How We Do It

Willie is a master coach and facilitator. He inspires the intellect and encourages the heart. He challenges current thinking and processes while creating trust. Willie finds the core issues—in people, in processes, and in teams—and then provides tools for discovery, success, and ongoing synergy. He drives for excellence and success. You will get results!

- Marian Thomas
   Human Resources Manager
   Deschutes Public Library
   Bend, Oregon

We create success by keeping these four simple promises:

1. Show up: Everybody knows why so many people don't trust consultants-lots of them are flaky, don't deliver on their promises, don't know what they're doing, or are only in it to make a buck. We made a promise long ago to only work with clients we respect, and who we honestly believe we can help.

   When you engage us, you're getting our best-our experience, passion, humor, and, occasionally, our mistakes. We know we’re not perfect. We're real people building partnerships with real clients whose interests we care about. And if you have needs we can't meet with a high degree of excellence, we'll refer you to folks who can.

   We love to work hard for our clients, and we promise not to take more responsibility for your success than you do. That’s not how great partnerships work, and it doesn’t do anybody any good. In fact, it usually gets in the way. So we don't do it.

2. Listen: You know more about your business and your issues than we do. We ask questions, look around corners, dig a little bit, and then offer insightful, powerful suggestions on how to make things better. Then we ask more questions. Our methods are simple, and they work.

3. Tell the truth: There's an old quote that says, "If you have a 'yes-person' working for you, then one of you is redundant." Think about that a minute.

   We tell the truth, even when it's uncomfortable, and create environments where others feel safe do the same. We hold performance improvement above all else, and confront any and all issues clearly and compassionately in support of your success. We also try to teach you what we know at every opportunity. This frank, objective approach works really well, mostly because good people want to get better.

4. Keep a sense of humor. You can't hit the ball if you're gripping the bat too tight. Everything's better when we can laugh a little and have some fun. We learn more, make better decisions and are more resourceful. So while we take you and your issues very seriously, we still have fun at work. Our clients say they appreciate it.