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Success Story #1: If everything is so good, why does it feel so bad?
"If everything is going so good, why does it feel so bad?"
By the time you find out that things aren't quite right, you can bet that your employees, your sales force, and many of your customers already know.
The quote above came from a factory worker - moments after the CEO gave his annual "things are going great" speech, and a few days before we tabulated the results of an In-Touch employee feedback survey that reported morale to be lower than the CEO ever thought possible.
The Client: A Los Angeles based Architectural Communications Firm.
Our Charter: To help uncover the source of the morale problem and fix it.
Long Term Results: Managers and staff reported feeling much more valued by the CEO - and the CEO felt more empowered by his people. Systems and processes were redesigned around more efficient team functions. Customers reported improved relationships - one customer contacted us to find out if we could help them since they had seem so much improvement with our client. Sales increased by more than 600% within 9 months.
Length of CEO2 engagement: 24 months.
Success Story #2: The merger took place 4 years ago, but we are still 2 separate, warring entities.
"The merger took place 4 years ago, but we are still 2 separate, warring entities."
Any time you try to bring two different cultures together, you have issues of distrust and "not invented here" to contend with. In this client's situation, things were viewed as even worse than usual.
These two divisions had been warring factions for the better part of a decade, each vying within the parent organization for financial resources and dominance. Merging the two had not been handled gracefully, and four years later, nothing had changed except the physical location. I.D. badges were still different, pay scales were inequitable, systems and processes had not blended, and some people sitting in the same office space simply refused to talk with one another. The HR division was responsible for more than 9000 employees agency-wide, but the rumor mill said the division was in such bad shape that - if things didn't improve quickly - it could be disbanded altogether.
As one person put it during our early interviews, "I don't know if we will even be here a year from now."
The Client: The 100 person Human Resource division of a major California public agency.
The Charter: To assist the new Deputy Executive Officer unite the division under a single Vision and Mission.
Long Term Results: Immediately following the Retreat, employees sent cards and letters to the DEO thanking him for creating such transformation within the department. Six weeks following the retreat, managers and employees were still raving about the enhanced communications, teamwork and distinct behavioral changed being exhibited within the group. One manager said that two women who had not spoken to each other in more that eight years were now on friendly terms. The Divisional Vision and Mission, framed and individually signed by all 100 staff members, proudly hangs in the front lobby, with a copy posted in every unit. Three months later, the three internal Training Units facilitated the Division's first quarterly self-empowered retreat, keeping the spirit of leadership and communication alive. Two years following our intervention, the DEO was promoted to Executive Officer and reported to us that his department was still doing well.
Length of CEO2 engagement: 90 Days
Success Story #3: "It takes us more that 2 weeks to ship. If you can fix that, I'll be amazed."
"It takes us more that 2 weeks to ship. If you can fix that, I'll be amazed."
When we first met with this company, they were just coming out of a multi-year restructuring program with new management that had every internal resource stretched to the breaking point. Looking to rejuvenate an old and respected brand that had gotten badly tarnished from prior neglect, the new management team had come a log way in terms of stopping the bleeding, but still had quite a way to go to gain back the company's credibility within the marketplace and among its employees.
Most disconcerting to the CEO was the fact that the most critical change now needed was at the grass-roots level, but his management group had necessarily been set up to function as a centralized command and control operation. He had a finite window of time to instill a self-directed team orientation before his senior managers reached burn-out. And the parent company and its shareholders were keeping a watchful eye.
The Client: A Southern California Manufacturer, a subsidiary of an International conglomerate.
Our Charter: To assist the CEO in creating a team environment and dramatically increase productivity.
Long-Term Results: Less than a year after our involvement, the company became the top-performer in the parent company's portfolio. Profitability and productivity skyrocketed. Every department held team meetings, and a cross-functional new product development team introduced more than 30 innovative new products, each enthusiastically received in the marketplace. The company was selected as the top supplier in its category by its largest customer, increasing sales volume by 25% with just one order alone. A sister company contacted us to find out if the same formula would work for them. And the Vice President of Sales and marketing (whose quote appears at the top of this page) is smiling, because the company is consistently shipping 100% complete - in 24 hours. Four years later, the company continues to do extremely well, and the self-managing team environment it flourishing. After substantial data-gathering, a cross-functional team recently proposed to management a new project that will reduce manufacturing throughput from 30 to 10 days.
Length of Involvement: 36 months
Success Story #4: It's a toxic environment.
Success Story #2
"It's a toxic environment."
For social workers, being in this public agency was like living in the twilight zone - where heavy bureaucratic demands, emotional stress and the need to keep a tight reign on personal boundaries went far beyond typical business norms. In assessing their own situation, these social workers called themselves "wounded healers."
The Client: A County Child Protective Service Department.
The Charter: To stop the bleeding and help heal the working wounded
Long Term Results: A year later, the Leadership Academy launched with a full curriculum, with plans to expand participation outside the agency; all of the processes used in the Department had been flow-charted and analyzed for productivity improvement opportunities; the Deputy Director was recognized by his peers for his tremendous leap in leadership and he was asked to speak at a national conference regarding his Vision for shifting the paradigm of Child Protective Services in the United States. The Department now has a model cross-functional team that has demonstrated proficiency in designing training events, and every new staff member is introduced to the team-building and empowerment process during a comprehensive Orientation program. The one-year follow-up In-Touch Assessment showed marked improvement in key areas, including supervisor and manager attitude, communication and staff involvement at all levels. The Director is grateful that the program has continued in good hands following his retirement..
Length of CEO2 engagement: 12 months
Success Story #5: How can we expect Global alignment if we aren't aligned ourselves?
Success Story #5
"How can we expect Global alignment if we aren't aligned ourselves?"
This high tech client, named to the Deloitte & Touche Technology Fast 50 for several years straight, was on the fast track and gearing up t go even faster. But escalating internal turf wars and hiccups in the relationship between Headquarters and its overseas subsidiaries threatened to become a major stumbling block to progress - unless something was done now.
The Client: An electronics manufacturer, headquartered in Southern California, with subsidiaries in Japan and China.
The Charter: To assist the CEO in creating Global Alignment.
Long Term Results: Early on, the client established a rigorous and conservative measurement system to monitor ROI on this project. In 18 months the CFO reported $1.8 million in tangible productivity cost savings directly attributed to implementation of the CEO2 program. (This was an ROI of 10:1) The team is now a team; management and departmental relationships were restructured to create synergy and trust vs. conflict; new communications channels have successfully been created between the U.S., China and Japan; and the company holds face-to-face quarterly Global Alignment and Strategy sessions to ensure the fluent exchange of ideas. Best of all, the CEO reports that he's seen his people grow as individuals, with new leaders and passionate champions for innovation stepping forward at every level within the company to bring forth fresh perspectives and insightful opportunities for improvement. And the company is again in the top 50 of Fortune Small Business.
Length of CEO2 engagement: 24 months
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