| The founders of the Meridian Group, Barry Phegan and Royal Foote, met in 1973. They had returned to graduate school after separate & successful professional & management careers. Their desire to understand more about the people side of org's brought them together. This common interest led to an enduring friendship & in 1976 they founded a consulting partnership, Pacific Mgmt Group. In 1984, they incorporated as the Meridian Group. A key friend & mentor in those early days was Nevitt Sanford, Ph.D, principal author of the book The Authoritarian Personality and past President of the American Psychological Association. Nevitt's influence shaped the theoretical groundings of Meridian Group. He believed that "the way you get to understand a human system is to try to change it and see what happens." This principle, learning through action, had been a key part of Meridian Group's practice. Some other key ideas that were incorporated in those early days included systems theory, psychology, group dynamics, & evolution. The result is our unique Cultural Approach to understanding & managing the issues of company culture underlying people-related concerns in the workplace. |
