Our Approach

It works better when you put it Together

To paraphrase an old saying; to grow is to change and to change is to have grown a lot.  While this concept seems noble and positive, change doesn't always come easy.  Some organizations and individuals resist change; partly out of human nature, but often because they don't understand the vision, aren't engaged in the process, or don't feel ownership for success.  In industry, there are many examples of companies that failed because they resisted change, often as a result of institutional hubris.  This resistance to change is by no means uniquely the purview of the private sector.  Government is notoriously slow to change, and Institutions and Not-for-Profits can also fall victim to complacency.  

Fortunately, leaders are always emerging in all of the above sectors who bring new energy and a willingness to embrace change.  During a recent presentation to a large audience of police professionals, a senior police official referred to the culture of state and local law enforcement as one of, "inbred inflexibility."  This self-admonishing recognition was precisely the type of observation that challenges motivated individuals and organizations to move forward.

D.M. Rattner and Associates works with clients to confront organizational challenges collaboratively.  Our job is to help you articulate the definition of success, and then facilitate the process of identifying a well thought out operational plan to achieve the goal.  Having an outsider whose sole motivation is the success of the client helps ensure that a fair and equitable examination of both opportunities and barriers is part of the process.

Philosophy 

  The core principles of our consulting philosophy are:

• You have access to the information you need to identify the issue, assess possible strategies and decide on a plan. Our job is to facilitate the thought process in an orderly and constructive manner.
• We can't help you if we don't listen to you
• The most successful strategies produce plans and programs that are cyclical rather than linear.
• Operational functions must not only implement the strategic goals and objectives of the organization, but also monitor and integrate ongoing input from  "external sources of impact.
• Embracing a new strategy doesn't necessarily mean the previous strategy was flawed.
• The organization cannot supersede the mission.
• Success of the whole should not be seen as a threat to the parts.

Methodology

There are countless facilitation methodologies in use in business today.  While the terminology differs, the common goal is to get clarity and resolution on an issue and then to develop a plan for collaborative execution. It also helps to have a process that is intuitive to the participants.  Toward that goal, we have developed a seven step methodology (The 7 C's of Collaboration ^TM) for facilitating discussions:

• Connect
• Confide
• Confront
• Confer
• Contract
• Confirm
• Conclude

The first two steps are focused on the individuals and functions represented in the discussion.  It is important to understand who is in the discussion, why they're there and what their expectations and concerns are.

The middle three steps are about the issue.  Constructive discussion cannot be achieved without agreement on what the issue is, a free exchange of ideas and opinions, and reasonable consensus on a strategy.

The final two steps are a summary of the discussion, clarification of the decisions made, agreement on accountability and a plan for follow-up.

At the end, everyone has a common understanding of the Goal, the Plan, and their Role in the Implementation.