LESSON LEARNED
This duplicity was my wake-up call to know that you can’t possibly lead without a cohesive team, and everyone has to be running in the same direction or it just won’t work. Soon afterward, Trace3 implemented an internal crowdsourcing portal to engage our staff around upcoming change initiatives. We developed a new software tool called, “Portal of Pain-Internal” (PoPin), which allows employees to submit their best ideas for how to focus a company’s initiatives and solve real client problems.
PoPin gathers the inputs from employees, and then applies a mobile application to aggregate and report those messages back up to management. Our results were impressive. Within one year, Trace3 had achieved 30% sales growth with no sizable increase in headcount. To get there, we simply harnessed our people’s insights and opinions for managing through change and remaining innovative.
In the past, the real brawl occurred when groups or committees tried to determine how to roll out a new business initiative across the company. The management team often launched this process by holding strategic offsite meetings to define annual objectives, before cascading those objectives down to the workforce. Next came town hall meetings to build a groundswell of support among the staff around decisions that were already made.
But there was an inherent problem with this approach; namely, that management had no way of knowing if the right people with the right questions and concerns were really speaking up at those companywide gatherings. Surveys can be helpful, but crowdsourcing software allowed us to garner direct feedback from all affected employees and partners.
This method makes all participants feel relevant to the strategy because they can see their best ideas turned into defining objectives for the company. But the real trick to internal crowdsourcing is to go back to the employees after the objectives have been established, and ask everyone about the best ways to implement the plan. In this way, the entire group affected by the initiative will be heard.
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
