New Synergist Consulting

Last week I facilitated some powerful change management and team building discussions for more than 200 Expeditionary Program Office (ExPO) employees. I am very excited to be part of your transformation efforts. hashtag#ISeeYou ExPO! hashtag#Expeditionary hashtag#NAVFAC hashtag#Navy hashtag#MarineCorps hashtag#Army hashtag#AirForce hashtag#ChangeManagement hashtag#Teambuilding hashtag#NewSynergist

The San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (SDREDC) held a Future of Growth: The Economic Case for Inclusion luncheon at the new Jackie Robinson YMCA on February 15, 2018. I am excited to be part of a SDREDC steering committee supporting an inclusive approach to regional economic development.

What is Appreciative Inquiry? I am currently leading doctoral candidates in a course titled Application of Action Research. This class relies heavily on the Appreciative Inquiry Model and has once again reminded me of the importance of relationships that are created and maintained by conversations. Relationships that are only limited to people’s imaginations and their ability to communicate with each other. The Appreciative Inquiry (AI) model is based on the assumption that... the questions we ask and the way we ask them will tend to focus our attention in a particular direction. Organizations also tend to evolve in the direction of the questions they most regularly and passionately ask. One of my favorite examples of AI is a mediation hearing with an employee who demanded several hundred thousand dollars and disciplinary action for his supervisor. The employee, an African American male in his early fifties accused his supervisor of mistreatment, especially in comparison to other employees. Multiple questions led to responses that caused his voice to quiver and always included statements about respect and dignity. In spite of the directions from the mediator, I apologized on behalf of the organization (without admitting guilt) if he was ever treated in a disrespectful or undignified manner. I also promised to personally investigate the merits of his complaint. Ultimately, he dropped his complaint because according to him, he believed the apology was sincere and he finally felt he was being treated with the respect and dignity he deserved. Positive questions led to a win-win solution! The time and dollars saved, plus a satisfied employee made this engagement extremely worthwhile. The questions asked when utilizing the AI model are all about finding the type of processes, organization, and skills that work for teams and individuals. It is also a learning process allowing us to appreciate what we have and using it to our benefit. Positive questions during the discovery phase of AI can lead to employees who feel more appreciative about their role in the company and what they can do to make meaningful contributions. The AI model can be very useful as a follow-on to employee surveys or in Focus Groups. All too often we assess, evaluate, propose solutions based on models of deficiency or win-lose. Most of these questions include "What are the problems?", "What's wrong?" or "What needs to be fixed?". The Appreciative Inquiry model refocuses attention on what works and what people really care about. AI helps build a vision of a better future by using positive questions to turn an individual’s attention to their past, present, and future successes. The answers lead to greater satisfaction and productivity. See more

We all attempt to predict the future. We typically make decisions based on our personal history or based on inputs from trusted sources. I am not going to use this highway because it is always slow during rush hour. I am not going to give my boss a project update because she does not like bad news. Our predictions are typically based on history; other prediction tools are not used as much. Remember Kodak? In the early 1980s Fuji started selling film at a lower cost than K...odak ultimately resulting in a layoff of almost 20,000 employees in 1999 (Kodak stock peaked at about $80 per share in 1999). The final straw for Kodak was digital imagery. In spite of being number two in digital cameras in 1999 Kodak seemed to be unable (or unwilling?) to adapt and filed for bankruptcy protection in 2012. Changing conditions and predictable events are largely responsible for Kodak’s troubles. Changing conditions in the steel industry (mini-mils), auto industry (fuel efficient cars, process innovation), and the computer industry (miniaturization and mobile computing) are examples that in many ways parallel the Kodak experience. Changing conditions (typically due to new technologies) that are well known and DO NOT result in overnight changes. You can indeed predict your future! Are events external to your organization going to disrupt your business? Are you prepared for tomorrow? How would you answer the following questions? 1. Has the world changed and how will that affect my business? 2. How can we take advantage of the opportunities created by the changes we have identified? 3. Do we have the resources needed to take advantage of the opportunities we have identified? 4. Is our organization creating and/or building the resources needed to be successful today and tomorrow? Questions? Contact New Synergist ([email protected])

Beautiful SOCAL! Just passing Del Mar on Amtrak. Headed to a Conflict Resolution Workshop that I’ll be leading!

Discussing the power of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) during a meeting at Sony Electronics.

I had the pleasure of leading three Emotional Intelligence (EI) workshops, for more than 60 Human Resource professionals last week. Thanks for great discussions about the impact EI has on our personal and professional lives.

Crisis Management November 2016 Every individual and organization will eventually face a crisis of some sort. In most cases only the timing of the crisis should be a surprise. Successfully managing a crisis typically requires a plan documenting the steps to be taken when a crisis occurs. Let’s take a look at a successful example of a crisis response....Continue reading

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