“What came out of the strategic review was that we needed a culture change.

We considered several options and The Pacific Institute’s was identified as the right one for our needs. The program they were proposing was very practical, action oriented and was based on a proven track record.

I can definitely see changes in the organisation already. We are very proud of what we have been able to accomplish with The Pacific Institute so far and I am totally confident that the program will get us to where we want to go.”
Erik Bogh Christensen, Managing Director

“We liked the proposal because it started with the individual and with leadership, rather than a systems and process approach. It started internally and worked out, rather than trying to fix the systems and hope that the individuals would change as well. It proposed making the leaders more effective and inspirational, and then building the momentum for change from within.”
Sean Kelly, Deputy Managing Director

RESULTS TO DATE

We are now 3 years into our Leadership and Cultural Change process with The Pacific Institute. To date there have been some dramatic shifts in both leadership and culture in certain sections of the organisation. On the journey we have also elevated our thinking on what can be achieved and so the gaps between our current reality and our vision continue to be a vital source of challenge for us.

Since 2001

• There has been a dramatic and measurable shift in the management team’s paradigms around the role that constructive cultures play in improving “bottom line” outcomes and the role that both aggressive and passive behaviours play in reducing efficiencies and triggering poorer performance.

• While competitive behaviour was still highly valued the interventions introduced by The Pacific Institute and those that we have introduced ourselves have had a substantial impact on core beliefs of the management team.

• A change of thinking of this magnitude at the management level is an essential pre-requisite for broader cultural change and the foundations for cultural success have been laid for the future.

• There has been a substantial and measurable shift in the culture at Modern Terminals particularly at the Senior Management and Senior Staff levels. The greatest changes can be summed up as creating a more “achievement” orientated mindset within a less “conventional” environment.
While the correlation between movements in culture and improved “bottom line” outcomes will always be less than conclusive it is our belief that the work The Pacific Institute has done with us in producing measurable changes in both leadership and culture have been beneficial in supporting our “aspirational” move into the vast China market and supported our continued growth in all KPI’s in Hong Kong.
John Lee, Director – Corporate Development

John Lee and the Managing Director, Erik Bogh Christensen have been pleased to present this success story at several business forums on our behalf.

“The Investment In Excellence program has been an integral component of the OPSM Group High Potential leadership development and cultural change program since 2001.

The Investment In Excellence program was instrumental in empowering our leaders to use different strategies to deliver business outcomes through their people. A 360 degree feedback tool was adopted to provide our leaders with “what” could change in their leadership approach and Investment In Excellence was implemented to give the leaders the “how” to implement long term, lasting change.

Combined with other organisation re-engineering programs, the leadership development and cultural programs have had a profound effect on our business over the past two years.

There has been a growth in profitability, turnover has remained constant at 18%, Workers Compensation claims have reduced by 25% and staff morale has steadily risen to an average of 3.7 (out of 5).

We are building quantitative data to show how our management culture is changing to a more inclusive and constructive leadership style.”

Cheryl Walters

“Investment In Excellence supplied us with the platform to create and maintain the momentum of a
customer advocacy culture throughout Telstra.

The individuals that make up this part of Telstra have become the customer advocates as they are now turning negatives into positives, problems into opportunities and now have the self efficacy and the belief in themselves to make it happen for our customers.

It’s a win-win situation for these individuals of Telstra and customers.

The daily feedback from individuals to Charlie Zoi, Group Managing Director and our office has been overwhelming.

Charlie says he has never seen so much positive feedback about any program he has been associated with.

We’ve heard many stories of how Investment In Excellence has changed the way Telstra managers coach and empower their staff. We’ve seen the creation of self managed teams, and individuals/teams using self efficacy in reducing the delivery time of a service or product.”

Lynne Hubbard, Manager Office of Customer Advocacy

“Investment In Excellence programs were conducted in each of the countries which fall within my responsibility – Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

This, with Australia taken into account, entails four quite different cultures. One of the remarkable aspects of the Investment In Excellence program was that it was able to build effectively in such a cross cultural environment.”

Mara Moustafine, General Manager Telstra – Vietnam/Cambodia/Laos

“Investment In Excellence has provided us with a tool to help channel our energies into closing the gap between where we are and where we want to be.”

“With TPI’s help we have reformulated our vision and have integrated that into our own personal goals and beliefs.

We talk in the present tense. That things are the way we want them to be in the future. Our people do leave work healthier and fitter than when they arrived.

We are the most efficient smelter in the world. We have the drive. We have the energy and we have a huge industrial complex in harmony with our environment, because we have the vision.”

David Judd, Plant Manager

“The Investment In Excellence program has been adopted by the people at Portland Smelter because it provides the touchstone which unifies, and against which we can measure, all other training initiatives and our aspirations for this plant.”

Jeff Knuckey

“Investment In Excellence concepts are at the heart of everything we do. We produce twice the output yet we are half the size of our sister refinery.

Ideas for productivity improvement increased 160% following the introduction of the education resulting in a record 50% increase in productivity.”

Portland Aluminium (Culture Development Project)

“One of the most amazing things about the Investment In Excellence program is that it appears to be self perpetuating in regard to improvement.”

Keith Booth, Facilitator

Our working relationship with Halliburton (Oil and Gas) extends over 10 years and many assignments.

“The Pacific Institute has been instrumental in facilitating the transformation of Brown & Root Production Services.

We began working with The Pacific Institute to build support within our teams for our new business execution plan and to increase their sales performance expectations.

The concepts of Investment In Excellence have helped to make a positive change in the beliefs of individuals and teams concerning their potential level of performance and their influence on the future of the business.

We have seen a step change in our business performance and our reputation, and have won all key target contracts since beginning our involvement with The Pacific Institute.”

Bill Dunnett, Senior Vice-President

The initial project in London has now spread to Germany, both focussing on culture change in a very conservative industry.

“Communication improved immediately and the team spirit was lifted as well.

Retention has been excellent; we have retained the right people. The implementation has been very successful. We equipped the department with the skills and attitudes to perform at a high level very quickly.

The younger ones were using the material to build up their own teams. In order to thrive in this new environment we needed to ensure that we were more service oriented, commercially aware and focussed on our customer needs.

Theprogram is good for the individual, and is good for the organisation.”

William Higgins, Director of Operations

BACKGROUND

Snowy Hydro went from a government agency to a corporatised entity in 2002; this involved not only a change in focus of our business, but also a change in the way that our staff and management perceived their roles and functions.

With a new strategic direction and business focus in place, we needed an organisational culture and leadership style that would support the workforces’ capacity to achieve the organisation’s goals and direction. THE WORK TO DATE SHL has used The Pacific Institute, its framework for change and interventions extensively to build the internal capacity for change management and leadership development over the last two years.

Recognising that TPI’s framework builds internal capacity to drive change throughout the organisation, SHL has chosen to drive the changes from a smaller focussed team set inside the HR department, who have worked alongside the recommendations and interventions of TPI, utilising their expert resources in conjunction with SHL’s subject matter experts.

There has at all times been a strongly recognised and applied partnership of knowledge and practice in developing the culture of the organisation. Working firstly with the CEO and Executive Officers, TPI assisted in building an understanding of the styles of leadership that would enable SHL to achieve its desired changes in culture, which would lead to improved business outcomes. This was followed by the use of the Leadership/Impact® tool to give our leadership group an understanding of their personal impact on the business culture.

In addition TPI is closely associated with the development of our leaders and supervisors through a formal coaching program which assists our leaders in the further development of constructive styles which supports the change process. Thereafter we have utilised the Investment In Excellence program to build self-awareness and to provide personnel across the business with a ‘toolkit’ to assist them in adopting more constructive styles and adapting to change in a dynamic environment.

REVIEW The cultural measurement process is the mechanism used by SHL to assess the extent to which the other interventions supplied by TPI, other providers and internally driven processes, have been successful in bringing about and supporting the desired culture of the organisation.

We are currently undertaking a review of the culture in line with step 7 of their change framework, and are leading into a review of leadership behaviours and characteristics amongst the Executive team and leadership group to establish our progress towards constructive leadership.

RESULTS TO DATE

“Two years into our partnership with TPI sees us awaiting the results of our cultural survey re-test, we are confident that there will be a noticeable shift from defensive and aggressive behaviours to constructive ones. We note that internal capacity has been achieved in the accountability of the leadership team to support the interventions of TPI’s framework.

We have also realised an improvement in the extent to which individual employees believe they are accountable for outcomes.

Generally, we are finding that there has been an increase in efficacy amongst the work force as a whole, and a definite shift in the levels of trust and communication, both upward and downward.

Our effectiveness as an organisation has increased in regards to the focus on our changed business strategies. Through enhanced communication strategies people’s understanding of the diversity of our range of products and services has increased and their accountabilities have widened to look for opportunities in all areas of the organisation.”

Anna Tobin, Performance & Development Coordinator Organisation Development, Safety & Environment Group

Mr Paul Rizzo, Chief Executive Officer of the State Bank witnessed the results of Investment In Excellence in Post Bank New Zealand where as Chief Executive of ANZ they had only just acquired Postbank.

Imminent changes in the banking industry led to the evaluation and eventual promotion of the programs by Mr Rizzo and his senior management in order to assist their staff in coping with those changes.

Mr Rizzo said, “The decision to introduce what is essentially the largest investment in our people in terms of dollars and time this Bank has undertaken was made prior to the proposed merger with the CBA.

We nevertheless decided to proceed with what I consider to be an exciting and innovative program. We have the staff and a top class franchise, and it remains for us to equip our people with the necessary tools to maximise personal and professional opportunities.”

Paul Rizzo, Former CEO

“The Pacific Institute was used to help us build a culture that was resilient to the Asian economic crisis and increase morale and enthusiasm during trying times.

Bottom Line Outcomes
• 1998 South Asia sales up 5.4% despite falls in Indonesian, Thailand and Malaysian markets.

• 1998 South Asia profit doubled that of 1997.

• Debtors (in days of sales) reduced from 100 days to 70 days at a time when collection is very difficult.

• Operating costs reduced 20% achieved through awareness through a common goal.

There were no painful cost cutting measures.

• Reduce internal financing by 50%.

Employees are highly motivated, willing to do more with less and they all have a “can-do” attitude.”

Nancy Tan, Manager

“The most significant results were seen in employee attrition, which dropped from 56% in the year before the implementation to just 18% two years after it began.

In the same period productivity nearly doubled.”

Jim Boehm, General Manager

“In 2003 we extended the Investment In Excellence program to all staff (over 400) after realising that it is a powerful tool to enhance results by engaging the Leadership and staff and demonstrating the gaps between actual and perceived business operations.

The Investment In Excellence program, whilst still ongoing, has already yielded positive results in terms of changed mind sets and achieving productivity that was once considered “not imaginable”.

Our colleagues in the operations department have handled record breaking throughput, month after month in the last few months, despite increasingly heavy congestion in the container yards and tight berthing schedules.

One colleague who has attended Investment In Excellence commented ‘breaking records is our habit now!’.”

Cheyenne Yu, General Manager and CEO

“When I started at Renison I inherited massive payroll, seemingly endless strikes and falling world tin prices. The mine – without which the local town had no income or hope – closed.

My first move was to get in The Pacific Institute, not just for Renison but for the community. The early steps towards recovery were in focussing everyone’s minds on safety, looking after the welfare of work colleagues and getting past the ‘them and us’ confrontational attitudes.

With the skilled implementation of The Pacific Institute’s tools and the goodwill of people working together in a common cause – you can hit virtually all your goals.”

Dick Scallan, Former General Manager

“I was first introduced to the power of this program during Lou Tice’s second visit to Perth.

Having been through Investment In Excellence four times, I consider it to be the best in its field by a very long way.

It is unique in that it is specifically targeted to generating business benefits through the growth of the individual.

In our organisation, the program is a prerequisite for advancement, and is made available to all staff – and their partners – at all levels over a period of time. I will only be happy when we have put our 7,000 people through the course. We are growing rapidly, and that means we need individual employees to take on more responsibility and feel empowered to do whatever is necessary to provide service for our customers. This is the new style of management.”

Joe Boros, Former Managing Director

Joe Boros has been driving the change process for this major subsidiary of one of Western Australia’s largest corporations, Wesfarmers Ltd for many years. He thinks so highly of Investment In Excellence that he arranged for Lou Tice, the programs founder, to present the material personally to 360 trade customers at the company’s 1998 annual conference in Beijing. “The impact was outstanding, with an acceptance rate by the delegates of over 95 percent.”

BUILDING WORK FORCE CAPACITY

“I am pleased to have this opportunity to attest to the extraordinary transformation that occurred at the State Revenue Department through the implementation of The Pacific Institute’s program then referred to as “Investment in Excellence”.

This program was implemented across the Department’s 250 employees and was subsequently instituted into the induction program for new employees.

The Pacific Institute program is predicted on the basis that effective organisational change is determined by the attitude of the individual and the program seeks to provide the individual with the understanding and capacity to determine their own future and to be responsible for their own outcomes. In the terms of the program, it builds a strong internal locus of constructive people.

I commend the program to any employer who wishes to produce outstanding results through the development of their employees’ potential. In my view, the program builds a healthier, happier, and more productive work force.”

Alastair Bryant , Former Director General

“We merged two companies with vastly different cultures. We needed a program that would bring our people together and give them tools to manage the change process ahead of them.

The Pacific Institute helped develop the cultural aspects, making our people more receptive to systems and procedural changes now being put in place.

Morale is high and the effort put in to achieving company goals has increased dramatically.

The Pacific Institute has helped create a consistent culture throughout the organisation and open channels of communication.

Individuals are now aligned with the future of the company.”

John Balmforth, Chief Executive Officer

The merger of United Bank with Countrywide Bank has seen two corporate cultures brought together.

It is primarily in this area that David Wolfenden, the Managing Director, sees the material covered in Investment In Excellence being of assistance.

Opening the initial management seminar where his comments were being captured by their “in-house” video newsletter, David was very clear as to his enthusiasm for Investment In Excellence and how it would assist the bank.

“Primarily I see Investment In Excellence helping us build a new corporate culture, making the new vision a reality.”

“The ability to make that happen and the success of this emerging new bank is in your hands. I need your ideas, your input, your enthusiasm.”

David Wolfenden, Former Managing Director

Countrywide Bank (Sales and Service Culture Project) boosted profit by NZ$60 million over 18 nmonths following a merger and cited Investment In Excellence as the “primary vehicle”.

Postbank (Privatisation Project) converted a NZ$40 million loss to a NZ$90 million profit in 12 months. “Investment In Excellence" a major contributor.”

“Applying the thinking from Investment In Excellence allowed us to increase our 1997 revenue
by US$1.8 million over last year … set the goal, believe in the end result and you will invent the how.”

Anthony Ng, Vice President, Airtime Sales

Headquarters Support Command which is responsible for basic air and ground training in the RAAF, took the initiative to use Investment In Excellence for qualified Flying Instructors and student pilots to pursue with some vigour the concepts of personal development, training excellence and total quality management.

Bottom Line Outcomes

• Pass rate of student pilots rose from 46.8% to 65.5%.
• Meantime from commencement of studies to suspension dropped from 72.2 hours to 65.5 hours.
• $22 million saving in pilot training costs over 24 months.

Client quotes

• “QFI’s agreed that the results were cultural not technical.”

• “The program was a real eye opener in helping me to quantify my own feelings, fears and beliefs about my own life and, more particularly, my interaction with my family – a very important part of my life.”

• “The program was one big ‘AHA’ for me; it set me on a completely new life and employment path. Now, with the help of the affirmations and the visualisations I can truly look forward to a permanent change.”

• “In my case students are far more receptive to my teaching after Investment In Excellence. I believe we gained a mutual respect for each other and it helped teaching tremendously.”

“The TPI program gave a clear and succinct message presented in an interesting format in an abridged timeframe that was complementary to the busy and demanding schedules of this senior group.

What benefit did the Firm gain from the exercise? Put simply, an important seed was sown and conception has occurred.

The challenge was then ours to take, develop and nurture it from there.

Since then, the Firm has utilised the TPI program on further occasions, internally to senior staff and also to our National Group Managing Partners and General Managers.

Further, the Pathways to Excellence program is being utilised by the Firm for its junior administration and support staff. The feedback from those participating is extremely positive and we are confident of a commensurate improvement in work attitude and performance from those attending.

Finally, we wish to share aspects of the Lou Tice message with the spouses of our Partners.

In summary, the TPI program proved a valuable catalyst in a journey of cultural change within the Firm and has laid a positive foundation in the development of our quality management and continuous improvement initiatives.”

Steven Cole, Former Managing Partner

The future looks much more secure at Clyde these days and Investment In Excellence is playing a part in shaping that future.

The participant feedback is certainly an indication that this is the case: “We are both highly impressed with the Investment In Excellence seminar and encourage everyone to participate in it.”

“Curiosity provided the initiative to attend the seminar – the conclusion after the event: - it was
the most thought provoking and interesting few days I have ever spent!”

“The course is brilliant and I am sure will be a useful tool and asset in my and others future development. I know it! I affirm it!”

“An excellent tool to help individuals set goals in their life and then achieve them.”

“We tend to think we’ve learnt our job for life, our place in society. This program powerfully shows that you are capable of great change so that the rest of your life will truly be an adventure.”


“The tools and techniques I have learned through Investment In Excellence now help me to reach my goals easily and enjoyably.”

“To date, around 160 people have attended Phase 1 with an estimated 350 to go. The presence of spouses and in some cases participants from other areas of employment (some local secondary teachers for instance) has invariably enriched the programs which typically involve about 20 people at a time.

I am also certain that very many personal and family relationships have been enhanced, while at the same time distinct improvements in the quality of work life are beginning to appear.

The program has resulted in numerous participants, including union officials and spouses, enquiring about the possibility of becoming facilitators.

There is no doubt in my mind or in the minds of most others who have attended Investment In Excellence, that there is a great need for a powerful, clear and effective developmental program such as this in most, if not all, the various areas of the State Electricity Commission.

One of our goals is to spread the word and cause other units to adopt Investment In Excellence as a key element in achieving cultural change and enhanced efficiency.”

Rob Gaulton

“The course (IIE) evaluation demonstrated the highest level of satisfaction for any course we had run.
99% of people felt it had an impact on their lives. It is an exciting initiative.”

Nick Hildyard, Managing Director

“Major changes were needed to enable the Harrier TMK10 team to achieve their year end
targets. Investment In Excellence gave them the tools to make the changes happen –
resulting in those targets being exceeded.”

Tom Gargett, Manufacturing Manager, Commercial, Composites & Electrical Business

“IIE was used to reform work practices and to excel in an extremely competitive industry.

All our measures have increased significantly … our year end figures showed turnover up 120%, operating profit up 528% and employment up 4%.”

Iain Kennedy, Former Plant Manager

“The impact of IIE on our corporate culture, partnering experience and commitment to adding value, in conjunction with the overall technical expertise has given us an important edge in our success with Mobil (the Maintenance team won a £10m contract as a result).”

Arthur Lees, Manager

“We knew we had to do things better, faster, quicker, cheaper. This education has helped
launch us into a breakthrough for teamwork and accountability. It’s become a cornerstone of
our company.”

Neven Hulsey, Chairman and CEO

“Introducing the IIE program has been very successful and helped to:
• Develop a shared vision with the team
• Improve alignment with the team and BMW
• Achieve greater commitment from the team
• Capture the hearts and minds of the team
• Improve the self-esteem of the team
• Create greater accountability from within the team to change
• Make leaders more effective at developing the potential within the team

We are delighted to be another step forward in our commitment to quality people as we roar
into the next century.”

Ernie Barrett, Chief Engineer

“The improved numbers represent an incredible change in the organisation – from a
standpoint of cost of delivery of vehicles to turnover rates to decreases in costs.”

Rich Wold

“There is a different feel around the business. Managers are talking to each other and
understanding issues and concerns. IIE can have a phenomenal effect on your life. Without IIE
people’s learning potential can be limited. They may close down again very quickly. IIE helps
people to be truly open to new possibilities for longer.”

Victor Robson, HR Development

“By the end of the first 18 months working with TPI, productivity had improved by 24, costs
reduced by 19, customer claims reduced by 22. The savings from these improvements were
approx $7 million annually, for a one-time cost of less than 5 of that.”

Ernest Skipper, Manager

“During the time that we have been using Investment In Excellence at our Jakarta Bottling Plant production output has increased from 25,000 cases per day to 50,000, production efficiency has increased from 33% to 70% and sales have doubled.

While there are many factors contributing to these results Investment In Excellence has been a significant factor in the improvement.”

“Investment In Excellence has become the common language that is opening lines of communication between all levels of the plant.

This is helping to achieve quicker response times and more direct lines of communication.”

Martono, Production Manager