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.
Plus Delta Receives 2009 Small Business Award for Business Consulting!
December 7th, 2009 by Jeremy Lurey
Plus Delta was just selected for the 2009 Best of Business Award in the Business consulting category by the Small Business Commerce Association (SBCA). The SBCA program recognizes the top 5% of small businesses throughout the country, and this year’s program consisted of 5 million nominees in 2500 cities all across the US. Plus Delta is thrilled to receive this award – even more so than the Inc 5000 award which was based purely on revenue growth over a 3-year period – because it’s a true testament of all our satisfied clients who provided the positive consumer feedback required for us to win the award. For that very reason, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of our clients who allow us to improve performance and implement positive changes in their organizations. Without you, we would not be here, let alone receive such accolades as this!
Tweeting the Organization Development Network Conference: Collaboration, Transparency, & Engagement
October 29th, 2009 by Michael Liskin
In a time of decreasing attention spans partially due to the flood of information many of us experience, it has become an important skill to encapsulate the main point of a complex idea in as few words as possible — especially if one is “tweeting” on Twitter.com, limited to 140 characters or less per tweet. Laura Horwitz not only excels in this regard, but has written an insightful guest post drawing connections between new technology and its implications for conference interaction and the foundations of OD. After reading her post, please share your reactions (in our comments section).
Edie Seashore (left) and Laura Horwitz (right)
As organizational psychologists, we look at human interactions as comprised of content and process. The OD Network conference was certainly chock full of great content, sessions that re-explored foundational theories, highlighted innovations, and introduced new applications at the boundaries of the field. And, with 800 participants, including many of organizational development’s leading theorists and practitioners, the conference offered a rare chance to connect with others who share my interests and values. Yet, as I reflect on my time in Seattle, what stands out about my first OD Network conference is not so much what I learned or who I met, but how I engaged with the content and process… through Twitter.
Plus Delta Hosts a ‘Fireside Chat’ with Charlie & Edie Seashore Discussing the Future of OD (Organization Development)
October 20th, 2009 by Samantha Lurey
Our adventures at the Organization Development Network conference continued last night with our firm hosting an exclusive fireside chat with Charlie and Edie Seashore. This amazing couple has been in the field of OD for almost 40 years and their experience and accomplishments are legendary. But what impressed me the most about these two last night was their humility and willingness to give back. They have generously donated their time to countless events like ours and continue to give back to the field that has given them so much.
The topic of the conversation last night was the “Future of OD”. Here is what these two had to say about their professional (and personal) past, and where they see the field going in the future:
This quiet venue was the perfect ending to an action-packed day, and we deeply thank the Seashores for their time!
Where do you think the field of OD is going? Is the future bright or dark? Join the discussion on our Future of OD group on LinkedIn and provide your initial comments below!
Are we Tour Guides or Expedition Specialists?
October 18th, 2009 by Jeremy Lurey
Last night, several of Plus Delta’s team members attended a reception hosted by Geoff Bellman in Seattle. It was designed to be a warm welcome to kickoff this year’s OD Network annual conference, and boy was it ever! The food was excellent, the wine was superb, and the conversation with our OD brethren – some long-time friends and colleagues, and others new acquaintances – quite delightful. The high point of the event though was a presentation by Rob Fijlstra and Harry Wullings, two seasoned OD practitioners from the Netherlands (click here for more on them).
In their talk, Rob and Harry posed the question of whether or not those in attendance were “Tour Guides” or “Expedition Specialists”. To paraphrase them a bit, a tour guide is someone who leads his/her client group on a safe and well-planned journey to sites that he/she has probably experienced many times over again. While the metaphor may sound reasonable for many – and even necessary at times – this type of OD guidance may never get a client group out of their comfort zone or beyond something that might be called incremental change.
An expedition specialist, on the other hand, takes his/her client group off of this somewhat traditional path. In essence, he/she would say, “You know, I’ve never been down this road before, but I think you’ll enjoy the journey. Just trust me. Everything will be OK!” And the right type of client with ample trust in his/her OD guide might just agree. That’s the type of relationship and type of work I aspire to. Realistically though, I’m still committed to meeting my clients where they’re at and believe that incremental change is better than no change as long as it puts them on the path.
Are you a Level 5 leader? Jim Collins reminds us why you need to be
October 12th, 2009 by Samantha Lurey
As I mentioned in my other post on the Inc. Awards, we had the opportunity to hear Jim Collins speak at the Inc. 500/5000 conference in September. It was amazing to hear him speak about what makes good companies ‘great’. According to Jim, great companies are not made by accident, but by careful planning and flawless execution. Here’s what else he had to say during a Q&A session:
Tony Hsieh of Zappos tells us about importance of customer service at Inc. Conference in DC
October 10th, 2009 by Samantha Lurey
Another great speaker at the Inc. Conference in September was Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh. Tony came to talk with us about customer service. I decided to sit up straight and listen because this guy took a small-time internet company with less than $2 million in revenue to generating $1 billion (yes, with a ‘b’) in sales in less than 10 years. His main philosophy and road to success? Great customer service. Now many companies say the same thing, but here’s what makes Tony’s company different:
• All new employees – no matter what level – work in the call center and shipping docks for at least two weeks. This gives them a solid understanding of the needs of the customer.
• Zappos doesn’t spend a lot of money on direct marketing (magazine ads, billboards, etc.). Instead they put their money into the ‘wow’ factor for customers. This may take the form of free overnight shipping or other enhancements.
• The company doesn’t have restrictions on their customer service call centers. Customer service reps can talk as long as needed to ensure that the customer gets their needs met. According to Tony, the longest customer service call was over 5 hours!
• Lastly, Zappos has very easy access to customer service. The customer service hotline is on every page of their website (instead of buried at the bottom of a ‘contact us’ section) and they boast a 365-day return policy.
Way to go Tony! To learn more about Zappo’s culture and how Tony is leading the charge in customer service, check out their website.
What do Microsoft, Jamba Juice, Oracle, and Plus Delta All Have in Common?
October 1st, 2009 by Samantha Lurey
We are proud to announce that we are number 1498 on the list of 5000 fastest-growing private companies in America as rated by Inc. Magazine! The announcement was made in August that we had made the list by obtaining approximately 250% growth during the rating period. We were so happy to know that we had made the list – especially during these economic times!
Jeremy and I went to DC in September to accept our award. Inc. Magazine has developed a conference around the 500/5000 list and I recommend all entrepreneurs check it out (regardless of whether you’re on the list or not)! The conference is packed with great speakers including Tony Hsieh and Jim Collins (I’ll write about those highlights next) as well as fabulous break-outs and sponsors. Oh, and did I mention the opportunity to be surrounded by 5,000 of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs?
The two-day event was closed out with an amazing awards gala. A black-tie event where Jeremy and I got a chance to pick-up our award.
