Index

TGG RECEIVES PORTLAND BUSINESS JOURNAL AWARDS

We’re excited to share that The Gunter Group received recognition as one of the Largest Women-Owned Businesses in Oregon & SW Washington by the Portland Business Journal.

Managing Partner, Ashleigh Gunter, remarked that “it is an honor” to have been recognized and expressed that “we are proud to be a company where strong female leadership is valued and respected.”

“We have built a firm where all of our employees feel engaged and that is one of my proudest achievements”, reflected Ashleigh.

In addition, The Gunter Group, which represents one of the Largest Consulting Firms in the Portland Metropolitan area, was also the recipient of a Corporate Philanthropy Award by Portland Business Journal for contributions to Oregon & SW Washington nonprofits.

The award candidates’ philanthropic impact was evaluated based on the cash and in-kind donations made in 2019, as well as employee volunteer or pro bono hours contributed to support local non-profit organizations.

“Supporting nonprofits is something very close to the heart of Ashleigh Gunter [Managing Partner] and we will continue to make it a top priority for our team” explains Mike Gunter, Founding Partner of The Gunter Group.

The Gunter Group is a management consulting firm headquartered in Oregon, serving the west coast with offices in Portland and Bend, Oregon, and Reno, Nevada. Learn more about us and the services we offer here.

PRESSING PLAY ON PAUSED PROJECTS IN THE COVID-19 ERA

Since March, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we work, the way we live, and the way we interact with the world. To cope with these widespread changes, organizations have had to make tough choices and “hit the pause button”, delaying projects and strategic initiatives.

We are now seeing enterprises reinstating their paused projects and initiatives, but in a changed world where challenges such as limited and/or remote staff, constrained budgets, and emerging competing priorities need to be factored into the mix. Organizations need to relaunch project work in a strategic way that accounts for today’s ever-changing business climate as well as the increased pressure employees are facing while navigating the complex COVID era.

Before deciding to restart a project, consider the following questions:

1. Are there environmental, emotional, or other considerations that should be taken into account before kicking off this project again?
2. Is the project still relevant and does it represent a productive use of time?
3. Staffing levels may have been impacted. Team members may be overwhelmed with competing priorities. Does the organization have adequate staffing and resourcing for this project or is there a need to secure outside assistance to support internal staff?
4. Does this project provide clear benefits regardless of possible uncertainty in the future?
5. Are there risks and costs to the organization by further delaying the project?

Strategies for moving forward

Applying a comprehensive strategic framework to think through the complex logistical, financial, and human components of the project can help an organization ensure multiple angles have been considered before moving forward with stalled projects.

The steps outlined here are relevant for any project initiation, but it’s particularly crucial now to make sure that the organization is fully prepared to launch an initiative in a thoughtful and informed way.

Evaluate and Revise Strategy: As our global situation evolves, public health policies enacted to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 will impact the availability of resources and timing of many projects.

Additionally, it is important to re-evaluate the big questions—those considerations that are less tactical and for which planning is more difficult. How does this project align with the organization’s core values, and are those values changing in response to the impacts of COVID-19?

Lastly, there may be tactical components of the original project strategy that may not be conducive to a COVID-19 environment. For example, brainstorm sessions, project meetings, and testing will likely take place remotely. Timeline and toolset considerations may also need to be adjusted.

Align Stakeholders: Even in the best of times, projects often begin prematurely, before stakeholder alignment is adequately reached. Now more than ever, it is imperative for the success of any reinstated work that stakeholders are informed, aligned, and have a renewed commitment to contribute towards the successful culmination of the project. As appropriate, leaders should seek to foster stakeholder participation and feedback in the prioritization process to align on the purpose of the project and to provide consistent messaging to employees and consumers. Commence replanning efforts by conducting a stakeholder analysis and integrating the findings. Overlooking this vital step could result in major roadblocks and setbacks throughout the remaining life of the project.

Resource Project: The resources originally allocated for the project may now be unavailable, team members may lack required skill sets, or they may not currently have the bandwidth to contribute to another project. Therefore, the need for both external and internal support should be properly assessed.

Recently, McKinsey & Company emphasized the need for leaders to focus on reskilling and upskilling their workforce to deliver new business models in the post-pandemic era. Companies also face a learning curve as managers figure out how to lead their teams virtually, build social capital, and maintain cohesion without the benefit of in-person interactions. As companies contemplate returning to the workplace, a new set of skills is also likely to emerge for the transition.

Sometimes a major reskilling effort isn’t feasible or practical to fill key needs for a project. In this scenario, pulling in outside expertise or resources may be the best option. Consultants are often brought into the fold of a project to fill an experience, knowledge, or skill set gap or even as an extra set of hands for a daunting effort where the organization’s future hiring picture is unclear.

Build Execution Roadmap: As things continue to change, a well developed and clearly communicated execution roadmap will help keep the project team’s eye on the prize. The steps taken so far in restarting the project—updated strategy, aligned and informed stakeholders, and prepared project resources—are the building blocks of an execution roadmap. Identify where it is possible to include flexibility points in an execution strategy. Planning for potential changes to “Plan A” will allow for an easier path forward if additional unexpected changes occur in the life of the project.

Employ Agile Execution Model: There’s no better time than now to embrace an agile methodology. By definition, the agile project management methodology is designed to be collaborative, flexible, and adaptable to change, and the change introduced to organizations by COVID-19 has put it to the ultimate test. Research conducted by McKinsey & Company found that companies with agile practices embedded in their operating models have managed the impact of the COVID-19 crisis better than their non-agile counterparts.

Communicate and Engage the Org: Effective communication and engagement can be challenging, especially given the challenges of physical distance, work-life balance, and a multitude of other distractions. Project details must be communicated to the right people at the right time.

Many organizations are also at the point where employees are hitting conference call and email fatigue. Since the majority of our communications are now limited to back-to-back video calls or an ever-expanding email inbox, communications are at greater risk of being lost in the shuffle.

Fortunately, there are many tools and resources available to help streamline communications in 2020, some of which may already be familiar and some lesser known:

– Facilitation tools (MURAL, retrium, MS Teams, klaxon, miro, STORMZ)
– Communication tools (Skype, Zoom, Google Hangouts)
– Presentations & Meetings (Ideaboardz, Conceptboard, workplace, slack, Google Meet)
– Project Management (Smartsheet, Microsoft Planner, Teamwork, Confluence, Jira, Basecamp, Trello, asana, N)
– Team Building (Kahoot!, TEAM MOOD, Dr. Clue, donut)
– Events (Meetyoo, HEXAFAIR, ENGAGE, VIRTUALIST

Build Rapid Feedback Mechanisms: Integrating feedback loops, both internal and external, into the project’s workflow, such as cadences in the Kanban method, for example, offer a powerful communication tool that fosters efficient and continuous improvement through effective adaptation to the often evolving needs of one’s client. It is valuable to build a mechanism, such as frequent, effective meetings, to facilitate constant and constructive evaluation as a team.

Moving forward with grace

With all the tactical and strategic planning that is needed to evolve an organization or advance a project forward, it is important not to lose sight of the human element. The planning process should be imbued with emotional intelligence, described as the ability to appropriately apply emotion to manage and solve problems—an approach with many tangible and far-reaching benefits within any organization.

In many different ways, it has been a challenging year and people are facing internal and external hurdles that could not have been predicted a year ago. Contributing to a project is a wonderful growth opportunity, gives people a chance to connect with their teammates towards a common goal, and produces tangible results. However, it is more important than ever for leaders to show that they care about their team.

Deeply considering the outcome of new or restarted work on employees and consumers has never been more important. Prioritizing the work ahead should consider not only the immediate benefit to the organization itself but also the benefits of doing right by the people of the organization in the long term.

At The Gunter Group, we can help implement the project leadership and process improvement strategies discussed above. Contact us to learn more about how we can support and optimize your organization.

About the Author:
Kara is a collaborative and detail-oriented consultant specializing in project management, organizational change and strategic communications. She has an ability to jump quickly into complex situations and scenarios, which allows her to understand and deliver on her clients’ key priorities within tight deadlines. Kara is also very skilled at considering issues with a fresh perspective, allowing her to suggest and implement viable solutions that may not have been previously considered by an organization. With a diverse background in communications, marketing analytics, team leadership and project management, Kara has enjoyed bringing strategic solutions to her clients for over 10 years. She has worked in a wide range of industries for many nationally-recognized brands, primarily in the technology, healthcare, sportswear, and early childhood education sectors. Kara holds a B.S in Business Administration and Marketing from Central Washington University. She is also a Certified Scrum Master and PROSCI Certified Change Practitioner. In her free time, Kara enjoys spending time in the great outdoors with her family of four.

TGG RANKED AS #5 BEST SMALL FIRM TO WORK FOR IN THE NATION BY CONSULTING MAGAZINE

We are excited to announce that The Gunter Group was recognized as Consulting Magazine’s #5 “Best Small Firm to Work For” in the nation.

The rankings were based on an annual survey of over 12,000 consultants, representing approximately 300 firms nationwide, ultimately selecting only 20 small firms to be recognized. Award candidates were evaluated across six different categories of employee satisfaction including, client engagement, firm culture, firm leadership, career development, work/life balance, along with compensation and benefits.

Senior Consultant, Jim Calko, acknowledges that “it’s great to be recognized, but in many ways, our team (and clients) have known that this is a pretty special company.” He goes on to say that “from leadership on down, we have genuinely good people who care about each other, care about our clients, and care about doing the right thing.” According to Jim, “this is what drives everything from our culture through delivery.”

As a new member of The Gunter Group (TGG), Yoonjung Lee remarks that the Consulting Magazine award “makes it just that much more exciting to be a part of the company.” She shared that she “has already heard so many great things from team members who say they really enjoy working here, and the external recognition certainly lends credence to their reviews!”

“This recognition from Consulting Magazine is well deserved for reasons too many to number”, admires Nate Ferguson, a TGG consultant. Nate attributes the firm’s “thoughtfulness and deliberate decision making as key characteristics that directly impact increased client engagement, sustained employee satisfaction, and a thriving culture.” It was these distinctions, he explains, that drew him initially to join the firm earlier this year, and those which he is pleased to see “lived out on a daily basis” at The Gunter Group.

Despite the significant challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nate observes, “Mike [Gunter], Ashleigh [Gunter], and the leadership team’s proactive, pragmatic, and vulnerable approach” has inspired a “positive outlook on the things to come for TGG.”

Learn more about TGG’s ranking in Consulting Magazine.

OUR NON-NEGOTIABLES: THRIVES IN AMBIGUITY

At The Gunter Group, the leadership traits and characteristics that define us are our Non-Negotiables: Collaborative, Integrity, Intellectual Curiosity, Thrives in Ambiguity, Emotional Intelligence, and Grounded Confidence. These traits and characteristics guide us every day in our interactions with clients, each other, and our community.

At TGG, we value the ability to thrive in AMBIGUITY because it enables us to embrace the unique challenges our clients face. With a collaborative team who share diverse backgrounds and experiences, we partner with our clients to navigate complex and uncharted terrain. By utilizing cutting edge tools and applying lessons learned, we trek through the obscure to create structure and definition so that our clients’ visions become reality.

One thing that sets TGG apart from our competitors is our approach to solving client challenges. We understand that each engagement is unique and often highly ambiguous—and adjust our approach accordingly. Some of our clients have a clearly defined program scope, while others simply know they need to get something done but are unsure where to start. Our team approaches complex challenges with curiosity and adaptability to cut through the ambiguity and chart a path towards meaningful change. We lead by asking questions, taking notes, and synthesizing complex sets of information to help our clients move forward effectively. We build from the details and then apply best practices from our past experiences, drawing from our client’s strengths and knowledge in a collaborative effort to build structure and deliver results.

Several years ago, we partnered with one of Oregon’s largest employers to lead a significant initiative to transform their struggling operations department within the company’s second-largest line of business. Sales were lagging, employee turnover was high, and morale was low. From the onset, the need for change was evident but the cause of the underperforming business and approach to the turnaround strategy was unclear.

To understand the big picture, we had to dive deep. We took a data and process-driven approach. We performed a comprehensive current state analysis and used the findings to inform a strategy, define a future state, and build an implementation plan with our partners. With an informed and clearly defined plan in place, we implemented standardized processes and reconfigured systems and tools to reduce inefficiencies. We outlined resource needs and constraints to stabilize operations, worked with internal partners to revamp the product line to make them more marketable and profitable, and developed measurable KPIs to evaluate the strategy and make adjustments where necessary. By defining an effective change management strategy and plan we worked with the client team to deliver this transformation with cohesive messaging that was compelling to the organization, clients, and target customers.

Often, the key to gaining traction and building a strategy that works is first fully understanding the situation and the problems that need to be solved. Comprehensive current state analysis, input from all levels of the organization, and effective change management helped clear a path forward. The result was record annual revenue in a $300M+ line of business, decreased silos across the organization, and new streamlined processes and tools. This is just one example of how we are often brought into a highly ambiguous situation, bring structure to the ill-defined, and drive clarity.

We have made it a priority to build a team capable of thriving in ambiguous situations so that we can help our partners develop and implement creative and comprehensive solutions for their organizations.

More about John Drake:
John has developed broad experience in managing client business needs and relationships in a wide variety of complex environments. He is adept at creating structure around ambiguous deliverables by digging into the details in data-driven environments. Comfortable in any client setting, John is able to integrate within different teams, quickly understand the complexities of the task at hand and, above all, add value. John possesses diverse experience working in high-tech, retail, construction, power utilities, and training and development industries. From project managing large projects and developing organizational process improvements as a business analyst to overhauling a company’s CRM system, John can tackle client needs from many angles. John holds a B.A. from the University of Oregon and an M.P.A. from Portland State University. He is also a Certified Scrum Master and SAFe 5 Agilist. Outside of work, you’ll find John on the mountain bike trails in the sun and rain and on the mountain when there’s snow.

OUR NON-NEGOTIABLES: INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY

When I think of intellectual curiosity, I think of someone who is constantly yearning for new input and has a natural curiosity to learn and understand complex systems. Someone who is aware of their blind spots, has the motivation to seek out additional expertise when needed, and focuses on improving their decision making abilities.

At The Gunter Group, we search for individuals who exhibit intellectual curiosity because this trait tends to be a significant indicator of someone who makes good decisions and thoughtful recommendations. Almost everything we do in consulting is about helping our clients make the most informed decisions possible, ranging from small-scale projects to strategic visioning.

I was recently talking to a client about some challenges a potential client was having with Workday. They had already implemented the software but it wasn’t operating well—business units weren’t happy and were finding it difficult to agree on ways to improve it. Frustration was growing and their leadership team approached us, asking for process improvement and system configuration to resolve the issues.

So, I got curious about their situation, wanting to dig into the root cause of the problem and determine the underlying causes of frustration. As we talked further, the CIO shared more about each business unit and their respective leaders. It became clear that they were unable to find consensus when it came to problems stemming from the application. Even when they could agree on WHAT should be done, they would disagree on HOW.

Through a series of conversations, I helped the client pivot from the assumption that they had a Workday problem to a realization that their core issue was around decision making and governance. Now we are working with this client to address the root cause of their issues and it was my curious inclination that led to a solution which will have lasting impacts within their organization.

On a more personal level, intellectual curiosity has been a recurrent theme throughout my life. My undergraduate experience was a function of my interest to rigorously investigate the philosophical roots of my own belief system. I found the most difficult program I could, one that would challenge me on multiple levels, and pursued it as a source of intellectual growth. My military career was punctuated by the sheer enjoyment I found in having to learn new jobs frequently. The life of a Junior Officer in the Navy was one in which I made frequent role changes in order to quickly learn how to effectively balance mission completion and shipboard life.

And now, as a Principal Consultant and a Market Leader for TGG, managing work across multiple clients in multiple states, my career in consulting is still satisfying my thirst for knowledge because of the opportunity to learn new things with every new client engagement. Enjoying the opportunity to shift from client to client is one of the main reasons consultants enjoy what they do and that is certainly true for me. It fosters both intellectual curiosity and engagement with the work itself. I’ve always said that I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up; a sentiment stemming from curiosity in many different domains. Consulting is where my natural intellectual curiosity intersects with the real world and TGG offers the opportunity to grow and thrive in a constantly shifting environment.

More about Tony Schweiss:
Tony builds teams to support strategic change initiatives and helps leaders plan for highly impactful change. Thriving in the face of complex problems, he brings clarity to ambiguous situations and organizational questions. Leaders quickly come to trust Tony as a partner in making their tough decisions. A former Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy, Tony’s leadership and management philosophy is tempered by a career of bringing calm and planning to high-impact, high-stress scenarios. His track record of success in defining and overcoming challenges in demanding environments has led to consistent portrayals of him as an outstanding manager and a leader among his peers.

REFLECTIONS ON CHANGE MANAGEMENT IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

The Gunter Group hosted the ACMP Pacific Northwest chapter’s monthly Coffee Chats in April, May, and June. Just as everyone was figuring out how to deal with so many things changing, we facilitated a three-part webinar series entitled ‘Reflections on Change Management in Uncertain Times’. The conversations were timely but the change lessons we learned are timeless.

Afterward we sat down with our host, Stephen Bacon, to get his perspective on how to navigate through large-scale change.

In case you missed the webinar series, you can view replays here:

Part 1: How Things Have Been Disrupted
Part 2: How We Are Adapting
Part 3: What We Are Learning

More about Stephen Bacon:

Stephen is passionate about understanding the overarching strategic goals of an organization and leading the changes that are so often necessary to implement those strategies. His expertise is managing strategy and change projects across a variety of organizations. Stephen has spent twenty years leading initiatives at Fortune 500 companies, academic institutions and not-for-profits in the education services, technology, financial services, consumer products, and healthcare industries, including extensive international experience. Stephen is a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), holds a green belt in Six Sigma, and is accredited in various psychometric assessments (MBTI, ESCI, NBI). He holds a B.S. in finance and marketing from Boston College and an M.A. in organizational psychology from Columbia University. In addition to his service on not-for-profit boards, Stephen has three young children and a chocolate lab. He lives and works in Portland, Oregon.

REFLECTIONS ON CHANGE MANAGEMENT IN UNCERTAIN TIMES: PART THREE

Part 3 (of 3): What will we carry forward?

We completed the last session of our series with ACMP Pacific Northwest — ‘Reflections on Change Management in Uncertain Times’. Thank you again to ACMP for the opportunity to facilitate this important conversation.

Part 1 of the series was about how things have been disrupted, Part 2 was about how we are adapting, and in Part 3 we had a very open conversation about what we are learning.

This conversation was very candid and we highly encourage you to watch the replay. Some highlights of our discussion were around

– The importance of vulnerability and connection during this time
– Staying curious and humble in our learnings
– Not attempting to continue business “as usual”
– Creating new normals in our work environments
– Being a present listener and practicing empathy

A replay of our June discussion is now available and we encourage you to listen in on this collaborative information sharing!

View slide deck only Download

Hosted by:
Stephen Bacon
Senior Consultant
The Gunter Group

TGG FACILITATED APPLIED AGILE PANEL DISCUSSION

A few weeks ago, The Gunter Group facilitated a panel discussion at one of our clients (a global footwear and apparel company), which focused on Agile methodology application within their organization.

We would like to share a few key topics from the discussion.

1 — Implementing an Admin Week for Scrum Team Efficiency

One panel participant shared the story of her team iterating on ways to improve development velocity. They were having the common issue of missing sprint target dates and discussed the problem during a retrospective. Together, the team realized that between meeting schedules and “shoulder taps” for side work, they just didn’t have enough focused development time.

Initially the team implemented a block of time from morning until 1pm for dedicated development. While that did increase velocity, they still weren’t where they wanted to be.

Finally, they landed on a concept to implement an “Admin Week”. They decreased their sprints from 3 weeks to 2 and added in 1 week for admin time. This gave the team 2 weeks of uninterrupted development and 1 week to sprinkle in all of their administrative work such as meetings, ceremonies, idea brainstorming, internal documentation, mentoring, and training.

This shift resulted in a 36% increase in velocity and 36% decrease in duration of stories from “ready” to “complete”.

2 — Mitigating Discomfort Around Uncertainty

Another panel participant, an Agile Coach within our client’s organization, shared his thoughts around building comfort with uncertainty.

With the timely example of COVID-19’s highly impactful effects on businesses’ roadmaps, we discussed how important it is–now more than ever–to strengthen the ability to navigate uncertainty, with an agile mindset.

Participants agreed that we are seeing executives embrace agile thinking in their ability to pivot quickly and react as efficiently as possible. Work is being prioritized more clearly and decisions are being made at the “last responsible moment.”

3 — Servant Leadership in an Agile Framework

Lastly, our third panel speaker shared his perspective on leading in a Scrum Master role with a servant leadership approach.

This perspective emphasized the importance of maintaining a people focus in agile environments. Rather than just focusing on scope, schedule, budget–the servant leadership approach enables and promotes leadership in others.

He shared his experience about working with Scrum teams in this manner and how it has built relationships, garnered trust, and fostered growth within the team.

It also sets up the team for a safe environment during sprint retrospectives so that they are able to share thoughts and feedback more openly and from a place of assuming positive intent.

At The Gunter Group, we thrive on helping our clients by facilitating conversations such as this one and invite you to reach out if you are interested in TGG hosting something similar within your organization. Please contact us if you’d like to learn more.

To those who attended the panel discussion outlined above, thank you so much for your participation and we look forward to seeing you at the next one on June 24th!

TGG HOSTS ACMP’S JUNE COFFEE CHAT

On June 12th, we’ll wrap up our three-part series around ‘Reflections on Change Management in Uncertain Times’ with ACMP Pacific Northwest.

In April, we discussed what has been disrupted due to COVID-19. In May, we discussed how we are adapting to the changes. In June, we’ll look ahead to what we will carry forward.

This month, we look forward to discussing questions like:

– What has forever changed in the way we work?
– What DON’T we want to go “back to normal?”
– What will the “new normal” look like?

We encourage you to consider these topics ahead of time as this will be an interactive discussion.