Case Studies.

Transforming Team Dynamics

Amazon Web Services

Challenge:

As Amazon Web Services (AWS) expanded rapidly to meet customer demands, Omar Altalib’s sales team faced significant challenges. The team, tasked with driving sales across the organization, struggled to balance individual success with collective achievement. Tensions arose as hitting individual sales targets did not always translate to organizational success. Compounding the issue were external pressures such as increased competition, slowing growth, and impending cost reductions. The team needed to shift from individual efforts to a unified, collaborative approach to continue achieving their goals.

Solution:

Recognizing the need for change, AWS engaged Steven Gaffney to help the team realign its focus and improve collaboration. Steven implemented a comprehensive approach that included developing a shared purpose, goals, and strategy, and fostering a culture of open communication and teamwork.

Results

  1. Team Strategy Development:
    • Steven facilitated the creation of a unified purpose, goals, and strategy. This approach moved away from a top-down directive, which had previously left many team members confused, to a collaborative strategy development process.
    • Result: The entire team, including leadership, became aligned and cohesive, with a clear understanding of the strategy and their role in it.
  2. Leadership Team Integration:
    • The leadership team transitioned from working in silos to functioning as a cohesive unit. Daily communication and collaboration became the norm, reinforcing the team’s unified approach.
    • Result: The leadership team’s increased collaboration set the tone for the rest of the organization, driving a stronger team culture.
  3. Rapid Reorganization and Communication:
    • The team was reorganized swiftly to align with the newly developed strategy. This reorganization was communicated to the entire team and stakeholders within 10 days.
    • Result: The swift and clear communication minimized disruption and confusion, allowing the team to quickly adapt to the new structure.
  4. Focus on Key Opportunities:
    • The team shifted its focus to the biggest opportunities that required a collaborative effort, leading to significant wins.
    • Result: Within a few months, the team secured several multi-million dollar opportunities, directly contributing to the organization’s success.
  5. Improved Employee and Manager Satisfaction:
    • As a result of the new team dynamics, employee job satisfaction scores increased by 30%, and manager satisfaction scores rose by 40%.
    • Result: The improved morale and satisfaction contributed to higher productivity and engagement across the team.
  6. Achievement of Sales Targets:
    • Over 95% of sales representatives and account managers achieved their targets, and the overall team exceeded its sales goals.
    • Result: Despite facing layoffs, budget constraints, and market consolidation, the team overachieved on its plan and surpassed targets that were initially forecasted as unattainable.

Conclusions

Through Steven Gaffney’s guidance, Omar Altalib’s team at AWS transformed from a group of individual achievers into a high-performing, collaborative unit. By developing a shared purpose, fostering open communication, and focusing on key opportunities, the team not only overcame significant challenges but also exceeded their sales targets. This case highlights the impact of strategic alignment and teamwork in driving organizational success, even in the face of external pressures and internal changes.

Qorvo Reclaims $200 Million Contract and Improves Organizational Culture through Steven Gaffney's Team Reboot Scaling Program.

Background:

As a long-time client of Steven Gaffney’s communication strategies, Roger Hall, General Manager of Qorvo, recognized the value of the Team Reboot Scaling Program (Train the Trainer) for his organization. The program offered a cost-effective way to train almost 300 people within the organization, including lower level and middle management, on the strategies to change the culture and become a Consistently High Achieving Organization.

Challenge:

When Qorvo lost a $200 million contract, the company needed to reclaim the contract and improve their communication and leadership strategies to prevent similar situations from happening in the future.

Solution:

By implementing Steven Gaffney’s Team Reboot Scaling Program, Qorvo was able to achieve a significant improvement in communication and leadership throughout the organization. The program allowed Qorvo to train almost 300 employees in Steven’s strategies to change the culture and become a consistently high achieving organization. The employees learned to build stronger relationships, communicate more effectively, and manage conflicts in a constructive manner. When the company lost the $200 million contract, they used Steven’s strategies to come up with 38 action plans. These action plans were implemented by the trained employees, resulting in the recovery of $75 million in the first year and the remaining amount in the second year.

Results

The implementation of Steven Gaffney’s Team Reboot Scaling Program led to a significant improvement in communication and leadership within Qorvo. The almost 300 trained employees were able to create a culture of open and honest communication, where conflicts were managed constructively and productivity was increased. When Qorvo lost the $200 million contract, the employees were able to use the strategies they learned in the program to create 38 action plans that resulted in the recovery of $75 million in the first year and the remainder in the second year. The successful implementation of the program has resulted in an improvement in Qorvo’s organizational culture and a more consistent high achieving organization.

Conclusions

Qorvo’s successful implementation of Steven Gaffney’s Team Reboot Scaling Program was a significant contributor to the recovery of the lost $200 million contract. The program’s cost-effective and broad implementation allowed almost 300 employees to learn and apply the strategies to change the culture and become a consistently high achieving organization. The 38 action plans created by the trained employees resulted in the recovery of $75 million in the first year and the remaining amount in the second year. The implementation of the program also led to a significant improvement in Qorvo’s organizational culture, creating a more open and honest communication environment, and improved productivity. The success of the program has cemented Qorvo’s partnership with Steven Gaffney and his communication and leadership strategies.

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions Overall Meeting Times Reduced by 83% and Increased Profit Since 2011

Challenge:

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions was facing strained relationships and eroding trust within their organization. Their federal customer was not getting what they wanted or needed, leading to tense relationships. Communication had broken down, and internal and external relationships were deteriorating.

Solution:

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions turned to Steven Gaffney for help. Drawing on decades of experience working with companies like Lockheed Martin, NASA, and Boeing, Steven provided the company with the knowledge and tools to rebuild communication and relationships. One of the solutions was the 12 Essential Elements of a Consistently High Achieving Team (CHAT).

Results

Since implementing the 12 Essential Elements of a CHAT, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions has seen significant improvements. Weekly meetings are now focused, productive, and time-capped, with strategic issues, development, and next steps being discussed and shared proactively with the team. This has significantly reduced back-and-forth communication and misunderstandings.

The daily stand-up meetings with the entire team and federal customer keep everyone informed and on board with priorities, with a 50% reduction in meeting time. Previously, 50% of customer complaints were about communication, but since working with Steven, there have been zero negative feedback.

As a result, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions achieved the highest federal grading score and profit increase since 2011, with 50% less time spent in meetings. There are no more surprises to the board of directors, and their relationship with their federal client is much stronger.

In the words of Mark Davis, Senior Vice President, NNSA Operations and Programs, “Steven has the ability to read a room and guide the conversation. He pulls people in that are non-believers. His control of the room was remarkable. His approach sets him apart.”

Conclusions

By implementing the 12 Essential Elements of a CHAT, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions has been able to rebuild communication and relationships, leading to higher productivity, profitability, and stronger relationships with their clients. If you are facing communication challenges within your organization, contact Steven Gaffney at sgaffney@stevengaffney.com to see how he can help.

General Aerospace Company
President/ CEO
Gene Colabatistto

How Steven Gaffney Helped Us Scale Our Business!

Challenge:

As a rapidly growing business, we had grown by 9% every year for nine years, and we had to scale to support it. However, we were sacrificing time, and meetings were dominating our workday. We needed help to become more effective communicators and streamline our processes.

Solution:

Steven Gaffney was able to sit with us and listen to our challenges, which allowed him to unravel and expose the true causes of the problem. He helped our senior team develop as leaders in today’s modern, rapidly changing business world. With Steven’s guidance, we were able to implement effective communication practices in just one fiscal quarter.

Results

Since implementing Steven’s strategies, our meetings are now routinely 30 minutes long, and we have more time and team efficiency. We have more than tripled our proposal output from 1.2 billion to 4.5 billion dollars annually, with 10% fewer people than we started. We can now conduct more transactions more quickly, efficiently, and with more confidence and authority while doubling our output and the amount of new business we capture.

According to Gene C, “These are skills that leaders have to operate at the scale of modern businesses. It’s not unusual for a mid-range manager to run a 1 billion a-year business anymore. We assume they know how to do this – but it’s untrue. This training and consulting Steven provides help senior leaders develop as leaders in a modern, rapidly-changing business world.”

Conclusions

Steven’s expertise and guidance helped us to scale our business while becoming more efficient and effective communicators. His ability to listen to our challenges and uncover the true root causes of the problem allowed us to implement effective communication practices that have significantly improved our productivity, profitability, and overall success.

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