William O. Lytle

William O. Lytle

Lexington, Massachusetts

For over 30 years before writing The Essential Organizer, Bill Lytle was a consultant to a variety of private, non-profit, and government organizations in the U.S. and Canada, helping them manage internal change. In many situations, Bill helped management, employees, and union representatives learn how to work collaboratively to implement significant organizational change.

More recently, Bill has become interested in finding ways to help families avoid common crises in the home. It all began when a volunteer at a Boston area hospice told Bill how she frequently witnessed the stress family members faced, at an already fragile and vulnerable time, when they did not know the wishes of their loved ones, either for their personal care or for the management of their home. These observations prompted Bill to develop a guide to help families be better prepared should loved ones become incapacitated and when they pass away.

This guide, The Essential Organizer: An Ongoing Record of Your Estate & Personal Information, provides a way for individuals to record their critical information in a form that can be easily accessed by designated family, friends, and advisers. The guide covers four categories of information: legal and financial, practical matters, present and future health, and family and friends. It can benefit those who enter this information by ensuring the quality of care for themselves and their loved ones, providing guidance for the care of the family and home, and facilitating the settlement of the estate. This guide is available as both a hardcover workbook and as an interactive CD.

Recently, Bill has been helping people understand the need to document and communicate important aspects of their life. He has found that meeting in a group setting enables people to discuss their experiences and concerns. He is also forming an online community where people can discuss their experiences and provide support to one another.

Bill also has been a frequent presenter at workshops and conferences in a number of countries, and is a respected writer of books, articles, and training materials to guide those involved in complex organization change.

Bill received his Bachelors and Masters degrees from Yale University and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies from Boston University. He also served as an officer in the U.S. Navy. Bill is involved in photography, plays early classical music with a group of friends, and volunteers at The Boston Symphony.