Challenge: To help the top team of an international medical-devices company in a time of crisis. This crisis stemmed from several issues. First, the company president had only been in office for six months, and his leadership style differed dramatically from that of his predecessor. Second, none of the vice presidents had been in place for more than a year, and as a group, they didn't know how to work with this new leader nor with one another. A business crisis was building that had the potential to derail the entire company: a lack of international coordination across development sites.

Approach: After conducting a series of interviews, The Exetor Group developed a 360-degree-assessment process to encourage feedback. Exetor consultants also organized a three-day retreat that included facilitated discussions, planning sessions, and action-learning exercises to deal directly with the lack of coordination of research and development across international locations. Informal social time was also built into the agenda to encourage the executives to learn more about one another personally.

Result: By the end of the weekend, the president and vice presidents had disclosed many of their fears and aspirations for the company, and they came away with a shared vision and action plan. The problems associated with the lack of coordination disappeared, and the project got to market on time and on budget.