learnt to work around that, my work was successful.

Another client taught me that install-plan-re-install-plan again-and fix was the only business cycle possible. Until I learnt this, I was almost fired. Once I learnt it, I stayed with that client for 15, driving huge change.

And finally, a client taught me that there is no such thing as a merger, just an acquisition. This lesson served me very well and over my long career, I have consulted 14 major acquisitions; and not one merger.

There are other changes as well. The consultant learn the client’s vocabulary (challenging=impossible), slang and informal mores. If language influences behaviour as Jacques Lacan claims, certainly the client’s “patois” (dialect) permeates the consultants’ perception of reality.

If a consultant is not changed by an organization, the danger is that too much background noise will develop, hindering the ability to foster the type of relationship that enables change. So, do not fight it. Leverage your client driven transformation to drive change. That is what the profession is all about-and it works in both directions.

1. Meetings have a bad rap, and the truth is that meetings are a good way to share information, foster cohesion, mitigate conflicts, air differences and deal with areas of overlapping responsibility. Yes, meetings are tedious at times and stray off topic but, meetings certainly beat long email threads. Don’t worry that people moan and groan about “another meeting”. They groan about rain as well.
2. People don’t read, they skim. Not because they are tired or overworked, but because of an outbreak of attention disorder due to excessive use of smartphones. If you cannot be brief, you don’t exist.
3. People complain about how hard they work, and how they are all “in a rush”. However, while people spend a lot of time at work, often they are surfing, texting, or playing busy. Almost everyone can do more work than they are actually doing.
4. Not all outputs at work are measurable. And assisting someone else to “score” can be more valuable than achieving your own pre-defined goal.
5. The more that roles, responsibilities and processes are defined, the more things will fall between the cracks and bucks will be passed. It is impossible to define away complexity.
6. All organizations are extremely political. Politics, the use of persuasion and power, can be used to further the goals of an organization, or to enhance personal power within an organization. So there is good politics and bad politics; there is never “too much” politics.

Veteran Canadian broadcaster Howard Schwartz interviews me on the strategy and tactics of the on-going effort to downsize the American civil service.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/58p8x341zrhfr4a4vy924/An-axe-not-a-scalpel-Podcast-04-25.mp3?rlkey=m4e30guo4c6e9jejefhkgcbqm&st=c1ebga72&dl=0

1. Clients who don’t understand what OD is may want to know what the deliverables are up front before they sign the consulting contract.
2. OD consultants box themselves into a corner if they acquiesce and define measurable outcomes up front.
3. Clients who want detailed proposals are painting themselves, and the consultant into the corner of possible irrelevance.
4. What should the client do if there are no results whatsoever and they feel they are treading on water?

Let’s see how to deal with these issues.

1. Organizational Development does lead to concrete positive changes. Some of these changes happen unexpectedly; some can be planned. Many cannot be planned. “That’s the way it is”. The most meaningful changes happen incrementally, not in “one fell swoop”. Deliverables imply a concrete happening. Change which is set free by OD is a slow, palpable difference is the way things are done which cannot be well defined up front. It can be very partially defined with wide strokes, if needed, but not “set in stone”. Outcomes should be reviewed and revised at least once every two months. I recalibrate outcomes monthly.
2. OD is not measurable. Many things are not measurable, not only OD. Many things that can be measured are meaningless. If you want to hire an OD consultant who is ready to have you measure outcomes? You will hire a 3^rd rate consultant.
3. OD is not a software platform with a clear SOW (scope of work). The more that a proposal goes into fine details, the more likely it is that the proposal will NOT serve as an enabler, but rather as a hindrance with enables the needed flexibility to achieve results.
4. If this is the case, the match between the client and the consultant needs to end. Not every consultant can work with every client. As in all relationships, chemistry is critical.