What We Do

Corporate Culture

Our research has shown that close to 80% of organizations are ill prepared to
deal with corporate culture issues.

One of our primary services is to assist organizations through CULTURE CHANGE
to support targeted objectives such as improved customer service, teamwork, technology implementation, high performance and other initiatives.  These efforts may be proactive when planning for the future, or problem centered by responding to current issues.  Our approach goes
far beyond training. It addresses a real change in an organization’s culture through use of proven models and methods we have developed over many years

We also MELD CORPORATE CULTURES following mergers/acquisitions or alliances/joint ventures. We believe that success requires a proactive effort and conscious plan to integrate diverse corporate cultures and reconcile differences. We have developed proven models
to ensure that happens.

All of our corporate culture efforts are DATA DRIVEN, based on a culture audit we
conduct in the initial phase.

We offer a CERTIFICATION WORKSHOP IN CULTURAL INTERVENTIONS to our clients to train internal representatives in our culture technology. This workshop prepares internal organization consultants to facilitate their organizations through culture changes and to address and/or prevent culture clash resulting from mergers, acquisitions and alliances. It provides a proven framework and methodology to ensure successful transitions. 

This workshop is conducted by the principals of Corporate Management Developers/Health Management Consultants and the authors of Corporate Culture/Team Culture, who have consulted with hundreds of organizations on this subject. The workshop includes certifying internal consultants in the use of our proven process, proprietary models, and proprietary Cultural Audit tool, along with follow on consulting by our principals. 

The target audience for this workshop include internal OD specialists, HR practitioners and/or integration team members. The workshop expands the internal capacity and capability of organizations to proactively and constructively address the corporate culture challenges faced in today’s dynamic environment. 

The principals of Corporate Management Developers and Health Management Consultants have co-authored Corporate Culture/Team Culture (AMACOM),which has been featured in USA Today, CNBC, INC. , Entrepreneur Magazine and other national and local media. The book has recently been translated into Chinese. Corporate Culture/Team Culture is the first book to address, in depth, the issue of changing organization culture. It presents a practical, proven model form achieving such transformation, and illustrates the process with extended case studies and numerous examples of the model in action, by companies such as Mobil,
​Bristol-Myers Squibb and IBM.

 

 

​The book’s examples reveal that a team culture is necessary to meet today’s business challenges – whether your organization is merging, restructuring, reinventing itself, or fine-tuning its team efforts. Corporate Culture/Team Culture shows you how to succeed by tackling cultural issues from the ground up, and produce measurable and long lasting results.

Building High Performance Teams

Competition has forced organizations to find new ways to get work done with fewer people. Merged organizations must be more nimble in their teamwork to achieve the intended synergy. Specialization and diversification in today’s workplace has created a need for greater coordination, collaboration and communication. High performance teams are the obvious answer. But this will not occur naturally! Teamwork requires a different way of thinking, specific skills and techniques, and a supportive culture. Our TEAM BUILDING efforts are tailored to the needs of your organization as well as the team construct. We can work with intra/inter-departmental teams, project or task teams, multi-level management or executive teams, boards of directors, merged organization teams and joint ventures/alliances.

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​We do pre-assessments to obtain baseline data on pertinent issues affecting the team. We then develop relevant team building actions that deal with those issues. Skills are enhanced throughout the process. Change and progress are monitored, and systems are set up to ensure the long lasting success of the team. We use RESEARCHED AND PROVEN MODELS to build performance. Our post assessments show statistically significant more positive differences when compared to pre-assessment baseline data.

Our principals’ book Corporate Culture/Team Culture has received national attention. It addresses the philosophy and methodology of our team building programs, as they apply to diversified types of teams and industries. We are also principal contributors to the book Real World Teambuilding Strategies That Work.

Executive Coaching

Executives are the most powerful force for improving organizational functioning, as they create the management environment and standards which prevail. Coaching assists these executives in examining their styles and impact on the organization. It facilitates awareness of their own strengths and areas in need of development. It provides constructive, confidential feedback and action planning around critical issues which block or enhance executive effectiveness. These efforts have been a major stimulus for organization change, improvement and positive influence. 

One-on-one coaching has proven to be a practical, confidential, and cost effective means of providing real support on “actual” problems. Top executives and managers cannot always find time to go to even short courses to enhance their current competencies. On the job coaching provides the solution. 

ONE-ON-ONE EXECUTIVE COACHING

Benefits:

  • Facilitates a client’s success in achieving specified objectives
  • Assists in defining objectives, standards for success, understanding strengths and obstacles to achieving goals, and in turn, stimulates action planning and skills to address issues
  • Results oriented with practical action oriented strategies
  • Empowers executives to do the very things necessary to successfully achieve their goals via self assessment, 360° feedback and other instruments
  • Coaching efforts can be “problem centered” which require reacting to a problem or crisis that has surfaced, or “proactive” which relates to addressing future challenges and building upon a client’s management strengths.


Methodology:

  • Agreed upon success standards and expected results
  • Intensive coaching sessions
  • Structured agendas
  • Proven models and frameworks as learning tools
  • Efficient 360° online data gathering, varied self assessment/awareness instruments, as needs dictate
  • Coaching manual/resource book
  • Diversified techniques compatible with coachee’s style and subject matter
    • Strategizing
    • Skill building
    • Problem solving
    • Role playing
  • Ongoing work related assignments and action planning
  • Subsequent follow up and review of success/obstacles in implementing action plans
  • Coachee’s manager plays an agreed upon supportive role


LEADERSHIP STYLE INVENTORY AND ACTION PLANNING WORKSHOP WITH
ONE-ON-ONE COACHING
 

Benefits:

  • Alternative to standard executive coaching model – less time, effort, expense
  • Powerful method to involve a group of executives/managers in their own development
  • Stimulates their interest in getting feedback and action planning without a major commitment of time
  • Confidential personal feedback and one-on-one coaching
  • Goal focused development
  • Results focused coaching
  • Efficient and inexpensive way to involve many executives/managers
  • Great introduction to 360° feedback and executive coaching
    • Non-threatening environment
    • Confidential and personal feedback
    • Assistance in interpreting results and targeting learning
    • Confidential one-on-one coaching to meet executives’ needs

Methodology:

  • A one day group workshop providing a framework and structure for analyzing 360° data and setting realistic development goals
  • Short, follow on intensive one-on-one coaching sessions for each participant
  • Use of multiple leadership style instruments
  • Efficient, online, 360° data gathering process
  • Substantive feedback packages for each instrument
  • Structured action planning process and preparation for coaching session
  • Targeted coaching based on development goals

Management & Executive Development

Our Management and Executive Development Programs focus on practical skills, active participation, feedback and action planning to ensure lasting results.

EXECUTIVE COACHING/CONSULTATION is available through one-on-one confidential sessions geared to developing skills, related to targeted objectives and needs. We use a variety of ASSESSMENT TOOLS and 360° surveys to help guide our coaching efforts.

We offer TRAINING NEEDS ASSESSMENTS to pinpoint the most important management skill needs. We determine those needs through surveys, interviews and other techniques. Then we design a management development plan, defining the critical objectives, content and skills.

SELECTED TOPICS INCLUDE:  Team Leader Skills, Creating High Performing Subcultures, The Empowered High Performer, Coaching for Peak Performance, Coping with a Dynamic Environment: Managing Stress, Understanding and Managing Change, Problem Solving/Decision Making, Delegation, Motivation: Understanding vs Myths, Interpersonal Skills, Effective Presentations, Consulting Skills

We also offer tailored SPEECHES and KEYNOTE ADDRESSES
 for associations and corporate conferences on a variety of management topics.
 
 

Organizational Development & Consultation

As management consultants, we approach each assignment as individual and unique. We draw upon our knowledge of what has worked – and what hasn’t worked – for other organizations. Then we combine that knowledge with a custom tailored approach that fits the individual, and often very different, needs of our clients. It is this process of custom tailoring that sets us apart. And it is this process that makes it possible for us to always meet, or exceed, client expectations.
What follows is a description of the highly tailored organization development services we offer:

Help Organizations Change Their Culture
Today’s dynamic business arena requires new ways of doing things as well as different management environments. But change, no matter how slight, is never easy. To influence what people value, as well as how they think and act, requires a planned concerted effort. Corporate culture is the culprit of many failed change efforts. We can help. One of our primary services is to assist organizations plan culture changes-and establish new values, directions and goals.

We start by analyzing the current environment, comparing it to the desired future goal. Then we identify the critical issues – which might enhance or block, the organizations move toward this future state. Action planning occurs, relevant strategies are formulated and follow-up evaluations planned. These efforts may be proactive, i.e., planning for the future. Or problem centered, i.e., responding to  current issues. Change issues we can help you with include: quality, productivity, customer service, teamwork, employee empowerment, decentralization, and many more.
 
Integrate Corporate Culture Following Mergers or Acquisitions
Very often, mergers and acquisitions fuel the success, and survival of an organization. But sometimes, before that success can be fully enjoyed, trauma and chaos must be dealt with effectively. Our approach helps you anticipate and react to these negative forces. We believe that successful mergers and acquisitions require an integration of diverse corporate cultures, and a reconciliation of differences in the organization’s missions, goals and values.

Build High Performance Teams
Specialization and diversification in today’s workplace has created a need for greater coordination, collaboration and communication. In a word, teamwork. Unfortunately, many organizations believe that if you put a group of professionals together for a period of time, they will automatically turn into a high performance team. But that is not the way it always happens. Teamwork requires specific skills and techniques. By analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of newly formed or existing teams, we improve their coordination, communication and productivity.

Our team building efforts are tailored to the needs of the organization as well as the teams. We can work with intra/inter-departmental teams, quality teams, project or task teams, multi-level management or executive teams or the other inter-disciplinary teams. 

Pre-assessments are done to obtain baseline data on pertinent issues affecting the group. We then develop relevant team building actions that deal with real issues and enhance skills. Change and progress are assessed, and systems are set up to ensure the
long lasting success of the team.

Facilitate Customer Service Excellence
Organizations are finding it harder to differentiate their products and services from those of their competitors. More and more, they are learning that the key to their success is satisfied customers.  To help organizations establish a corporate culture that fosters customer service excellence, we use a multi-faceted approach in contrast to the “smile training” offered by other firms. We focus on analyzing current customer service levels, developing systems that build a long lasting culture of excellence, training managers and employees, and evaluating progress.  Our ultimate goal is to institutionalize customer service excellence by integrating it into every aspect of the environment – ensuring more tangible results.
 
Conflict Resolution
Unresolved conflict can impact the productivity and quality of any organization. It can also divert and diminish employee energy. We help organizations identify the underlying causes of a conflict – and implement immediate, intermediate and long-term resolutions. We facilitate the resolution of problems among individuals or groups, including unresolved conflicts, which impact productivity and quality. Our interventions utilize a variety of proven models, providing the necessary structure and focus to assure a positive and successful outcome. Our strategies are based on data collected from your organization. And the techniques we help you implement are tailored to your needs. Individuals learn skills for independently resolving current as well as future conflicts.
 
Management Transition
New managers face the dilemma of “learning the organization,” and showing immediate results.
We utilize, an innovative method to facilitate the “changing of the guard” in corporate, political and governmental arenas. Using this method, transitions are smoother and more efficient. Get acquainted time is reduced, and new managers or key staff are quickly integrated into ongoing operations. Information is generated about past and present expectations. And the results are solid decisions – establishing clear role expectations, priorities and changes.  This tailored approach is applicable to the transition of new CEOs, presidents, chairpersons, and division or department directors/VPs.

Facilitate Planning
In today’s chaotic world, organizations must design plans for an uncertain tomorrow with a greater assurance of meeting their objectives. To meet this need, we facilitate strategic or long-range planning; tactical or shorter term planning; and operational, or day-to-day planning. In addition, we help plan major organizational changes that can be implemented with minimum trauma or negative impact. We also help organizations develop their vision, values and mission statement. We can facilitate the full process, or any part of the process, to meet clients’ needs. Because planning is unique to each organization, our approach is tailored, providing a great degree of built-in flexibility for individual clients.

Facilitate Restructuring of the Organization
Typically, reorganization or restructuring is not the remedy of first resort. There are, however, certain organizational problems or circumstances that definitely require structural solutions.  Our restructuring interventions are highly tailored and applicable to reducing hierarchy, downsizing, or efficiency reviews. We use a tried and proven organization design model, which generates options for senior managers to consider. Features include: maximum participation by organization representatives; an open process which assures employee buy-in; and reduction of rumors and anxiety, normally accompanying this
type of organization change.

Problem Solving
Problem solving skills are vital to the success of every organization. Yet the honing of these skills is often ignored – usually with negative results. Employees are not given a forum to contribute solutions. This inhibits employee empowerment and participation.
To meet this need, we offer specific strategies to help managers tap employee creativity and solve existing problems. We also help executives identify and resolve problems relating to quality, service, morale, turnover and change.
 
Monitor Organizational Stress
Within a work environment, there are numerous factors, which create organizational stress. Some of these factors are natural – and unavoidable – in today’s dynamic workplace. Other variables, however, are controllable and avoidable. By addressing these concerns, we can minimize stress as well as the excessive human and financial costs incurred.  We begin by assessing the overall environment in order to identify these organizational stressors. Action plans then target issues which most impact organizational health.  This intervention can be used in conjunction with stress management workshops, which provide managers and staff with the skills they need to cope with work related stressors.
 
Build/Improve Board/Staff Relationships
Teamwork between the Board of Directors and the Executive Staff is often strained. Our approach helps identify and 
bridge the gap between these groups. 
We minimize conflict and role ambiguity related to policy vs. operational functions. Strategies are highly participative, engendering commitment and clarity for future endeavors. We stimulate board/staff role clarity, improved communication, operating procedures and decision making processes. In addition, we ensure shared leadership in diagnosing and improving
​future board/staff dysfunctions.