Challenge: Help rapidly growing division transition from command and control to collaboration and connectivity for competitive advantage.

Solution: Mindy Gewirtz consulted and coached the CFO

and leadership team supporting a 1200 person Engineering Division of a global leader in software and hardware products, services and solutions for information storage and management. Leadership implemented strategic planning recommendations to redesign logistics, purchasing and finance departments into collaborative work system supporting engineering division.

Results: We helped leaders design and develop a collaborative work system resulting in seamless transparent support to meet changing needs of customers.

Challenge: Mindy Gewirtz partnered with CEO and leadership team of global energy company. Led just-in-time, multi-year consulting and strategic mentoring engagement

with senior leaders. Facilitated executive team meetings to clarify and
implement strategic plan, performance goals and measures.

Solution: As company grew, helped founders group integrate new members and create cohesive executive team. Coached and consulted with VP of Global Marketing and Sales and developed leadership team to improve business performance and align international sales and marketing function.

Results: The executive team planned and implemented successful IPO, and transitioned to new leadership. Marketing and Sales developed their leadership team, accomplished their performance goals, and expedited their strategic plan for growth.

Challenge: Patti Anklam is currently being asked to transfer knowledge and expertise in organizational network analysis (ONA) and time-collaborate methods as part of a global initiative

to create and support worldwide expertise networks and task-focused teams.

Solution: ONA methods provide a baseline understanding of the current person-to-person connections among people in these teams and offer insight into key opportunity areas. The work was launched in the summer of 2005 with an ONA of the corporate HR group which provided a proof point for the efficacy of ONA in targeting specific areas for improvement.

Results: Building on this success, the client will survey over a hundred of its top global managers this fall to ensure it can detect and understand barriers to collaboration.

Challenge: A large manufacturing division of a F50 global conglomerate was rolling out a new mail and messaging system to 40,000 employees in over 30 countries. Each day the project was delayed, the company lost tens of thousands of dollars. Halfway through the project, the parent company transferred all IT operations to an outsourcer. The project came to an abrupt halt when leadership, roles, accountabilities, metrics, and funding were all suddenly thrown into question.

Solution: Nancy Settle- Murphy conducted a series of onsite Project Jumpstart workshops to help the newly-defined team agree on operating principles in vital areas such as accountabilities, decision-making and change control. Participants from other countries were involved through a series of phone conferences, emails and web forums. A stakeholder analysis helped target information and tools where and when they were most needed.

Results: After a costly delay of several months, the project got back on track, thanks to the leadership of a rejuvenated team whose members knew what they needed to do to collaborate successfully with counterparts around the world. Ultimately, the team made up a surprising amount of the time and expenses that were lost during the long delay. Business units suffered far fewer interruptions than had been predicted, and internal users adapted quickly and easily to the new system.

Challenge: A human resource department of a large retail company wished to increase its ability to serve as a business partner and collaborator with the business units rather than providing only transactional services.

Solution: Deborah Heller provided ways to gather data and learn about what would be valuable to the business units and what advantages a collaborative relationship might provide to the business as a whole as well as to the individuals involved. Based on the data, we assisted in the redesign of the human resource function, the education of staff, implementation and communication strategy.

Results: The business units responded positively and evaluated the services and outcomes very positively.

Challenge: A global financial and information company was challenged by the dilemma of conducting business in many countries many of which had regulations and policies that required different business processes and at the same time to achieve financial benefits from economies of scale. Additionally maintaining a consistent image and brand was important.

Solution: Through strategic consulting and coaching, several meetings were designed and facilitated by Deborah Heller.

Results: These meetings included the leaders in five countries and the collaborations resulted in discovering new ways to be effective and efficient while honoring the cultural differences.

leadership development and strategic mentoring: Aligning internal stakeholders across organizational boundaries

Challenge: Trusted advisor to senior leaders and the CEO of a global manufacturing company ($500 million and 3,000 employees at time of engagement)

Mindy Gewirtz helped to create collaborative work systems and align internal stakeholders after a natural disaster destroyed significant sectors of the business. Worked with the Executive Team and Divisional leaders to design and implement collaborative work systems throughout the organization.

Solution: Mindy helped CEO and senior leadership to develop a strategy and redesign organizational structure and process for transitioning to collaborative work systems and a 24/7 operation.

• Facilitated executive team meetings to clarify vision and strategy, resolving cross-boundary conflicts and strengthening leadership.
• Developed and facilitated joint Union/Management Team to support business culture change and effectively manage quality of work life issues.
• Developed and facilitated cross-functional Divisional Leadership Teams, Manufacturing Ops Teams, Plant Leadership and Supply Chain Teams.
• Led consulting team of ten that designed, delivered and evaluated division-wide leadership development training for senior and middle level managers, supervisors and operators.
• Provided strategic mentoring to executives to support initiatives.
• Developed 360 degree appraisal process, and conducted shift work-lifestyle workshops for employees and management to improve quality of work life.
• Designed and implemented employee and community needs assessments regarding work-family initiatives.

Results: Multi-year systemic culture change and organizational redesign initiative transitioned company from a hierarchical to a collaborative work system. Management processes and production floor processes realigned with a yearly ROI of $400K. Helped company design and implement transition to a 24/7 operation with zero union grievances, eliminating overtime expenditures and increasing productivity.