Mission, Vision, Values
My mission is to invite individuals and organizations to seek connection, alignment, and positive change in pursuit of their highest goals.
Connection
Culture is about traditions, habits, and behaviors. My mission is to help all of us develop those traditions, habits, and behaviors (or connections) with intention and with open hearts. Humans are wired for connection at some level or another, and we work better when we feel connected to each other, our team, our organization, and our customers.
Alignment
As organizations grow, it becomes more and more difficult to ensure that everyone is in step and working toward the same goals. It becomes messy and dangerous when misalignment exists, resulting in unnecessary confusion and even internal competition. My mission is to help organizations develop the tools and language to become aligned and stay aligned as they grow.
Positive Change
If we are not growing, we are stale. The most successful organizations are those that develop a culture of continuous improvement. However, change is hard. My mission is to help organizations establish their need, strategy, and implementation plan for change -- and be with them every step of the way as they achieve it.
My vision is that by planting small seeds, I may encourage evolution of thought about how we view our work, ourselves, and our work communities.
Purpose Driven
The key to creating a sustainable, successful, and agile organization is the foundation on which you build it. Today's organizations are purpose driven, with the understanding that true motivation is intrinsic. Organizations and teams are more likely to evolve into high performance when they have a shared purpose, a reason for being and being together.
Customer-Focused
We've all heard the horrifying statistic about the high percentage of software that is built and never used. In today's world when our attention is constantly being diverted from one distraction to another, we *must* be sure that we are building the right thing at the right time, and must never
I often tell teams, "We can't find the answer by asking each other."
Self Organization
A primary principle of organizational agility is self organization. Organizations spend a lot of time and money to hire the right people. It only makes sense that we would let them tell us how to best solve the problems in front of them. Self organization removes barriers to progress, and empowers employees to be creative and innovative in their solution building.
Safe to FAIL
Thomas Edison said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
We are taught from an early age that it is desirable to be successful - and of course it is. However, true innovation and disruption comes from trying new things and taking risks. In an ever changing world, we need to create an environment where risk-taking is welcomed and failures are okay. Creating small experiments that carry the least risk help us get to that "next big idea" faster and more safely.
There are many behaviors that enable success, but above all I value
Courage + Empathy + Creativity
Courage
"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." - T.S. Eliot.
It takes courage to be a disruptor. It takes courage to try the next big idea, or to try a new way of working. It also takes courage to be a member of a team. Not just a member of a group of people, but a true member of a team where you must be vulnerable and open minded. Courage is what sets us apart.
Creativity
Creativity is required and present in everything we do. It is present in how we create new products, how we approach a classroom, or how we discuss a problem that needs solving. Creativity is the electricity that exists in new ideas.
Empathy
We are all humans, and all in it together. When we can truly have empathy for others, we open our own eyes to new perspectives and opportunities. Developing a sense of empathy for our users, team members, employees, students, and for ourselves takes us to a new level of creativity-- and courage.