When Your Assets Have Feet

We offer a variety of programs that can be combined to form a series of executive development sessions for your organization depending on your current needs. We specialize in custom programs or long-term initiatives to address a specific business challenge.

Our expertise includes the issues of generational and cultural diversity and how they apply to key staff retention, employee engagement and retirement/succession planning. We apply our proven approaches and techniques for building leadership capacity and fostering a culture of innovation. Customized training can be delivered at the location of your choice.

We have found there are three areas that account for success in a program: First, each individual must be provided with careful developmental opportunities based in his or her own make up, and particularly strengths. Second, a successful program must offer relationship awareness and skills so participants can effectively deal with the differences that are uncovered in the first aspect of the program. Third, the values between the individual and the organization must be identified and aligned. Without this last aspect of the program, the organization may lose valuable resources.

Our approach includes all three of these program aspects. We assume technical competence on the part of the individual and the organization. In short, we do not attempt to tell you how to run your business. We understand that sustained competitive advantage for any organization lies in the ability of its people to collaborate and work synergistically. In that environment, innovation is a natural response. The three pronged approach outlined above leads individuals and teams toward these objectives.


We offer the following 3-day executive programs and suggest starting with “Establishing a Baseline” in order to measure success outcomes in professional development. After a baseline establishment, the programs can be mixed according to client need.

Establishing a Baseline and Strategy
3 sessions – 1 per month or 1 every two months

Focus: How to establish and then align your internal value system including baseline metrics based on your organization. We begin with a one day “Blue Sky” session. What is the organizational value of your group? We will clarify your “Core” – the essence of your brand. This will provide a working “Values Baseline.” In order to retain valuable human capital, executives and senior management must pay attention to the tacit structures inherent in any organization. Those tacit structures carry important values. On the second day we will perform a “Values Assessment” and explore alignment and gaps in operational values. A SWOT analysis will be utilized to isolate strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and align them to espoused-values and values-in-action. On the third day, we will incorporate the information gathered by the participants with the designed strategy to produce a strategic plan to move your vision into action and begin to live your brand.

Outcomes:
• development of a Values Baseline
• Participant Data Collection and Interpretation
• Values Assessment
• SWOT analysis
• Organization and Leadership Review (OLR)
• align organizational structure and talent with strategy


Advanced Programs

Strategic Transformation
3 sessions – 1 per month or 1 every two months

Focus: A strategic approach is necessary for sustainable change. We will apply concepts and operational frameworks from the book “Creativity in Business” and the program developed at Stanford to further your understanding of the dynamic nature of values and how they align. We will use our values framework of foundation values, focus or day-to-day operational values, and “vision” values that exert a pull toward the future. You will be introduced to understanding the process of transformation and implementation/execution tools to lead your team by first working with individual (your own) values, then with group, and finally with organizational values. As a result of attending these sessions, you will take with you a working knowledge of values and how to apply that knowledge to organizational transformation. Designed for management with direct reports.

Outcomes:
• alignment/integration of your Values Baseline
• apply frameworks and concepts from our “Creativity in Business” approach
• apply those frameworks to organizational turnaround
• address specific challenges in implementation
• deepen your understanding of leadership challenges during a corporate transformation
• learn how to build and support a environment of trust
• identify environmental factors that encourage or inhibit creativity


Cross-Generational Communication
3 sessions – 1 per month or 1 every two months

Focus: Miscommunication, confusion and conflict arise when people of different generations or cultures work together. How then do you optimize team performance? Understanding your own cultural and generational assumptions and communication style is the first step. We begin with a one day communication session that involves personal an group interpretation of communication norms using an evaluative instrument (ie. MBTI or FIRO-B). Next we will establish a cultural/generational framework by which managers can enhance the creative effects of generational diversity. On the third day, we will practice skill building in order to operationalize the framework. Peer-coaching will enable participants to practice relationship-building skills and return to the workplace with a toolkit to enhance communication.

Outcomes:
• assessment of current situation and development of communication baseline
• Participant assessment (MBTI or FIRO-B)
• focus on key challenges and formulate a challenge statement to focus efforts
• Organization and Leadership Review (OLR)
• develop peer coaching expertise
• new insight into the people issues that effect business outcomes
• align organizational structure and talent with strategy


Building An Innovative Organization
Translating Vision and Values Into Operational Results
(originally developed for UBC-Executive Education)
3 sessions – 1 per month or 1 every two months

Focus: What are the links between corporate culture and key organizational objectives? How do your vision and values translate into measurable outcomes? If an organization’s success depends on the talents of its people, senior managers must find ways to invest in human capital. One way to do this is by creating the right environment for valued employees. In this program, you will gain tools to design and implement an innovative corporate culture that maximizes the contribution of everyone within the organization. You will explore the five major trends that are shaping our new workforce.

Outcomes:
• take organizational actions to retain valuable human capital and increase productivity
• build a more collective organizational culture
• measure your corporate culture and the success of your efforts
• align behaviours with organizational goals
• develop common values and an environment of trust
• avoid the most common cultural traps that drive an organization down


Generational Work/Life Balance
3 sessions – 1 per month or 1 every two months

Focus: To sustain the passion and energy that we initially bring to a new job can be difficult. All employees start by being 100% engaged. However, changing demands of the marketplace, shifts in corporate structure, challenging interpersonal dynamics and the vast array of stressors and expectations in modern family and personal life frequently drain our enthusiasm. In this program, you will develop holistic coping strategies and tools for stress reduction including re-framing techniques for your current challenges based on a multi-generational perspective.

Outcomes:
• identify individual values and “what do I really want in my life”
• establish priorities that reflect what is really important
• identify current obstacles to living a balanced lifestyle personally and professionally
• learn strategies to remove obstacles and ensure my priorities are maintained
• build stress management skills
• discover the challenges and opportunities of four generations in the workforce
• develop a coping plan to implement changes in my personal life
• articulate a wish-list of changes for further discussion with my organization


Your Creative Edge
3 sessions – 1 per month or 1 every two months

Focus: What are the barriers to creativity in your organization? How do you overcome them? This program explores your ability to innovate and you will practice techniques to enhance your own natural creative ability. By sharpening your creative edge, you will develop tools for transformation to top performing teams and maintaining enthusiasm and engagement in the workplace.

Outcomes:
• you will enhance your ability to suspend judgement and overcome barriers to the creative process
• recognize the key factors required for personal creativity
• increase your confidence in your creative abilities
• use the four tools of creative thinking established at the Stanford Business School in the “Creativity in Business” program
• apply a series of creative techniques at work
• develop strategies and retention plans for key employees using a creative focus


Women’s Leadership Program
3 sessions – 1 per month or 1 every two months

Focus: Designed for and staffed by women, this program meets the unique needs of women executives. In using powerful assessment and feedback instruments, participants will discover untapped resources and learn strategies for leading authentically. The identification of personal strengths and unique qualities of each participant will increase business development and networking capability. This program will identify untapped talents and explore the choices and tradeoffs that women face in our fast-paced global environment.

Outcomes:
• each participant will receive the MBTI, FIRO-B and associated Leadership Report
• gain a deeper understanding of personal communication styles
• practice relational networking
• develop peer coaching ability
• improve decision-making capability
• clarify and align personal values with organizational goals
• develop a personal strategic plan for moving forward


Brand Identification
3 sessions – 1 per month or 1 every two months

Focus: Branding is a buzzword that is frequently misunderstood. A true brand is one that provides and enhances customer experience. It is the essence or what we call the “core” of who you are and what you do. Your brand is your ideology: some have called it your corporate religion. To identify the essence of your product or service, an archetypal or depth psychological approach is invaluable in locating and elaborating on brand experience of both your internal and external customers. Your brand must be anchored internally before it will be fully effective externally. These sessions will provide the foundation for fully living your brand.

Outcomes:
• identify your organization’s appropriation of cultural meaning in operational metaphors
• isolate brand symbols and translate them into both language and behaviour
• understand the importance of your internal brand in aligning your corporate culture
• enhance employee engagement through internal brand extension
• use the our tools of creative thinking to extend your brand
• use your brand as a pivotal planning tool for both short term and long term strategy
• enhance both your employee and customer experience


Investing in Human Capital while Extending Your Brand
3 sessions – 1 per month or 1 every two months

Focus: Human capital requires investment. This program allows you to motivate and develop your best and brightest. You will discover those branding practices that provide a positive impact on people retention and succession planning while enhancing your external marketing effort. You will create and develop strategic approaches for developing your talent throughout the organization and grow your leadership from within.

Outcomes:
• learn how to extend your brand through key staff retention and development
• align internal performance management with external marketing
• avoid the common pitfalls of traditional HR
• learn how to handle emotion to enhance performance
• identify and overcome barriers to participation
• learn why “buy-in” is to be avoided
• identify core issues and the direction you need to move to enhance the brand experience
• build an effective partner with marketing


Creativity in Business - Masters Program:
3 sessions over a three to six month period with executive coaching

The complete Stanford MBA program has been adapted for corporate use. Participants experience an interactive journey of the four essential tools for creativity and how to apply them to address six potential life challenges and organizational life. Normally we meet in three one-day sessions over a period of 12 weeks. Each participant receives weekly coaching sessions to help develop insights into his or her challenges and to work toward breakthrough. Both in-class and coaching works with the individual participant to align personal and professional goals with organizational goals. We customize our approach to the particular situation and corporate culture within an organization so that the program reflects your organizational reality. This usually involves interviews and discussions with strategically identified individuals to identify salient issues and values in the organization prior to program commencement.

Includes: individual one-hour intake session, 3 - one day on-site workshops. Day One – personal communication styles and preferences; Day Two – group interaction and communication styles which focus on the desired outcome for the group; Day Three – sustainability of results-both personal and professional and future desired outcomes; weekly thirty minute individual phone coaching sessions for each participant to establish personal and professional goals for development and build in accountability over the twelve week period.

We often supplement the program with the use of a variety of psychological tests that are included with the program. These assessments provide information and additional valuable insight into thinking and communication styles. For example, we often use the recently revised 20 sub-scale Myers Briggs Type Indicator (individual preferences and communication styles) and the FIRO-B Interpretive Report for Organizations (interpersonal relationships in group orientation - behaviour).

Individual team effectiveness requires that team members be aware of themselves first, and then how they relate to others on the team. Such information provides a comprehensive overview of communication styles and insight into team interactions. The insight offered by this type of testing can increase team effectiveness and enhance leadership ability by understanding your personal behaviour and the behaviour of others in an organization. We have also worked with the Gallup “Strengthsfinder” and a variety of other instruments that can provide increased self-awareness of potential. The results from psychological assessment are a strong contribution to the foundation of our customized design process.

Outcomes:
• each participant will receive the MBTI, FIRO-B and associated Leadership Report
• gain an honest picture of personal strengths and developmental needs
• personal coaching of 1ž2 hour per week over the duration of the program
• develop leadership skills in giving and receiving constructive feedback
• understanding and clarity around people performance in organizations
• creation of a cohesive team with a shared vision for the future
• clarify personal values and their fit with organizational culture


Basic programs are listed on our website and are usually combined to provide a 3-session program. They include:

• When Your Assets Have Feet – Measuring Corporate Culture
• Understanding the Values Continuum
• Strategic Mentorship
• Managing Disequilibrium
• Leading Change in Turbulent Times
• Developing Coaching Skills
• Influencing Skills
• Learning: The Essential Competency
• Corporate Storytelling Changes the World



Firm Retreats/Conferences

We would be pleased to discuss with you your requirements for an organizational retreat or conference and design a program or keynote suitable for your needs.