The Windward Process: Leading, for a Change

The Problem
There is an essential difference between what is technically possible and what is culturally doable, and while processes and technology may be changing at the speed of light, organizational wisdom, competence and culture typically change at about one mile per hour.

Every organization is an ecosystem comprised of those interdependent systems by which it technically does its work (i.e., its technical system-its processes and enabling technology), and those by which it governs the conduct of that work (i.e., its social system-its culture). Because these systems are interdependent, durable organizational change necessarily requires that whenever a process and/or enabling technology is changed, complimentary change must also be made in the culture (and vice versa); otherwise the organization will reject that change like the body rejects a transplanted heart.

Designing your organization's processes and enabling technology is a linear thinking problem that is generally well understood, and is well served by process engineering principles, concepts, methods and tools. However, designing your organization's culture is a non-linear thinking problem that is best served by principles, concepts, methods and tools that are typically not well understood and are more often ignored.

Our Solution Approach

The key to your organization's competitive advantage is its culture.  The key to your organization's culture is its leadership.  And the key to leadership, the key to leading organizational change, is not implementing some program where you execute each step detailed in some three-ring binder and expecting a changed organization to magically result.  The key to leadership is actualizing values, putting principles into practice, and exercising them over the long haul.

The Windward Process: Leading, for a Change, is not a workshop.  It is a set of values to be actualized, principles to be put into practice that will help you close the gap between what is technically possible and what is culturally doable; these include:

• Understanding an organization's social system, or culture.
• The organizational and individual habits that lead to competitive advantage.
• Principles and practices for cultivating those habits.
• The lifecycle of organizational cultures.
• The integration of your social and technical systems to create the larger ecosystem that is your organization.
• The leadership necessary to pull it all off.

Fees and Availability
Each Leading, for a Change engagement is led by Jim Ruprecht, Founder and CEO of Windward Leadership.  In a nutshell, it works like this:

• It begins with Jim Ruprecht making a 3-4 hour presentation to you and your leadership team at the location of your choice.  This presentation will provide a detailed overview of the Windward Leadership constructs and underlying rationale.  Our preference is to conduct this presentation in the morning, followed by a lunch that can serve as a forum for Q&A and further discussion.  In addition, it is expected that you will also order one copy of the book, Windward Leadership: Taking Your Organization into the Prevailing Winds and Political Seas, for yourself and each member of your leadership team.  It is recommended that this be done far enough in advance so that you and your team may acquaint yourselves with it prior to the presentation.
• The book and the presentation will provide you and your leadership team with sufficient understanding to decide whether or not you wish to proceed with a Leading, for a Change engagement.  If you decide to continue with an engagement, there will be no charge for the presentation, except for any travel or other applicable expenses.  If you choose not to proceed with a Leading, for a Change engagement, you will be billed for the presentation plus any travel or other applicable expenses.
• A Leading, for a Change engagement consists of one day of consulting per week, provided by Jim Ruprecht, at your facility.  However, it is imperative that the leadership and change effort come from you and your team--not from Jim Ruprecht, nor from your HR or OD department, but from you and your team.  Jim Ruprecht will provide consulting and coaching in regards to the principles and process, and he will be happy to collaborate with your HR and/or OD department in doing so; however, you and your team must lead the effort.
• A Leading, for a Change engagement consists of an iteration of several steps, which follow the Shewhart PDCA cycle:
  1. The first step is to conduct a candid analysis of your organization's current state, along with articulating a proper statement of the purpose of your change effort, its desired outcomes, and the metrics to be used to measure its success.
  2. The second step is to formulate the plans for achieving those desired outcomes, and monitoring progress against the measure of success.
  3. The third step is to actually conduct the change effort.
  4. The fourth step is to monitor progress, and adjust plans and/or execution as warranted.
• Windward Leadership's intention is not to build a 5-year plan to stay in your wallet.  Rather, our intention is to teach you what we know, get you off to a good start, provide you with the consulting and coaching you need to become self-suficient, and have the good grace to leave when you are. 
• The duration of a Leading, for a Change engagement will vary depending on the dimensions of your organization, and the caliber or your change effort; the minimum is 6 months, although they typically range to 18 to 24 months.
• Similarly, the fee for a Leading, for a Change engagement will vary depending on the dimensions of your organization, and the caliber of your change effort.
• Finally, it is our intention to empower you, not to abandon you, so you may also choose to retain us for regular, but perhaps less frequent, reviews to checkpoint progress, plans, and issues.  The fee for such a retainer will, of course, vary depending on the desired arrangements.

To determine if we are a good fit for your organization, we recommend going through a mutual pre-qualification process, thus saving everyone time and money. The process is straightforward, consisting of telephone, email, and/or in-person discussions so we may clarify your particular needs, time frame, and budget parameters. We can then follow-up with targeted information, and submit a custom proposal specific to your situation. Just contact us, and we'll get the ball rolling!