Workshops

Better Gut Decisions - Managers with substantial experience tend to make decisions intuitively. For better or worse, they do not engage in a rational decision-making process. How might we make better intuitive decisions? How might we expand the decision maker's "field of vision" in order to pick up informative clues? This workshop will focus on the (surprising) nature of intuition and two important phenomena that every manager needs to be aware of: weak signals and predictable surprises.  

The Challenge of Change Leadership at all levels, almost by definition, is about change. Yet over 70% of change initiatives fail. This workshop will deal with the strategy and tactics of change leadership. We will look at what has to be undone before new things can be done; how thinking must change before we can expect changes in behavior; and how multiple, interlocking programs may be the secret to change success.  

Crisis Leadership
This workshop is about stopping or containing potential disasters and quickly restoring the organization to high-level performance. The focus here will be on proactive management of operations. We will investigate the main sources of crises and explore the planning and integrated operations that would enable an organization to identify and strongly respond to potential catastrophes.  

Leading Innovation
This workshop, based on studies of "best-of-breed" innovative organizations, will combine an investigation of "Principles and Best Practices" with a novel examination of "Leadership for Innovation." We will answer two important questions:   What are the overarching responsibilities of leaders with regard to innovation? What are the specific roles of leaders in each phase of the innovation process?  

Designing a Product or Technology Strategy
How and why do customer needs-and therefore market dynamics-change? What is the difference between great products and great architectures? How does one create and capture value (even in the face of inconsistent customer choices)? What are the two major paths for product introduction and how might we choose the right one? These are some of the key questions treated in this workshop.  

When You're Asked To Do The Impossible:   Leading in the Face of Great Challenge
This workshop examines why some teams succeed at accomplishing the "impossible" time and again. It explores the nature of teams and leaders who take on the toughest challenges and accomplish their goals even against great odds. Using a variety of case studies, we examine critical topics such as the four dimensions of high stakes teams, competencies and skill sets, team formation, operations and best practices, decision making in the face of chaos, motivation, and learning.  

Creativity Under-the-Gun:   Accelerating Innovation with High Stakes Teams
Invention/Discovery teams represent an important vehicle that businesses are utilizing to develop new products and services. These teams face the daunting challenge of having to produce, in a very short time, highly creative ideas that are well developed and ready for implementation. This workshop will present case studies and lessons regarding how successful innovation teams operate. It will also underscore the responsibilities of senior leaders in sponsoring, supporting and championing these teams.  

Gaining Acceptance:   The Hard Part of Creativity
It is often easier to come up with a creative concept than it is to get others to say "Yes" to that idea. Even very strong creative ideas do not sell themselves due to their nature - they are DIFFERENT! In this workshop, we will explore some of the reasons why people tend to reject new ideas and why they may be "right" to do so. We will also provide and examine a substantial repertoire of tactics that we can utilize to gain acceptance for novel solutions and change initiatives.  

Everyone an Innovator:   Sparking Creativity Throughout an Organization            
In what ways might we actualize and focus the creative potential of all staff members? How do the great innovative organizations (big and small) harvest novel ideas from everyone and everywhere? These are the key challenges we will address in this workshop, which is loaded with real-life anecdotes, studies and tactics that will provoke serious thought about how to make everyone in the organization an innovator.

Turning Technical Groups into High Performing Teams
Getting highly technical people to work together can sometimes seem challenging. The delays in plugging the BP oil leak may have inadvertently shown that high performing technical teams and brainstorming are not as abundant as we thought. This workshop will examine the three key tenets of high performing teams (diversity, Tuckman's team building model, and brain dominance) and through exercises identify steps to take to evolve some technical teams into high performing ones.

Leadership vs. Management:   The Huge Difference and Why Many Companies Have Gaps
It may be surprising, but there are still many people in organizations that don't clearly know the difference between these key roles. It isn't just about tactical versus strategic, or getting the job done now versus planning for the future. The differences between the two is staggering and will be illuminated with case studies, roles and responsibilities and a series of exercises that will create an archetype of both with qualities that can be developed, or used as criteria for hiring or promotion.

Why Being Lucky May be Better than Being Smart:   What is it About Lucky Folks in Business?
Why do some people always find fortune? Is it by chance? Is it by luck? The newest data shows that lucky people have a tendency to make their luck happen. Their luck is created by the way they think and act. The lucky folks see and exploit opportunities that others completely miss. This workshop will discuss the four principles that make people "lucky." Through a series of exercises attendees will identify ways and tasks to create their own luck and build their ability to change their luck and success in their companies.

Cultural Differences:   Why Knowing Them and Self Awareness is Essential in Global Organizations
In the next 10 years, leading global teams will be the standard versus the exception. In order to be successful in this extremely challenging role, you must have three key things going for you:   Intellectual capital (your ability to understand how business works and operates on a global scale while creating multiple worldwide contingencies and scenarios to mitigate risk); Psychological capital (your ability to succeed in a culture or cultures completely different from your own, which is fueled by a passion for diversity and adventure); Social capital (your ability to connect and build relationships with people from other parts of the world through your intercultural skills and innate diplomacy and cultural flexibility). This workshop will define what these types of capital are, and present examples of people with both excellent and substandard levels of all of them. Through case studies people will be able to identify their strengths and weaknesses in their capital levels, with tasks they can do to improve them.

Generational Challenges in the Workplace and How They can be Leveraged to Create Great Teams
The next 10-15 years will show a complete reversal in the make-up of the generations in the American workplace. The Baby Boomers will no longer be in charge and with that will come the end of their influence in the workplace. This workshop, through exploration of the differences in the generations, will help people identify the benefits of diverse cultural teams while helping folks better understand why the generations think differently. Examples will be presented of exceptional teams rife with generational diversity and exercises will be done to help people bridge the differences and exploit the synergies of generationally diverse teams.

Viral Change and how it is an Essential Element for Change Management in all Organizations
80% of change management programs fail. The reasons for these failures will be explored while a new concept of "viral change" is introduced. The workplace no longer listens to the senior leaders. Psychological research shows our peers influence us more. This workshop will explore why champions, identified from indirect leaders and developed from our peer groups, are the best way to lead successful change in the workplace. This workshop will explore the concepts of "viral change," including the tools to be used to drive it and how some key concepts of top-down communication must be used and linked to the success stories of "viral change."

Emotional Intelligence (EI) in the Workplace and Why it is a Necessity in Today's Diverse Corporations
In the old days, a high IQ was an essential characteristic of leaders. Current research shows that a high EQ or "Emotional Quotient" is more important in our organizations. This workshop will introduce participants to the key tenets of Daniel Goleman's emotional intelligence (Self awareness, Self regulation, Empathy, Social expertise, Motivation and Mastery of purpose and vision). Attendees will do exercises to assess their levels of EI and identify ways to enhance theirs and their teams' levels of EI.