We work with leaders who face significant challenges for which they are ill prepared. They are motivated to learn and are willing to be partnered and coached. They may be individual leaders, but more likely a group of leaders who work in the same division or most work together to create or improve products and services.
There is a universal appeal to the language and tools that transcends organization size, type, and culture. The Leader's Toolbox® has been successfully implemented in profit and not-profit organizations from Fortune 50 to emerging growth companies. In addition to North America, the tools have been used in China, Singapore and Europe.
We teach organizations how to reframe their futures. We develop the internal talent for people to implement news projects, transform organizations, and grow their bottom lines. Here are some examples.
An international ERP software company finds its aging product in a low capital growth and diminishing manufacturing environment. Its leaders are ill prepared—they have never faced such conditions. Revenues are plummeting and the company’s very existence is threatened.
Almost every manager in the company learned a broad range of leadership tools and used them to address a number of the most critical issues faced by the organization.
Results:
The half-million dollar loss from one division was recouped by the end of the year. Even in the down-market, the company reached its revenue projections. A division that was slated for sale developed a new strategy and increased revenue by 23% the first year and 30% the second year and is still part of the organization. The largest player in the market seeks to partner with them because of their leadership skills. Four years later, without any further intervention, Ralph’s methods are still embedded in the corporate culture—still producing such great results that the company went public.
Three years earlier, all employees learned the tools within The Leader’s Toolbox®. Now the company found itself in a difficult competitive environment. It had to create a new product that better met the needs of it s employer customers. A cross-functional team was created to address the issue.
Historically a key benchmark of a new product was its ease of administration. Using the tools however, the group did a much better job of focusing first on customer requirements. This brought credibility to the project and employees were now more committed to push the boundaries about what was possible. The process developed significant internal commitment and support across all departments.
Results:
Getting the product out to market took a little longer. Acceptance and sales far outstripped expectations. Because of the new flexibility of the product, it created unexpected operational challenges. Recently the team opened up their Leader’s Toolbox® once again and applied the learning and tools to these new issues. They are in the midst of successfully addressing them.
A large group of medical practitioners and a hospital system that also employs some physicians, have been sparring with one another for decades. Changes in the health care marketplace threatened the long time monopoly each possessed. Should these two groups remain competitors or do they cooperate with one another? If the two parties remained competitors, it would weaken them both, providing an opportunity for another player to gain dominance in their marketplace. If they cooperated with one another, they feared they would lose their autonomy. There was no clear path forward.
Ralph worked first with each group separately. Independently both groups determined that they needed to change their relationship in order to sustain their own organizational health. Forty leaders from each organization came together for two days and forged a collaborative vision for the future.
Results:
The top two senior leadership levels developed a much closer working relationship by working on the planning process together. This created the initial level of buy-in further into the organization. The two health care groups left the session with a high level vision for how to forge a more collaborative relationship. They have subsequently worked together to establish more specific action plans. A second session is planned over the next few months.
A division of a Fortune 100 company needed to fundamentally change the leadership structure to increase loyalty and customer satisfaction. A large consulting company developed the structure, but was unable to provide a methodology for implementing it to the 56 regions across the United States.
Working with the internal consultants, we developed the process that was ultimately used to help field leaders make the transitions in their roles and responsibilities as they shifted from being small group leaders to becoming members of large leadership teams.
Results:
The new process significantly reduced the time for implementation and was cited as one of the hallmark accomplishments of this initiative which cost the company 100’s of millions of dollars. In recognition for the accomplishment of this work, Ralph received the American Express Gold Quality Award.
A county government organization realizes that within five years 60% of its department leaders will retire. Now the County has a larger immigrant population and the business climate has deteriorated as well. It must build the leadership capable of operating in an environment that expects the delivery of greater services with a significantly smaller budget.
Working with an internal design team, we developed the County's' Leadership Academy. Together we designed a nine-month program that maximized the teaching capabilities that already existed within the county.
Results:
Despite a severe cutback on all non-critical spending, the program remained fully funded for four years because of the results that were attained. Several of the projects developed by participants have been undertaken on a county-wide basis and the participants were able to take on much more challenging leadership work. The County received recognition for innovation and quality of training from national and international associations. There is now a critical mass of leaders in the County who share a common leadership language and tools that facilitates the communication across the organization.
A 100-year old construction company faced massive losses almost resulting in bankruptcy. An outside turn-around organization successfully stabilized its financial condition. Now the organization needed to heal itself and create a more competitive culture.
Initially, we provided coaching to several senior leaders who had never experienced this kind of transition. We helped them establish organizational goals, define the culture, and provide the support to effectively deliver the messages. The president, vice presidents, directors, and many managers were given the language, processes, and tools to implement change. They were divided into teams and given responsibility to address various dysfunctional aspects of the culture.
Results:
The senior leader has clearly established credibility and trust with people at all levels and all locations. Employees understand the need for the transformation. Now they are in the process of developing this new culture and getting new business themselves. The honesty and depth of the conversations about what needs to happen is unprecedented in the company. This is creating a momentum for self-sustained change that already is significantly improving business results.
Supported with significant venture capital investment, this pharmaceutical company was now in its sixth year of existence. It had not yet had even one cent in sales. The hope was that its patented method for people to take medication orally without water would produce the next pharmaceutical bonanza. But its leaders were unable to work together. The manufacturing process could not produce a single pill. There was not one suitable pharmaceutical partner in sight.
First we worked with the senior leadership team. They had all come from the largest pharmaceutical houses and were struggling to understand their role within a smaller, entrepreneurial organization. Once we re-established roles, we created a leadership agenda and improved the skill level for these people to work together. We subsequently got the whole organization of about 150 employees together for several days and hammered away at an agenda in which every person was expected to contribute. We also established an accountability process to ensure that everyone delivered as expected.
Results:
Three months after the work with all of the employees, the manufacturing line was up and running for the first time. This gave potential buyers (other large pharmaceutical companies) the confidence to partner with the company. Three months after that, the organization signed on its first partner. It has continued to thrive.
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