Plus Delta’s CEO Wins Top Honors
August 10th, 2010 by Jeremy Lurey
Plus Delta’s CEO Jeremy Lurey Receives Inaugural 40 Under 40 Award by M&A Advisor
On Monday, July 26th, Plus Delta’s Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Lurey accepted his award as one of The M&A Advisor’s Top “40 Under 40” executives of the year. Held at the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the inaugural M&A Advisor Recognition Awards Gala Event celebrated the leading forty M&A, Financing, and Turnaround professionals who have made great accomplishments before their 40th birthday.
Created by The M&A Advisor to promote mentorship and professional development, the 2010 “40 Under 40” Award winners were chosen for their individual accomplishments and particular expertise from a vast group of international nominees and by an independent judging panel of distinguished business leaders.
The 3 C’s of Building Trusting Relationships and Getting to ‘Yes’ with Your Clients
March 25th, 2010 by Jeremy Lurey
This guest post was generously contributed by David Nielson, Executive Consultant at Plus Delta Consulting.
For any of us in the field of management consulting, the issue of sales and marketing is usually a challenge. We’re often so busy delivering services directly to our clients that there is little time to focus on developing new sales. Sales, though, isn’t just about contract negotiations and closing the deal. It’s about relationships! So what are the criteria for building – and maintaining – effective relationships? Read the rest of this entry »
The 4 P’s of Olympic Gold: Grooming the Next Generation of Shaun Whites in your Organization
March 15th, 2010 by Jeremy Lurey
Whether it’s a skater or skier or snowboarder or other, everyone who won a Gold Medal in Vancouver recently is a role model for us all. Practice, patience, persistence, and passion – the 4 P’s of Olympic Gold – are likely mantras for all these winners. Shaun White, in particular, is a true living example of exactly what every senior executive and business leader should be focused on creating in their organizations – not because he won gold on the half pipe, but because he won gold after winning gold on the half pipe!
That’s right. Shaun White was standing at the top of his second and final run when the results came in, and he found out that he already won the gold medal without even completing his last run. In that very moment, he had a choice- Read the rest of this entry »
Organization Development as a Profession: Will Certification or Licensing Help You Choose Your Consultant?
March 12th, 2010 by Cris Hagen
Should the profession of Organization Development (OD) require professional certification or licensing for practitioners to practice?
As we look to the future of OD, some questions come to mind :
- Should anyone wanting to “hang out a shingle” as an OD practitioner be allowed to do so?
- Should there be minimum educational requirements? If so, what should they be?
- Should OD practitioners be licensed through a formal licensing or certification process?
- How would a governing body for licensing or certification be “selected”?
- What risks to the OD profession are posed if licensing or certification is required?
- How do you market your practice to differentiate and distinguish yourself?
Having practiced in the field for 30 years, now, I have seen OD grow to encompass a broad range of “specialty” areas beyond its origins in the area of “group dynamics”, “human relations research”, and “action research” back in the 1940’s and 50’s. (See the Wikipedia article on OD here). Read the rest of this entry »
Best Recognition and Rewards Programs for the Post-Recession Economy
February 23rd, 2010 by Jeremy Lurey
At Plus Delta Consulting, we are committed to creating a brighter future for those seeking to improve individual, group, and organizational performance as well as those focused on transforming organizations in ways that produce better business results. Broadly speaking, we are part of “OD” (Organization Development), but we also push the boundaries of the field and what many call “new OD” to connect communities of organizational professionals from other arenas. We not only seek but also strive to share new theories and practices that serve the 21st century organization with others. Towards that end, we launched a LinkedIn group called the “Future of Organization Development (OD)” last fall (see http://bit.ly/FutureOD) and regularly participate in other online conversations to facilitate these discussions.
Here is an excerpt of a recent discussion about the Best Recognition and Rewards Programs for the Post-Recession Economy:
[Jeremy Lurey]: A couple weeks ago, I facilitated a great session with a local NHRA (National Human Resources Association) chapter. The topic was Recognition and Rewards programs, and we used a World Cafe (see www.theworldcafe.com) format to bring everyone – and their richly diverse perspectives – into the room. During the World Cafe rounds, groups were asked the following 3 questions:
1. What are the top three MONETARY recognition and rewards approaches that you use in your company?
2. What are the top three NON-MONETARY recognition and rewards approaches that you use in your company?
3. What are the underlying assumptions of your recognition and rewards system, and does the absence of receiving a reward equate to PUNISHMENT?
Provided below are some of the key themes that emerged from the group. I’m curious if this is in line with your experiences or if you have other “best programs” you would recommend.
12 Organizational Idea Starters to Get You “Going Green”
February 16th, 2010 by Samantha Lurey
Many organizations have realized that green business practices provide a competitive business advantage. It’s an opportunity to make a real difference in a way that benefits not only bottom line results, but also fosters stronger employee engagement, improves community relations, and creates a sense of corporate responsibility.
Some companies have integrated their green initiatives into every aspect of their business, and have even resulted in the addition of innovative products and services to boost bottom line results. In most cases, though, it’s not easy to come up with potentially significant contributions that result in a measurable impact to cost or profitability.
Plus Delta Consulting recommends collaborating with all of your stakeholders — employees, customers, vendors, and business partners — to gather input, ideas, and perspectives. Educate your stakeholders about sustainability and the company’s vision, and then involve them so everyone feels like they are contributing to the goal. They will be much more engaged in the process and will be much more likely to participate in any new initiatives.
Whether your organization is looking to implement green initiatives as part of a large-scale transformation, or just at a grassroots level, Plus Delta suggests the following idea starters to… Read the rest of this entry »
Plus Delta Presents at ASTD Los Angeles, Thursday, 1/28, on Strategic Organization Renewal
January 18th, 2010 by Cris Hagen
In today’s turbulent times, employees are discouraged by the continuing global economic crisis and broader world news, organizations are becoming completely consumed by draconian cost-cutting measures simply to stay afloat, and customers are still finding it difficult to make purchasing decisions. During this period of furious business change, now is the time for business leaders to take the offensive and renew their organizations.
STRATEGIC ORGANIZATION RENEWAL unlocks value in your business by optimizing organizational performance and protecting customer loyalty. By engaging this process, business leaders align near-term business strategies necessitated by today’s unprecedented economic challenges with not only the desire but also the ability to prosper in the recovery.
Join us for an engaging session on January 28, 2010 at ASTD – Special Division (Organization Development)– where we explore the concepts and share practical tips for renewing your organization! Learn how to change the game by using this opportunity to renew your business and create a ready platform for growth and innovation in the future.
In this session, we will:
• Discuss today’s unprecedented economic challenges and our current context for change as the recovery sets in
• Review the concepts of Strategic Organization Renewal – a proven approach for optimizing organizational performance and protecting customer loyalty
• Develop specific strategies you can use to put this powerful approach into action and produce better business results before it’s too late.
5 Steps to Improved Performance As You Kickoff the New Year
January 13th, 2010 by Jeremy Lurey
All of us at Plus Delta Consulting have been reflecting on what we will do as we enter the New Year to improve performance in our organization – and with our client organizations. 2009 was a rocky year for many, and I for one am very glad to put it behind me. With that said, I’d be remiss if I simply said, “Thank God it’s over!” without doing any planning for 2010.
As we enter the New Year then, we’d like to recommend 5 simple steps for you to drastically improve performance in your organization. What steps have you taken or do you plan to take as you begin the New Year to produce better results? Please take a moment to comment below and share your own actions and ideas with us and all of our readers. Until then, here’s our list!
1. Plan your future from the future:
If anything was possible for you and your organization in one year from now (or even 10), how would you have the future be? Suspend reality for just a moment, and don’t worry about being practical or even reasonable. Focus on defining your ideal future based on your most important values and longer-term business objectives. And don’t frame this as “fixing” something that already exists or working within your current constraints. Read the rest of this entry »
Managing Your Organizational Processes During the Economic Recovery
January 6th, 2010 by Michael Liskin
The following is a guest post by our own Jack Weber, Executive Consultant at Plus Delta Consulting:
At Plus Delta, we have experienced an ever increasing flow of feedback from our clients and others that the long anticipated economic recovery is happening and the pace of the recovery will increase significantly. The information we have received is corroborated by government figures and statistics – for example: the Consumer Confidence Index rose in December, the first time in over a year; the Monthly Home Sales Prices are up for the 5th straight month and over the last 3 months have risen nearly 20%; the Gross Domestic Product increased 2.2 percent in the third quarter of 2009 as compared to the 2nd quarter of 2009.
A recovering economy dictates that your organization must be prepared for changes. Our business climate dramatically changed in 2008 and early 2009 when the U.S. economy nearly came to a complete halt. Processes in your organization were also changed; people assumed multiple roles while they tried to accomplish the same amount of work as two or more downsized workers.
Getting frustrated by conflicting demands to continue to stabilize your organization through the traditional methods of cost cutting, job layoffs, hiring part time workers, early retirement of older workers, etc.– while trying to ramp up for the arriving economic recovery will do no good.
What is mandatory is that planning must start right now. Youmust begin to work with your organization to prepare for a long anticipated positive move forward. You hoped for it; you asked for it, even begged for it. Now you have got it. But what to do? Here are 5 steps to get you started:
Have you ever considered the possibility that the language we use in organizations can have a direct impact on the experience of an individual worker or larger group? How many times have you seen individuals or work groups that seem to exude a culture that undermines either their own stated goals or those of the organization as a whole? In what ways do they speak of themselves, their co-workers, and the work itself, and how has this correlated with their success?
Alternatively, have you seen individuals or groups within organizations that seem to “get it?” How do they speak about themselves and others, and what culture tends to form around them and spread to other parts of a larger organization?
Tribal Leadership, written by Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright, provides a framework from which to understand the various “tribes” in an organization and the cultural stages in which they reside. One of their goals is to educate leaders on how to take a tribe (or set of tribes, if in a larger organization) from one cultural stage to the next, until they align around core values and a noble cause. This is achieved both through providing specific coaching tips and through addressing how a leader and an employee can speak about themselves and others. Read the rest of this entry »
