PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT

OUTLAW? IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK.

Outlaw is an unusual, but appropriate, name for Performance Development. In medieval England, an “outlaw” was not someone who violated a law, but a person or family “outside the law” because they had fallen out of favor with the king or ruling noble, who took away the family name. As a result, that family could not petition the King for protection and became fair game for robbers and thieves. To survive they had to out-think, out-smart and out-perform those who would prey on them. They had to rely on their innovation and resourcefulness. Only the quick, agile and responsive survived outside the protection of the law.

Today’s businesses and business people operate in a similar environment, where they cannot rely on traditional practices, other businesses or even government regulations for protection to ensure survival and prosperity. In today’s competitive, frantic environment, all businesses are fair game and must rely on themselves and their staff for success.

Even the most successful organizations have obstacles and challenges to overcome in order to outpace the competition. Even with the capabilities to respond, outside innovation can dramatically improve results and reduce the time and effort required to develop performance to its true potential.

INTERCEPTING THE SABOTAGE OF UNDISCOVERED LIMITATIONS

Failure to discover limitations—and set a chart toward improvement—can be a serious threat to a company’s potential. To help organizations reach their objectives and improve results, we at Outlaw Group take a holistic approach of discovering the client’s needs and matching them to an appropriate level of assistance to achieve maximum performance development. Offering a variety of factors, we help the client define the changes needed to meet its goals.

We have a thorough discovery process, comprehensive action planning and easy-to-use tools available to dramatically increase results—whether the goal is to increase sales, improve service, boost profits or just build a more resilient organization.

Our methods of applying our resources to develop your performance results are straightforward:

CEO/STAKEHOLDER MEETING

In a confidential meeting, we help the stakeholder (the CEO or top person in the division or department) define the needed changes or desired objectives. We help the individual identify the challenges, opportunities and situations that must be addressed.

During the meeting we together assess the needs for improvement and define the benefits if these needs are met or addressed. Results of the improvement are estimated in terms of the organization’s strength, growth revenue, profit building and reduced effort. After the potential ROI is defined, it can be determined if the stakeholders—and in turn, the organization—are willing to commit to the efforts required to accomplish the return.

To supplement our resources developed over two decades, we have developed strategic partnership with professionals, who can assist in areas such as finance, marketing, human resources and law. These resources integrate into Outlaw Group’s Performance Development support to help accomplish your objectives and allow one point of contact responsible for the achievement of goals.

Assistance options range from using Outlaw Group’s assistance on an a la carte basis to an intense program of performance development.

LEADER PERFORMANCE COACHING

A Leader Coaching Plan may be developed to assist the individual in realizing his or her potential to address the situation. Leader Coaching is available for executives, sales staff, and sales managers who can benefit from observations and assistance from those who have helped others address similar situations or focus on long-term development and overall performance.

Coaching does not solve problems or make changes for the individual; it enables the individual to take the initiative for needed change. Purposeful long-term change, when managed with support, will produce greater results than if the effort was done alone or merely using an organization’s existing support systems. Performance Coaching, by its nature, combines both personal and business aspects. Its objective is to enable the individual or organization to accomplish more in less time with fewer resources and less stress.

ASSESSMENT OF THE ORGANIZATION

In medicine, prescription without diagnosis is malpractice; the same is true in management. To identify the health of an organization, we use a combination of assistance and tools:

ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS We begin by assessing the organization in terms of its staff, sales, service, and leadership/management. We carefully examine the operational and financial results the organization has achieved over the last several years with a focus on trend and profitability. 360° INTERVIEWS By interviewing those who know the individual best in the work environment—such as key direct reports, assistants or others—we define the individual’s strengths, opportunities and barriers to achieve the objective. INDIVIDUAL ASSESSMENT We evaluate the leadership team using assessment instruments, as well as behavioral style instruments and questionnaires, to get candid input and unbiased information to evaluate performance, potential and even barriers to reaching potential. ORGANIZATONAL SURVEYS To pinpoint strengths and weaknesses, clearly identify situations and define problems, we use confidential organizational surveys. These surveys allow employees to respond candidly without fear of reprisal. Surveys probe areas—such as employee satisfaction, management direction, climate and leadership processes—and allow employees to make specific suggestions for improvement. FUNCTIONAL AUDITS Many organizations are familiar with financial audits, but few have had an audit of the staffing, sales, service, marketing and leadership required produce the financial results desired. Using in-depth questionnaires, assessments and interviews, we assess the organization’s current situation in functional areas to define specific factors that affect results, determine obstacles to growth and define opportunities that can be capitalized on for greater results.

PERFORMANCE ACTION PLAN

Based on findings from the analysis, interviews, surveys, audits and assessments, we develop a Performance Action Plan for organizational success that addresses areas needed. Examples of such plans include Strategic Mission & Vision, Business Model, Leadership, Management, Sales, Customer Service, Policy & Procedures, and Financial Systems. The recommendations are presented with the client’s priority and time frame for implementation. We provide implementation assistance for the Action Plan at the level to meet client needs and at a pace the client can accommodate.

IMPLEMENTATION

Based on the organization’s needs, past success in implementing improvements and speed at which the improvements are expected, an Implementation Plan is developed. We provide three general levels of assistance:

Self-Implementation The client provides the staff and effort to implement the changes using selected tools, such as self-paced skill development, public or open enrollment workshops, and participation in monthly performance group on specific areas. Coaching In addition to resources, the Outlaw Group provides coaching assistance for key leaders to ensure they develop the skills needed for implementation and maintenance of the action plan. Typically, monthly coaching sessions with top executives and key departments helps to monitor progress and identify whether additional assistance. Performance Development We provide an intensive effort using all resources of the Outlaw Group and our staff to assist the client. When needed, we call on selected strategic partners to supplement our expertise to maximize the results and minimize the time required to achieve them.

AVAILABLE RESOURCES

At the Outlaw Group, we have significant resources for all clients regardless of the level of implementation desired. These resources include management systems, sales systems and service systems. We provide consulting, executive coaching, and self-paced skill development that includes public workshops with open enrollment and/or in-house customized workshops.

PROGRESS EVALUATION

Based on the level of implementation, we meet with the client periodically to monitor progress, measure results and identify needed corrections to the plan or its implementation. The progress meeting may be monthly, quarterly or semi-annually, depending on the level of assistance. To verify the return on investment, there will be an annual assessment of progress and evaluation of the effort it took to achieve those results. In short, we ensure results are achieved and assure a positive return on investment.