Testimonials
“I wanted to say thank you for the tremendous role you had in helping our little nonprofit see something bigger in ourselves and do some remarkable things through our strategic work. Most notably was growing revenue year-over-year during such a hard economic time, including one of those Wildly Important Goals you helped us set to launch an individual donor program. We did that and raised an additional $3.2M in the last few years for MS research. We also expanded our footprint by establishing two official clinical partnerships (of only 40 nationwide) and grew our chapter’s territory … and so much more. Your partnership with our board and finesse in helping us to define key drivers and goals have been referenced time and again as the foundational work that launched our success. I’m personally grateful, as are so many others, for your partnership with us.”
We recently completed our year-long Endocyte University—an internal leadership development program customized to build the next generation of leaders in our organization. What a success! We partnered with Kendall Lyman and Tony Daloisio from The Highlands Group who brought models, surveys, and tools focused on building leadership capability. They created a development process that included individual assessment, classroom and team application, and peer-to-peer coaching. Leaders engaged in topics such as situational leadership, communication and dialogue, emotional intelligence, and change management. One leader sent us a note after graduation saying:
“I wanted to take the time to thank you for all the insightful and immediately applicable knowledge you provided us through our year-long leadership program. I hope I speak for all members of our management team when I say that the techniques, lessons, and tools that you provided us with will prove invaluable and enable us to work better and more effectively as a team moving forward. From a personal perspective, I have been implementing several techniques with my team members and other managers that have been of significant help in negotiating and effectively managing conversations and personal interactions. Thank you for all of your hard work.”
Partnering with Kendall and Tony has been both fun and rewarding. I look forward to creating our next development program that will help us meet our leadership objectives.
“After working with Tony and Kendall, we have definitely seen a marked improvement in the atmosphere of the team and company overall. I think the executive team sessions have provided great benefit to the organization and its collective focus. There’s almost no disruptive chatter occurring, there’s a feeling of leadership that’s developed as well, and there is a level of increased support and growing respect. It’s been a painful journey for the team—it takes a lot of courage, strength, and commitment to change instead of giving up. Thank you for changing nearly everyone. The minority that don’t change will always struggle and usually find themselves alone against those that are willing to move forward. The numbers will ultimately win.”
“Thanks so much for an awesome session! I loved seeing the “light bulbs” going on around the room and would love to (re)quest more of your time and insight on strategy! THANKS for the generous gift of a few hours of your/your team’s time! Can’t wait! Again, thanks so much!”
“A number of years ago, our Navy Postal Facility (that provided mail to the Navy facilities in the National Capital Region) was the source of nearly daily customer complaints and significant employee issues. In nine months of working The Highlands Group, the organization went from arguably the worst within the Department of Defense to the unquestionable leader. Today, the organization is the standard by which other similar facilities are judged. Department of Defense postal leadership now encourages other postal operations to visit and learn how to do things the right way. In addition, GSA awarded the group with a GSA Best Practices award in the late 1990s. And the most significant result is that these changes and improvements have lasted over time. The operation has NOT returned to the status quo since ALL members of the team are involved and active in the process of constant improvement.”
“As our organization was undergoing a massive transformational activity involving all key enterprise functions like Finance, IT, Strategic Sourcing, HR, and others, The Highlands Group was instrumental in assisting the creation of the right strategies, and most importantly assisting with the complex task of change management. They stood shoulder to shoulder with our team, and helped create an end-to-end strategy to map the necessary activities for change management as it pertained to my Strategic Sourcing Transformation. Unlike other consultants I have worked with, The Highlands Group actually remained an active participant in the implementation of the changes. They have remained a great partner of our organization.”
“I’ve had the distinct pleasure of working with The Highlands Group at Carlson Companies to implement organization change and transformation throughout the Carlson Enterprise. From the very first phone call I had with them, I can recall their distinct professionalism and business acumen let alone the depth of understanding of the Carlson family of businesses. Whether they were coaching a senior executive or facilitating a team meeting, their impeccable preparation along with their ability to understand the measurable objectives for each ‘moment of truth’ continues to impress me to this day. Their consultants’ affable nature and sense of humor allow them to enlist the cooperation of team members, which led to extremely effective, meaningful, and productive meetings.
“People like those at The Highlands Group don’t come along very often, and it’s a rare breed that not only understands the theory behind organizational change and transformation, but who can practically apply it to effect positive change within an organization. The Highlands Group is definitely in that small, unique, and dare I say, eclectic, group. Not only am I a better person for having the opportunity to have worked with them, but I truly believe Carlson Companies today is also a better organization because of his work.”
“The Highlands Group combines extensive expertise in organizational development with engaging personalities to produce great results. They are masterful at formulating messages in ways that resonate with every individual on a team—a skill that makes them some of the most effective facilitators around. They also have the ability to navigate complex dynamics between and among diverse team members to cultivate common ground and yield constructive, focused action. Their consultants operate with integrity, produce high-quality results, and are a joy to experience.”
“Highlands Group consultants have keen insight and a unique, personable way of facilitating that really captures an audience. Because they are so personally grounded, they have the latitude to flex with the audience and move the message to them vs. trying to move the audience to them. I have seen many lead facilitators over the years and The Highlands Group consultants rank among the very best.”
“As a leader at Comcast, I have had the privilege of working with The Highlands Group for both Coaching and Business Performance improvement for the past six years. Their insights and guidance helped my team better define our critical roadblocks, build a vision for the future and adopt the measures and tracking tools to hold ourselves accountable. Their team of skilled consultants brought years of diverse business experience to our team and organized our output in a way that gave everyone involved more clarity and confidence that we could be successful. Ultimately, on every engagement with The Highlands Group, our employees grew stronger, our customers benefited greatly, and our business profited. We are very fortunate to have had their partnership in solving some of our biggest challenges.”