Action Design

What Action Design does

Action Design is a privately held, boutique consulting and education firm founded by Robert Putnam, Diana McLain Smith, and Philip McArthur, who met as doctoral students of Chris Argyris at Harvard in 1979 and later co-authored the foundational "Action Science" text. The firm is domiciled as Action Design LLC in Massachusetts and operates from Newton, MA with a team of approximately three founding partners and ten associates. Its practice is grounded in action science — an approach to inquiry, reasoning, and organizational learning developed by Argyris and Donald Schön — and delivers proprietary frameworks including the Ladder of Inference, Two-Column Case Method, Advocacy and Inquiry Framework, Double-Loop Learning, and the Left-Hand Column Tool.

The firm's revenue model is professional services delivered in three streams: customized leadership development consulting for senior leaders and their teams, intensive workshop programs (notably the in-person "Leading Through Relationships" at Babson and the online "Creating Productive Conversations"), and executive education teaching engagements at Columbia, Harvard, HEC Paris, MIT, and Oxford. Pricing is high-anchor ($2,800–$6,500 per workshop participant), with non-profit and early-registration discounts. Go-to-market is entirely direct, with no resellers or intermediaries, and is supported by a content-forward marketing posture built on books, essays, toolkits, and webinars.

Action Design serves knowledge-intensive corporates (financial services, pharmaceuticals, IT, professional services), non-profits, public sector organizations, and business schools across North America and Europe. Aurora Health Care is the only named enterprise client. The firm's growth signal is muted: headcount has remained in the 1–10 band for an extended period, no funding rounds are disclosed, and there are no M&A or institutional investor signals. Recent activity — including the 2024 "Practical Wisdom for a Better World" webinar and the launch of the "Action Design Institute" sub-brand — indicates active maintenance of the practice and modest product surface expansion rather than scaled growth.

Name

Action Design

Legal name

Action Design LLC

Website

https://actiondesign.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Action Design is a boutique consulting and education firm that delivers leadership development, executive coaching, workshops, and executive education rooted in action science methodology to knowledge-intensive corporates, non-profits, public sector organizations, and business schools across North America and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Leadership Development & Executive Coaching (BPAHAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Executive Leadership & C-Suite Development (EDABAAAA), Corporate & Leadership Development (BPACANAA)

Keywords

• Leadership development
• Executive coaching
• Organizational learning
• Action science
• Team effectiveness

Headquarters

HQ city

Newton Falls

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Coaching and consultation services provided directly to senior leaders and their teams, and customized leadership development programs for client organizations.
2. Workshop Programs: Intensive development programs offered to change leaders, coaches, and consultants. Programs include Creating Productive Conversations ($2,800) and Leading Through Relationships ($6,500 business / $4,600 non-profit).
3. Executive Education: Teaching engagements in executive education programs at leading business schools including Columbia, Harvard, HEC Paris, MIT, and Oxford.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Action Design delivers leadership development, executive coaching, team effectiveness, and organizational capability-building services grounded in action science. The firm sells customized consulting engagements for senior leaders and their teams, intensive workshop programs (Creating Productive Conversations online and Leading Through Relationships in-person), professional development for coaches and consultants, and faculty teaching within executive education programs at leading business schools.

Product overview

Action Design is a consulting and education firm offering organizational learning and leadership development services. Their core offerings include Leadership Development Programs (encompassing Leadership Coaching, Relationship Coaching, and Team Effectiveness services), Developmental Workshops (including Creating Productive Conversations, Leading Through Relationships, and Professional Development programs), and Organizational Capability Building services. They also maintain a Resource Library containing tools (Two Column Case Template, Case Guidelines), published books (Action Science, The Elephant in the Room, Discussing the Undiscussable, Ask), and essays/articles. The company offers executive education at leading business schools. The portfolio is structured as a unified consulting and education practice rather than a technology platform, with services delivered through workshops, coaching, and professional development programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Action Design Institute: Training and development division offering workshops and professional development programs for consultants, coaches, and organizational learning practitioners

Products and services

• Leadership Development Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• Time-release quality of learning - skills continue to develop and apply long after program completion
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Diana SmithcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 April 2024Diana Smith is a co-founder and Partner of Action Design. She authored 'The Elephant in the Room' and 'Remaking The Space Between Us.' She originated the 'Leading Through Relationships' approach and brings her expertise to national discourse on relationship dynamics and organizational learning.
• Philip McArthurcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 March 2022Philip McArthur is a partner and co-founder of Action Design. He leads workshops on managing difficult conversations and building effective working relationships. He has taught executive education programs for Boston College, Columbia University, Harvard University and Stanford University.
• Robert PutnamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRobert W. Putnam is a founding partner of Action Design and co-developer of action science. He co-authored 'Action Science' with Chris Argyris and Diana McLain Smith. He serves as faculty in executive education at Columbia, Harvard, HEC Paris, MIT, and Oxford.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Egon Zehnder: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm. Comparable to Action Design on executive coaching and leadership advisory for senior executives, though delivered as part of a broader talent strategy portfolio.
• Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm offering executive search, leadership development, and coaching. Overlaps with Action Design on executive coaching and leadership advisory, but operates as a broad incumbent with much larger scale and a wider portfolio.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Executive search and leadership advisory firm with a leadership consulting practice. Overlaps with Action Design in serving senior leaders with coaching and development services, but as part of a broader talent advisory portfolio.

Direct peers

• Marshall Goldsmith Group: Executive coaching firm led by Marshall Goldsmith focused on leadership behavior change for senior executives. Highly comparable to Action Design's executive coaching practice — both operate as boutique, thought-leadership-anchored practices serving senior enterprise clients.
• BTS Group: Consulting firm specializing in leadership development, business acumen simulations, and strategy execution. Comparable to Action Design on leadership and team-effectiveness development, but with a stronger technology/simulation platform.
• Senn Delaney (Heidrick & Struggles): Culture and leadership transformation consultancy, now part of Heidrick & Struggles. Closely comparable to Action Design's organizational learning and culture-change work, with similar methodologies around candid dialogue and defensive routines.
• FranklinCovey: Global leadership and organizational effectiveness firm selling training curricula (e.g., The 7 Habits), coaching, and consulting. Comparable to Action Design in targeting leadership development, but with a productized, broadly distributed curriculum vs. a niche methodology.
• Center for Creative Leadership: Non-profit research and education institution focused on leadership development and executive coaching. Directly comparable to Action Design in mission and methodology, but at significantly larger scale with a global footprint and broader research output.
• DDI (Development Dimensions International): Global leadership development firm offering leadership training, assessment, and coaching to enterprises. Overlaps with Action Design on leadership coaching and team effectiveness, but operates at much larger scale with broader product portfolio.
• Wilson Learning: Global leadership and sales training company offering workshops and consulting. Comparable to Action Design on the workshop-based leadership development model, with similar mid-market and enterprise clientele.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/action-design

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Action Design