The Thornton Group: Services

In a July, 2005 interview with Fortune magazine, Jim Collins was asked about his latest recent research around lasting excellence in companies. In his response, Collins stated:

"Fundamentally the world is uncertain. Decisions are about the future and your place in the future when that future is uncertain. So what is the key thing you can do to prepare for that uncertainty? You can have the right people with you."

The Thornton Group's mission is to help unleash and unlock the powerful teams that are so often hidden in organizations, leveraging the talent and experience of each member, and aligning and focusing them towards achieving your company's desired future state.

Our Services

Team Alignment and Consulting (click here for additional information)

Executive Coaching (click here for additional information)

Strategy Execution (click here for additional information)

Services: Team Alignment and Consulting

We typically begin our work by conducting a series of one-on-one interviews with your team. These interviews are an important first step in understanding where the organization is performing well and where there are disconnects or gaps that will likely trip you up as you move forward in implementing your strategic plans. Based on interview findings and working in conjunction with any strategic planning efforts already underway, we will custom-design an engagement strategy, usually beginning with a 2 – 3 day offsite (click here for sample overview).

This phase will also include the administration of an online Team Effectiveness Assessment (click here for a sample assessment) based on The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, by Patrick Lencioni. The assessment will provide a snapshot of how well your team is currently aligned around the five behavioral challenges teams must constantly work on in order to be an effective, highly functional team: Their ability to Trust each other, engage in Productive Conflict, demonstrate true Commitment to the goals of the organization, hold each other Accountable for both results and behaviors, and focus on the Results of the organization over departmental or divisional goals.

In addition, your team will:

Gain a thorough understanding of the expectations and challenges in building and maintaining a cohesive team;
Assess and make immediate strides in overcoming the team's potential dysfunctions;
Review and validate the shared understanding of the Organizational Clarity within the organization;
Identify specific areas for improving the effectiveness of the organization;
Discuss the implications of appropriate communications and what changes are necessary to ensure alignment throughout the organization; and
Discuss the basic human systems and structures necessary to ensure consistent execution against behavioral expectations and strategic objectives.

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Services: Executive Coaching

Marshall Goldsmith once said:

"Successful people have a huge need for self-determination, which means that if we don't feel that we are personally committed to our own behavior change, we (typically) won't do it."

Thornton Group coaches will work with you to develop an approach and strategy that will enable you to achieve your personal leadership goals.

We begin by helping you identify and maximize your individual leadership strengths, and also create an awareness of those behaviors and/or attributes that may be holding you back. We believe that great leaders ask great questions, and as such, focus on developing an 'inquiring' versus 'judging' approach to business situations.

While individual coaching goals will vary, often included are:

Leadership in times of change: How to be the leader your organization needs you to be, getting the best out of the people you lead?
Focus: What are the 'critical few' issues currently facing your organization, and how you can structure and engage your team so the best solutions emerge and are executed on effectively.
'Mining' for conflict: How to develop a culture that ensures you are having enough productive conflict in your organization, so team members have the opportunity to 'disagree and commit'.
Time management: Ensure you are spending your time in the most productive way possible.
Preventing burn-out: For you and your team.
Succession planning: Ensure your organization is prepared to fill critical positions that may open up either by design or default.
Organization Clarity: Developing and communicating a compelling message so that every employee understands where you are headed as an organization and how what they do 'fits'.

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Services: Strategy Execution

"The Main Thing is to keep the Main Thing, the Main Thing."

— Jim Barksdale, Former COO, Federal Express

What is strategy, anyway? Simply put, strategy is about choices. What's in, what's out, what should we start doing, keep doing, and (most difficult of all) STOP doing. Quite often, companies spend millions developing their strategic plans – only to tuck them away and revisit on important occasions; 'all hands' meetings, board updates or year-end reviews. No wonder the failure rate is so high.

In a 2006 question and answer session with Harvard Business School professor Robert S. Kaplan, he stated:

"Over the past fifteen years, we have studied the root causes of the disconnect between strategy and performance. We have learned that most organizations do not have a strategy execution process. Many have strategic plans, but no coherent approach to manage the execution of those plans. Consequently, many key management processes remain disconnected from strategy."

We have also learned that:

Many organizations don't have a consistent way to even describe their strategy, other than in a large strategic planning binder.
Sixty percent of typical organizations do not link their strategic priorities to their budget, virtually ensuring that key strategic initiatives do not get funded and resources may not be supplied to deliver on the strategic plan.
Two-thirds of HR and IT organizations develop strategic plans that are not linked to the organization's strategy. This is extraordinary.
Seventy percent of middle managers and more than 90 percent of front-line employees have compensation that is not linked to the strategy.
Most devastating, 95 percent of employees in most organizations do not understand their organization's strategy.

In short, there is often a chronic disconnect in organizations between strategy formulation and strategy execution.

At the Thornton Group, we work with you to:

Develop your 'Desired Future State', that clearly describes your organization's strategic direction over the next 3 to 5 years.
Determine the 2 to 3 Strategic Anchors (Decision-making Filters) your organization will use to guide decision-making.
Identify the 'Thematic Goal' (Main Thing) and Supporting Business Objectives the company will align around.
Develop and implement the Systems and Processes that measure progress and determine results.
Develop the Communication Strategy to cascade through the organization, so that every employee understands where the company is heading and how what they do 'fits'.

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