Results Bank

Applying the concepts of The Respect Revolution has resulted in the following stories of successful endeavors.

PART A – COMPANY PERFORMANCES

A newspaper
A manufacturer
A law firm
An arts organization
A microchip engineering firm
A conglomerate
An oil drilling company
A specialty travel agency
An investment firm
An Internet development firm
A software contracting firm
A specialty software firm
A technical writing firm
A cancer research lab
A protective armor company
A wireless communications company
An environmental clean-up firm
A career coaching company

PART B – SPECIFIC ISSUES

A newspaper
A manufacturer
A law firm
An arts organization
A microchip engineering firm

PART A – COMPANY PERFORMANCES

Company identities are kept confidential in the descriptions below, except where specific permission has been given. Please see www.caswellccc.com  for actual client names and experiences.  Click on Testimonials.

A newspaper

Situation:
For many years this newspaper was viewed as second class in the urban market it served and knew it had to ‘do something’ to get more market share.

Action:
The company engaged in a SAR at a three-day retreat north of Montreal.  Using respect as its basis, the keystone of The Respect Revolution, the group of 20 people identified 191 issues that had to be addressed, prioritizing them, and initiating some solutions at the retreat itself. 

Results:
During the SAR two warring vice-presidents admitted publicly that, for the first time, they were able to see eye-to-eye on issues and work together without hostility or tension. 

In the systematic process of addressing the issues, the newspaper’s market share began to grow dramatically offering a clear alternative to the public in its city.  It became recognized for the niche it had chosen as a ‘people’s newspaper’.

A manufacturer

Situation:
Rapid growth in its specialization of design, manufacture and distribution of its products throughout North America, this British-based firm had run into severe growth pains and was unable to satisfy its clients even in simple matters such as on-time deliveries.  The great start it had mastered was beginning to erode.

Action:
Beginning with the foundations of respect, the overriding theme of The Respect
Revolution, the company engaged in a SAR identifying 137 issues, prioritizing them setting up the mechanisms back home of a problem management council.  During the year 41 new issues arrived at their doorstep.  A year after the SAR, the company had wrestled 93 issues to the ground at an average outside cost of $413 per issue resolved, removing well over 90% of the company pains.  It then moved onto defining its mission, creating a strategic plan and implementing it.

Results:
Within a year the company became the most profitable unit in the group of 7 worldwide operations run by its British parent.

A law firm

Situation:
|A patent law firm felt itself stagnating and was rife with internal conflict.  Having been formed by numerous acquisitions of small partnerships, the company epitomized the oft-used description of ‘trying to herd cats’.  It position on the recognition scale as a patent law firm in the three cities it served was almost off the radar screen.

Action:
26 lawyers and staff of this 150-person company met at a SAR retreat for three days and accepted the philosophy of The Respect Revolution, especially the need for respect, but not without incident.  One lawyer left in a huff in the midst of the session that emphasized cooperation (and shortly thereafter left the firm altogether).  103 issues were identified; at the forefront were issues related to marketing the firm and cooperation amongst staff.

Results:
With a well-defined marketing program, the firm began to assume its rightful place and within three years, not only continued its impressive growth but also reached a level of recognition for its expertise by peers and public alike so that its name was on the tongue tips of anyone interested in patent and trademark issues across the country and internationally.

An arts organization

Situation:
Starved for cash like most arts organizations, this group was agonizing through the trauma of working under a new artistic leader, one who was quite indifferent to the business aspects of the enterprise despite its multimillion-dollar budget.

Action:
A mini-SAR, tailored to the company’s limited means, allowed the identification and prioritization of 55 problems that had to be addressed with need for ‘respect’ looming as a dominant over-riding issue throughout the enterprise along with a general understanding of The Respect Revolution.  Regularly conducted problem-solving groups, pared down the issues one by one.  A comprehensive two-year plan was established.

Results:
Respect for the underpaid staff, respect for the artists, respect for sponsors, respect for donors, respect for board members and respect for business issues put the company on an even keel.  Within 3 years it erased its $600,000 deficit to show a small surplus.  Recognition around the country and beyond, as a successful arts group, not only in performance but also in management, followed.  It was tagged for, and received, increased funds by government granting agencies.

A microchip engineering firm

Situation:
With the technology bust of 2001, this well-financed venture was a long, long way from meeting its expectations.  The CEO was on the hot seat; in fact, a replacement for him had already been identified by the Board of Directors and its venture capitalists.

Action:
The first issue was to show the Board that the incumbent CEO had control over the situation, which meant dealing directly and swiftly with a senior VP, a technology guru, who was usurping the authority of the CEO in front of the Board.  As well the CEO and his team created an action plan based on the SAR that had identified 131 issues company wide.  With the strong collaboration of the HR manager the people issues and low morale had to be dealt with quickly.

Results:
The Board was relieved with the CEO’s new aggressive stance and he remains strongly in that position to this day.  The rogue VP was brought under control professionally and respectfully so that the firm continues to benefit from his world-famous expertise, as a fully participating member of the management team.  The staff issues were dealt with as a high priority so that morale is no longer an issues; in fact, the situation is just the opposite: the firm is held in high esteem throughout the high tech sector for its strong staff spirit.  New senior members to the firm express their initial surprise how issues are dealt with so effectively and respectfully following the tenets of The Respect Revolution.  The organization continues to grow in a difficult market while many of its peer companies have since disappeared.

A conglomerate

Situation:
Starting a few years earlier from a base of $25 million, this multi-faceted enterprise was enjoying sales of $200 millions in it various ventures, and by most measures appeared successful.  However it was unsure of its role and its purpose and where it was heading.  A newly appointed CEO encountered a staff that was conflictive with one another at certain stations.

Action:
First, to establish direction, a team of 17 managers met for two days to identify its purpose and for another two days to plan its direction for the next two years setting a timetable to reach $500 millions. Following the action items listed in The Respect Revolution, the team found themselves cooperating on issues where cooperation had been lacking previously.

Results:
“For the first time, I know what we are supposed to be doing” said one participant at the end of the Mission session.  Following its plan, the company prospered and continued to grow in both sales and profits.  It has been recognized throughout Canada and the U.S. as a model for its type of specialization.

An oil drilling company

Situation:
A loose partnership of two companies involved in oil and gas drilling and exploration undertook to combine their efforts related to the upcoming billion dollars MacKenzie Valley pipeline project.  The companies wanted to establish a joint strategy that would combine the strengths of both and from that (i) establish a joint vision and (ii) lay out its plan for moving forward, utilizing the common and the differing issues so that the best position for the organizations could be exploited to be ready to gain substantial new exploration-related contracts. 

Action:
A 12-member executive team for the two groups was quickly assembled to form and articulate a joint vision and mission statement. Then a combined plan was developed and an action list drawn on The Respect Revolution, was established by using both companies’ assets and strengths in the fields of drilling rigs, establishing camps for rigs, production testing of wells, supply-line piping, drilling pads for Shell, Imperial, Conoco-Phillips, etc., oil-field equipment rentals and supplies, off-shore oil rigs, heli-rigs to rescue blow-outs, mud and cement supply and storage, spill management, rat-hole rigs, etc.

Results:
A fundamental 20-item strategic plan was developed statement was postured and articulated for all members of the two enterprises. A 32-item action list defined who was to do what by when and by which means.

A specialty travel agency

Situation:
A highly specialized travel agency that took people on global tours associated with the performing arts was locked into a stagnant growth position.

Action:
At a SAR, the management team identified 115 problems and created an action plan to deal with them and to get the momentum back into the company’s core business.  Because it was a small enterprise it found it an easy leap to adopt ideas from The Respect Revolution and immediately moved onto the planning phase, laying out a strategic plan for the next two years of operations.

Results:
Within 12 months, the company increased its touring by 50% including such diverse destinations as New York, Bermuda, Buenos Aires, Milan and Tokyo.

An investment firm

Situation:
A lack of coordination and cooperation within the sales department of this investment group led to an unaccustomed lethargy and concern about growth.

Action:
A series of initiatives to install respect, drawn from The Respect Revolution,  including (i) basic training on running effective meetings, (ii) application of personality differences management were applied to improve the interactions of the team.  The latter resulted in a profile of the team and hence the profile of the department (which turned out to be PAVF).

Results:
The investment firm enjoyed a position as officially being recognized as one of Canada’s 50 best-run companies.  They boast to prospective new employees that they run the entire enterprise based on basic elements of The Respect Revolution, especially PAVF concepts.

An Internet development firm

Situation:
A startup high technology enterprise wanted help ‘to do thing right from the beginning’.

Action:
Doing things ‘right’ commenced with the training of the key partners at a site in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with the initial familiarization of The Respect Revolution management fundamentals.  This was followed by a SAR, back near the company’s home base with the full management team in attendance.  Due to its small size, the team identified only 42 problems that had to be resolved.

Results:
The company went on to be recognized as the authority of internet connectivity, in its own geographic location.

A software contracting firm

Situation:
Located in Pennsylvania - New Jersey area, this firm of 300 employees was bogged down in its strategy for moving forward.

Action:
An introduction to management fundamentals of PAVF and the Evolution Pyramid and other elements of The Respect Revolution was followed by an intense planning session involving approximately 20 executives. Besides working in the group environment, one-on-one sessions were held with each participant, one of whom referred to the CCCC consultant as “our company shrink”. 

Results:
A clear strategy for moving forward was articulated, gaining buy-in from both the management team and less-senior staff members.  It included aggressive expansion plans into three other geographic locales.  Within the year, the firm moved on to become not only the leading software provider in its region, but also one receiving national recognition as the model to follow, referred to, in subsequent years, at national conferences of the industry.

A specialty software firm

Situation:
A Texas-based specialty software company enjoying a tight bond with a well-established local client base found itself foundering more aimlessly than it knew was wise.  Its modus operandi of responding to situations as they arose, rather than proactively planned action taking, limited its ability to show any sustained growth.

Action:
An analysis showed that among the issues the company wanted to address were: competitive advantages, wasteful meetings, sporadic communications, too much “me”, changing priorities too often, lack of teamwork, absence of organizational plans, and ‘actuals’ not conforming to budgets.  With the underpinnings of The Respect Revolution, the Finance department, the Technology department, the Sales/Marketing department and the Recruiting department each created its own mini-plan.  The groups came together shortly thereafter to form a master plan that would take this $4 million/year enterprise to $12 millions in three years.

Results:
“Thank you for the insights into real business planning” offered one participant.  “I have had a glimpse into the depth of business experience and can see the benefits of enjoying strong business relationships.”  The firm at the time of this writing is on target to achieve its goals despite huge recent negative developments in its marketplace.

A technical writing firm

Situation:
With aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing as major clients for technical manual writing translation and publication, the company had obtained a solid niche.  It wanted to move ‘to the next level’.

Action:
At a SAR, the executive team of 15 people listed 39 discrete expectations for the session, all of which were met.  They identified 169 company issues to be addressed including the very important one of leadership. In terms of sheer numbers, the largest sector of problems (of 24 sectors) was in the domain of production (39%) followed second by strategic issues (19%) and third structural issues (12%).   However in terms of seriousness, the structural issues dominated.

Results:
The first issue, production problems, were dealt with one-by-one back at the shop with the cooperation of the entire staff who immediately heaved a sigh of relief knowing that long overdue concerns were in the process of being addressed.

To deal with the second issue, strategic planning a new session focused on planning was scheduled, was actioned, and its elements were subsequently carried out.

Only through an understanding of The Respect Revolution could the important structural issue before the company be resolved.  The result: the two founders, a husband and wife team, ‘fired’ themselves from the leadership roles.  They brought in a professional CEO.  One founder ‘retired’ from active involvement serving as chairman of the board while the other continued to run the technical department, her preferred specialty.

A cancer research lab

Situation:
A newly arrived worldwide expert on cancer research had arrived in North America from Europe, employed to conduct clinical trials related to cancer patient care and to manage a small disparate medical team.  He was overwhelmed with the ‘politics’ of this world-class institution, despite its reputation as the tops in its field in the country and its being classified as one of the most respected institutions of its type anywhere on the planet.

Action:
Only by gaining an understanding of The Respect Revolution, could the esteemed doctor and his extremely capable assistant deal with the various issues and internecine rivalries, one by one, carefully, respectfully and directly.

Results:
It took only six weeks (although that time may have seemed endless for those in the midst of the battles) to get an out-of-control situation tamed, one that had a dubious history of several years duration.  Henceforth the professionals were able to get to the main issues of cancer care rather than having political issues thwart their every move.

A protective armor company

Situation:
Having developed an international reputation for the effectiveness of its protective armor against terrorists and criminals, this company would seem to be sitting pretty, especially since the products enjoyed the endorsement of movie stars who used the products in making action-packed films.  However the reality was that some senior executives were slowly and painfully being eased out of the loop of influence despite denials to the contrary.  Besides affecting moral, the company could not be as effective as it should be.

Action:
Spearheaded by an understanding senior VP, the challenge became to work from middle management levels upwards, contrary to our usual approach of working from the top echelons down (and then back up again).  First the “excluded” executives had to comprehend themselves, who they were and what talents they really possessed.  Then those talents had to be related to the company’s apparent needs (apparent because unable to share with the CEO, one had to verify that the outward signals were the correct ones).  These executives had to decide on one of two options: (a) to seek opportunities outside of the firm or (b) more difficult, to get back on the “in” list within the existing firm.   An analysis showed that the company was using an outdated and ineffective matrix management system.  It was now up to these ostracized executives to take several steps as detailed or implied in The Respect Revolution: (i) define their own desired stands (ii) set boundaries for the effect of the misbehavior of others, especially executives at higher levels (iii) in every situation, with people above and below, define outcomes anticipated, and (iv) state the consequences if those outcomes did not occur.  In effect this became an exercise in how to train your boss without your boss knowing it.

Results:
The senior executives created the situation that resulted in their being given more responsibility in keeping with their capabilities.  Concurrently the fortunes of the company rose – although not quite what they could be if the desire for ‘executive repairs’ had originated at the very top.

A wireless communications company

Situation:
Although ‘wireless’ refers to any form of radio communication as defined by the success of Marconi’s first wireless transmission from England to Newfoundland a century ago, the term today is used most often in the context of cell phone usage.  This particular west-cost-based cell phone division was enjoying spectacular growth not only in sales but also clearly in percentage of market share. However, its rise in consumer popularity was outstripping its ability to manage such growth.  Although its strategic direction was well articulated, it encountered difficulties in moving forwards with a common front.

Action:
What was to be a divisional analysis caught the fancy of the headquarters and soon it became a national rather than a regional session.  Because of that it excluded some of the less senior western people but including others from across the country.  The result was a rather large group for this type of event, namely 35 executives.  The first session, taking place in the middle of the country, was used to impart the management fundamentals of The Respect Revolution to the executive group.

Results:
How well the management knowledge was gathered and subsequently employed is not well known at this time.  However, one by one all 35 executives were analyzed for PAVF characteristics resulting in a collective ‘personality’ of this company’s management team of PAVF, more like a social club than a business.  It was not surprising then, with a focus on people (F) that senior management could not pare down the 35 who would attend such an event to the requested maximum of 25 participants.  Nor was it astonishing to note that their action orientation (P) was balanced with their ideas generation (V) supported by less-than-strong detailing (low A).

An environmental clean-up firm

Situation:
With a strongly committed parent company this spin off organization was given both the mandate and the finances to go forth and multiply.  Its role was to provide environmental services mainly to the petroleum industry such as site clean up, waste management, water treatment, landfill management, etc. A combination of three existing enterprises was brought together to form the new company, not yet named.  The purpose was to lay out a strategy to take advantage of the combined company’s skills, desire for growth and the timeliness of entering the market at that juncture.

Action:
Leaders of each of the three groups, the head of the new group (Newco) and a representative from the parent organization met in the city where the enterprise was to be located.  Following the precepts of The Respect Revolution the participants defined 11 reasons for the gathering and articulated the measure of success of the session to be (i) establishing the role of Newco (ii) creating a workable plan for Newco.  A tagline (EEE Environmental and Engineering Excellence) was articulated along with the spelling out of vision, purpose and value statements. Out of the strategic planning process evolved a clear direction with an action list of how to get there.

Results:
Besides the environmental arenas stipulated above, Newco would provide services in industrial land development, water use planning (tapping portions of rivers for use), water quality testing, oil and gas regulatory permit verification, environmental impact assessments, biophysical surveys, environmental compliance measures, ice profiling, bathymetric surveys, etc.  This $7 million enterprise laid out a step-by-step plan to move to $33 millions within 5 years, boosting margins from the current 20% to 37% along with a return on investment of 24.5%.  As a measure of success, and as one of its first steps, Newco secured 80% of the market share for the environmental planning contracts in its large geographic area. 

A career coaching company

Situation:
In the spring of 2004, a U.S.-based career guidance company wanted to provide coaching applying the Respect Revolution principles to some of their senior executive clients in two locations in Canada.

Action:
Taking on this assignment, executives in Ottawa and Winnipeg received professional coaching.  By the summer of that same year the U.S. company asked the principals to assume, on a three-year contract basis, the full operations of that company’s offices in Ottawa. Very quickly, the old staffing complement and mode of operations were rationalized, and a key effective person was made the lead for the new reorganization.

Only a few months into the three-year contract, the deal came to a premature close as a result of an upheaval within the U.S. company, which ceased its operations in Canada and, unfortunately, abandoned its clients across the country. Immediately, a new enterprise was formed by the principals to fill the breach.

Results:
Over the next year, the newly formed company built up its own client base. Word-of-mouth referrals spoke well of its effective approach, caring attitude and professionalism, allowing the company to expand and enjoy clients not only in Ottawa but also in Montreal, Toronto, Penetanguishe, Washington DC, Vienna, Austria, Barcelona Spain, Dubai United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Shanghai China.  Sales grew by more than 400% over the year.

PART B – SPECIFIC ISSUES

Below, a single example problem is identified and addressed for each of five company situations.

A newspaper

Situation:
For almost five years, this big city daily newspaper was regularly behind in its deliveries. It was embarrassing. It caused frustration among management and resulted in loss of customers. For some years efforts had been made to “clean it up,” but the problem still persisted.

Action:
The management group met to address the issue and, guided by a CCCC facilitator, applied these preaching to reach a resolution. As the group was discussing the “critical mass” of individuals that would make up the task force, a name was raised, dropped, raised again, but always mumbled. “I think I hear you mentioning the name Charlie. Is he part of the ‘critical mass’?” the facilitator asked.

“Well,” replied the CFO, “by your formula he would be, but it makes no sense. Besides you don’t know Charlie.” They explained that Charlie, while part of management, was really outside the group, a lone ranger, hated meetings, was snarly in disposition, but otherwise quite valuable at his job.

“Then perhaps, since he’s part of the critical mass, you should include Charlie,” the facilitator offered.

“No,” someone countered, “if there's anyone NOT to include, it’s Charlie.”

“Let’s get away from Charlie’s personality for a minute,” suggested the guide. “We have a simple question to answer here. Is Charlie part of the critical mass as we defined it a few minutes ago, or is he not? This requires a yes or no answer only. It is not a debate. So can I hear ‘yes’ or ‘no’?”

“Well, yes, but you don’t know Charlie.”

“I will make it even simpler for you. If you have the critical mass, you will be able to resolve the issue. If you do not have the critical mass you will NOT solve the problem. And that is totally predictable--100% guaranteed. Regardless of Charlie’s disposition, if the answer is ‘yes,’ he must be included. If it is ‘no,’ strike him off the list.”

"Okay, let’s add Charlie to the list; but we don’t think you really understand.”

A week later the facilitator returned to the group and asked how the meeting with Charlie had gone. They explained that Charlie sat at the table, arms folded, with a scowl on his face. As a practice in the office, nobody had invited Charlie to meetings. He actually thought he was at this one to be sacked. As the meeting progressed, and after a lengthy silence on his part, Charlie began to speak on the details of which he was the expert. Then he noticed that nobody contradicted his comments, he was always fully heard, he was never interrupted, no one seemed to dominate the meeting, and no “hidden agenda” was apparent. He contributed more. After a few hours the group arrived at a solution.

Results:
Signs of delivery improvements showed within the week. By six weeks, the delivery problem was non-existent. A return on time invested, while not precisely calculated, was estimated at well over 100:1. A huge, five-year-old thorn in the side of the organization had been removed. (And Charlie's involvement with the management group was greatly improved.)

A manufacturer

Situation:
A loudspeaker manufacturer addressed a huge number of issues, wrestling with the most difficult ones first, so that after about a year and a half, the priority list of over 100 problems was reduced down to three or four. An example of one of the more knotty problems during this time was the “RA” situation--Return Authorizations. Products and materials being returned to the plant for any of a variety of reasons--rejects, demo returns, repairs, etc.--would get out of control once they arrived back at the factory. Who was doing what, when and for what reason, for hundreds of items each month, was unclear. The resulting billing for services rendered was inconsistent, customers were angry, and people in the company, second-guessing each other, were forever stepping on each other’s toes. Tempers flared.

Action:
At the outset, the problem-solving group identified thirty-three issues related to RA, breaking the approach into six main tasks and the overall concerns into five groups: education, triggers to initiate action, customer issues, enforcement, and information tracking. Out of this came rules for a step-by-step action, identification tags, advice to clients, and an understanding that Product RA’s were quite different from Service RA’s. (Service RA’s led down another path of warranty definitions and policy.) An assessment method was established for RA’s such as customer dissatisfaction, shipping damage, internal error, consignment, etc. Ultimately, a process evolved, carefully controlling each RA from “birth to grave.” It took more than fifteen two-hour-long meetings to get to the bottom of the issues and their myriad of sub-issues, all of which had to be chased to the end--each to a successful solution or action plan.

Results:
The RA issue had positive ramifications in the plant and its solution relieved pressures throughout the company, including the front office, accounting department, customs department, sales, and so on. Customers and distributors acknowledged the improved processes, even indicating that the company was superior to other suppliers in the process of shipping, re-shipping, and control of products. Instructions were concise and accurate; misunderstandings were avoided; and a sense that things happened as expected gave these stakeholders increased confidence in the company.

A law firm

Situation:
A patent law firm had been wrangling for two years as to whether or not patent engineers should be permitted to become partners in the firm. One faction felt that engineers should, while the other faction felt that partnership in a law firm was a privilege uniquely for lawyers. The issue became very divisive, with the office in one city taking the engineers’ position while the office in another city favored the “lawyers-only” status quo.

The situation had been brought to a head because an engineer with many years’ service (in the city that favored inducting engineers into the partnership) was about to leave if she could not be “cut in on the action.”

Action:
As I was about to enter the first session, the managing director pulled me aside. “Bill,” he whispered, “I know you’re pretty good at this stuff, but this is a really tough one. Every time we bring it up at the partners’ meeting, the temperature rises until the meeting actually breaks down. We have to stop the meeting and then move on to other items on the agenda. You know, we are lawyers, trained to resolve difficult issues, trained in mediation and in problem solving. Anyway, I’m not saying this to scare you, I’m telling you as a sign that if you cannot resolve this one, I will understand and our work with you will continue.”

“Thanks, Ed,” I offered. “Let’s see what happens.”

The critical mass for the issue involved thirteen lawyers in three cities hooked together by a teleconference call. I consider this a very large group. But I can tell you that a critical mass has strict criteria, and thirteen lawyers was the number that it took in this case. The meeting progressed for two hours, which is as long as I allow. At the wrap-up of the meeting and after setting the date for the next session, the participants were giving their feedback[1] of their impressions of the discussion, one by one, when one opined: “I don’t see where this is going. We’re just rehashing all the same old issues. It’s a waste of time! Caswell, where do you see this going?”

With my usual alacrity and candor, I said: “I haven’t a clue.”

Suddenly there was a commotion. “If you don’t have a clue, how are we supposed to be getting somewhere?” someone shouted.

“Let me rephrase that,” I recovered. “I have no idea where this will lead. I never do, and anyone who presumes to know does not understand the complexity of a group solution. However, what I do know is that the canoe is moving properly down the river; we are shooting every set of rapids that we are hitting without anyone falling out of the canoe. I also know we will reach the wide mouth of the river soon where the water will be much calmer. We’ll find out more next Friday.”

Someone mumbled, “We’ll see!”

Results:
At the following meeting, the thirteen lawyers and I were hard at it when, after one hour, a unanimous solution had been developed. (Solutions must always be unanimous; otherwise the result is not a solution but a compromise.) Feedback, to allow people uncomfortable with any aspect of the solution to offer their concerns, was initiated. Since there were no further concerns, I proposed we close down the meeting. Someone said, “No, you can’t do that. We’ve got an hour left--we’re on a roll. Let’s keep going.”

“Yeah!” the excited school-like group chimed almost in unison. So, two other issues related to the newly admitted engineer-partners policy were decided and confirmed--salary and share aspects.

The cost to solve the problems was about $15,000, including all lawyers’ time at their full billing rates. The benefit of keeping six experienced engineers on staff could be measured in millions of dollars per year.

An arts organization

Situation:
In its fifteenth year of existence, this performing arts organization depended heavily on the direct participation of its board members in fundraising to match its ticket income of several millions of dollars, and in volunteering to assist in its special fundraising events. As in its peer companies in other cities, staff members felt they were underpaid and overworked. Added to their stress were their resentful feelings that some of the board members had a cavalier and interfering attitude towards staff. The board members, in turn, felt they had contributed great amounts of their own money and time, only to encounter disrespectful and uncooperative staff members. Despite these difficulties, the spectacles put on by the company were admired by the public who responded by means of repeated sold-out performances, in the largest and most prestigious venue in town, if not the country.

Action:
Over the course of several meetings, the expectations of board members were articulated both qualitatively and quantitatively. More important, the role of the board members was broken into two parts, one comprised of board members responsible for governance and the other of volunteers responsible for fundraising. In this latter capacity, the roles were reversed--the board volunteers reported to staff members. Board members were educated on how to maintain clarity of the distinction between the two roles and to remain aware of which hat they were wearing at any moment. A timetable of events for the year was established, telling which roles board members would be assuming with each. A feedback system was installed to measure how well each board member was participating and how well each was able to be integrated into the new arrangement. The feedback was tied to a system that would react to those board members who might fall below defined acceptable performance levels.

Results:
Previously unheard of degrees of cooperation between board and staff manifested itself in not only reduced conflict between the two bodies, but also more efficiency in the office, as well as increased fundraising. The performances themselves also raised the bar to even higher levels of artistry, which some people attributed to the new “attitudes behind the stage.”

A microchip engineering firm

Situation:
Upon completing the design of a new microchip, it was common practice to have an evaluation process that would establish whether or not the chip was to go into production, and what to look for as its limitations and special features, both from a manufacturing and a market acceptance viewpoint. In this particular company, the evaluation program was inconsistent and the portion that did exist was not adequately communicated amongst affected departments. A team was set up to find a solution for the unsatisfactory design evaluation process.

Action:
The team discovered that there was no defined process in the company for design evaluation--just a number of disjointed policies and procedures, some written, some not. So a first step was to define, refine, and document the design evaluation process for the company. During the solution, twenty-three concerns were addressed, put into five categories and appropriately prioritized. Thirty-one interim tasks were initiated and completed by team members to help arrive at a desirable solution. Over six months, thirteen meetings were held totaling about twenty-four hours of meeting time.

Results:
A flow chart was developed for Design Evaluation with ties into every relevant department in the company, accompanied by feedback loops, definitions of responsibilities, and personal accountability. Impact to the company over the next twelve months of having a satisfactory design evaluation process was estimated at no less than $312,000, with an upside in the millions.