To help the top team of an international medical-devices company in a time of crisis. A severe lack of coordination was causing late releases of new products and services and the competition took note and began to exploit this new found opportunity. The company President had only been in office for 6 months and his leadership style differed dramatically from that of his predecessor. 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 crisis was building that had the potential to derail the entire company: a lack of international coordination across development sites that had the potential impact on future sales and therefore market share.
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 to understand one another better. This in turn led to more effective listening skills, and building trust.
By the end of the weekend, the President and Vice Presidents had disclosed many of their fears and aspirations for the company. This enabled them to come away with a shared vision and action plan. The problems associated with the lack of coordination decreased significantly, and development projects got to market on time and on budget.