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Getting Change Right through High-Performance Teams

Masterclass leaders

Steve Denning and Seth Kahan

July 30-31, 2009 in Washington DC

register now


The sad truth is that most change programs fail. In this Masterclass, you will learn why and what you can do to launch high-performance teams and change programs that really work.

Listen to a FREE preview teleseminar recorded on May 11, 2009

  • Listen to the entire teleseminar (80 minutes) or
  • Listen to the segments separately NOTE: the links are at the bottom of this webpage

  • “Steve Denning is the Warren Buffett of business communication. He sees things others don't and is able to explain them so the rest of us can understand.”  Chip Heath, co-author of Made to Stick

    “Seth is a business revolutionary, stretching the limits of traditional thinking. His innovations have been successful in world-class organizations“  Susan Sarfati, CEO, Center for Association Leadership

    Why come to this Masterclass?

  • Master the elements that create and sustain high-performance teams, i.e. project teams that are both exceptionally productive and deeply satisfying to the participants.
  • Learn how to generate highly productive teams that hum with excitement and buzz with energy and enthusiasm.
  • Get hands-on practice in creating high-performance teams, including calculation of the project team’s velocity and focus factor.
  • Getting change right requires engaging people, garnering their enthusiastic participation to overcome the inevitable obstacles on the road to success.
  • When leaders get change right, it happens quickly. Contrary to popular thought, people move rapidly if they can make a positive difference fast.
  • Getting change right requires drawing on every person involved as a valid, unique perspective, a distinct constellation of experience and knowhow.


  • Who should attend?

  • Managers who want to create and sustain high-performance teams
  • Senior managers who want to create a high-performance organization, comprised of high-performance teams
  • Leaders and managers who want to get change right
  • Visionaries of all stripes, anyone who knows there is a better way and is serious about making it happen fast.
  • Lawyers, who want to ignite high-performance in their legal teams
  • Consultants, who want to delight clients with high-performance teams
  • Managers who want to create a more productive workplace.


  • What will you learn in this masterclass?

  • Run a successful change initiative for any size program, large or small.
  • Identify and enthusiastically engage the most important people in your project.
  • Break through bottlenecks and bad circumstances including poor leadership, change weariness, and apathy.
  • Master the elements that create and sustain high-performance teams, i.e. project teams that are both exceptionally productive and deeply satisfying to the participants.
  • Learn how to generate highly productive teams that hum with excitement and buzz with energy and enthusiasm
  • Inspire your organization to adopt a culture of high-performance
  • Pursue relentless improvement in the way the work is done
  • Generate and win support for radical transparency
  • Continuously focus effort on the 20% of items that generate 80% of the benefits
  • Engage in real conversations with customers and clients


  • What is the agenda of the masterclass?

    DAY ONE

    1. Identify and Energize Your Most Valuable Players
    Identifying the champions, partners, and other valuable stakeholders
    The meaning, potential and origins of high-performance teams
    2. Map the Territory of Change
    Identifying issues, pot-holes, misinformation, and new high-value ideas
    Getting clear on the change goal
    Teams vs individuals
    Understanding high-performance teams
    Delighting the client
    Radical transparency
    Relentless improvement towards the goal
    Interactive communications and leadership storytellng
    3. Communicate So that People Get It and Spread It
    Articulating and sharing your main idea so that it is compelling and easy-to-share
    Understanding your audience
    Understanding your own role
    Getting people’s attention
    Inspiring people’s desire for change—the springboard story
    Reinforcing with reasons

    DAY TWO

    4. Create Communities that Accelerate Evolution
    Creating the container for high-performance
    Igniting the fire of high-performance within the container
    Enabling people to work together
    Building social groups that take on your toughest challenges and create solutions for you
    Collaborating with people who are not like you and Drawing on the power of cognitive diversity
    5. Generate Dramatic Surges in Progress
    Generating rapid movement forward on all fronts through strategic events
    Sustaining the fire of high-performance
    Keys to creating leaps in productivity
    6. Staying in Balance and Ahead of the Curve
    Course corrections
    Dealing with setbacks and resisters
    Replenishing the energy
    Care and feeding of your brain while leading change

    Who is leading for the Masterclass?

    Steve Denning, a former director at the World Bank, is the author of award-winning books on leadership, innovation and organizational storytelling. His book, The Secret Language of Leadership, was selected by the Financial times as one of the best business books of 2007. His forthcoming book on high-performance teams will be published Fall 2010.

    Seth Kahan was designated Visionary by the Center for Association Leadership. He has worked one-on-one helping senior leaders with large-scale change at World Bank, Peace Corps, Shell, NASA, and 20+ organizations in the public and private sectors. His book Getting Change Right: Creating Rapid, Widespread Change, will be published Spring 2010.

    Seth Kahan and Steve Denning worked together as a team and won international recognition for the rapid transformation of the World Bank's successful Knowledge Management initiative. They have been teaching as a team in a wide variety of venues for over 7 years.

    How do I register for the masterclass?

    Registration fee for the two-day Masterclass: US$ 1,500.


    To register on the web: register now:

    Or contact Tya by telephone 866.410.3249 or 410-309-9708
    or by email: tya@exceptionalbizsolutions.com

    If you have further questions, contact Steve or Seth

    Listen to a preview of the Masterclass
    in this free teleseminar recorded on May 11, 2009

    Or listen to the segments separately

    Listen to a preview of the Masterclass
    in this free teleseminar recorded on May 11, 2009

    Or listen to the segments separately

Read

The Secret Language of Leadership

The Secret
Language of
Leadership

Read a Sample More Information Other Writing

Attend

Smithsonian organizational storytelling weekend

04.15.10 to 04.17.10

A passionate effort to create a better workplace

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