Vision/Strategic Planning

(We like to call this your Strategic Direction.)

In 4-6 sessions, PBI helps organizations and/or teams clearly define their Vision (picture of success for 3-5 years ahead), their Mission (why they exist), and their Strategies (levers for accomplishing the Vision. We use Balanced Scorecard thinking (looking at your organization from 4 different perspectives – Customer, Financial, Internal Processes, and Organizational Capacity (People, Technology, and Infrastructure)) to create visible, measurable, and compelling Visions and Strategic Plans. These plans become real organizational commitments that drive the focus and resources of future efforts. Sample vision statements from recent engagements include:

• Customers view our products as designed, implemented, and serviced based on their input and needs
• Our performance management culture connects individuals to the vision to drive collaborative teamwork and the desired performance
• Employees are proud to be with our organization and are excited about their jobs

Core Values Discovery

(Sometimes these are called Guiding Principles.)

In 4-6 sessions, we facilitate the process for organizations and/or teams discovering and articulating their Core Values (the behavioral and social norms). When modeled and supported by leadership, core values can drive the culture of a group in a specified, desired direction. Part of how this is done is to incorporate their use into the recruitment, screening, hiring, orientation, and performance management systems of your organization. PBI has had a significant and positive impact on several organizations with the core values that we have jointly defined and implemented. The core values we create are strong commitments about the type of organization employees want to be in and the type of co-workers they want to have around them. Our core values are always clear, specific, and not vanilla (they're more like peach or mango); and have "behavioral anchors" that make their usage easier to measure. A sample core value from a recent engagement follows:

We trust and collaborate with each other to achieve greater results. We do that through:

• Direct, respectful, and open communication that leaves no room for doubt.
• We help each other grow individually and collectively.
• We take a team approach to problem solving.
• We have fun and enjoy each other's company.
• Trust is earned and cherished.
• We celebrate our team achievements.
• Face-to-face/phone communication is always our first choice.

Building and Sustaining a High Performance Organization (HPO)

This work uses our "Framework for Organizational Excellence" and the concepts/exercises taught in the two-day HPO workshop. Because organizations are more complex than teams, these engagements are handled on a case-by-case basis. We have found it much more productive to "ground" the key players (executives, leaders, managers) on the concepts and language of organizational excellence before starting the "journey" or making significant changes to organizational systems/structures. We also have an assessment approach that facilitates a quick overview and identifies areas that need further "drill down." These HPO consulting and OD engagements are handled on a case-by-case basis given the unknown nature of the current and desired states and the work/time needed. Call us for a no-cost consultation.

Leading Change through Strategic Communications

In 2 to 4 sessions, PBI facilitates a change management plan that incorporates leveraging the "enablers," minimizing the "resistors," and creating a Core Message for manager/small group meetings and formal communications. We all know that "getting buy-in" can be a major challenge in any significant change effort. People need to see that the change is in the best interests of the organization/team, that it is well planned and resourced, that there's a WIIFM (What's In It For Me?) or a benefit for them, and that the organization's leaders can describe how the change will affect them. Let us show you our proven approach – segmenting the various audiences that you need onboard with an upcoming or current change, identifying their resistance issues and WIIFM, then defining the communication strategy/messages and gaining their commitment to the effort.

Contact us by phone: (703) 897-0724 or by email.