CLIENT
CHALLENGE
As a global leader in the manufacturing and sale of appliances,
Whirlpool aimed to accelerate their success by transforming
the company on behalf of the customer. Incremental change
would simply not be enough. Whirlpool needed a world-class
learning experience that would provide participants with the
opportunity to focus their leadership talents in an environment
that rewarded innovative action and risk taking. Participants
would need to develop a deep understanding of their customers
to create progressive solutions. This goal would need to be
accomplished while demonstrating the leadership competencies
of innovation, team building, passion for customers, challenging
strategic assumptions, and leading people to transformation.
Along with demonstration of these core competencies, participants
would be challenged to develop a Key Transformational Objective
(KTO). The multilingual global rollout is underway, and is
being well received by participants. Comments such as, "The
program has been one of the most meaningful leaning experiences
of my life," are already being heard.
CREATIVE RANGE
Whirlpool called upon Don Jones, e! president, and the exper!ence
it team to create a simulation that would allow participants
to be immersed and engaged in a world where innovation on
behalf of the customer was rewarded. The simulation would
have to provide the opportunity to demonstrate the Whirlpool
leadership competencies and have these competencies recognized
during the simulation. Success in the simulation would have
to be inextricably interwoven with the participant’s
ability to innovate leading to increased customer loyalty.
Translating deep understanding of customers into strategic
action would produce a significant return on investment.
e! SOLUTION…
We invite you to witness the birth of Infinity Inc., a virtual
company that is a global leader in manufacturing and marketing
of major home appliances. Participants enter the simulated
world under the guidance and counsel of a butler, skilled
facilitator and servant leader, who initiates the first assignment
of role selection for each of the teams that will compete
with each other within the Infinity Inc. organization. Who
will step forward and take the helm as Chief Transformation
Officer? Who will challenge themselves by accepting a role
that is the polar opposite of their real life role? Will the
Whirlpool Financial Officer accept the challenge to become
the Infinity Inc. Chief Creation Officer?
The first task of each of the new Infinity
inc. leadership teams is to develop a strategy for success
that is aligned with the goal of achieving the highest sustainable
customer loyalty score. They come to recognize that there
are many variables to consider, such as the selection of talent,
negotiations with the trade partners and suppliers, and what
drives customer demand. Participants learn that success in
the simulation requires more than traditional business skills
and "bottom line number crunching." Success moves
beyond incremental change to transformational change, which
is found in the Infinity inc. team’s ability to develop
a deep understanding of the customer. The ability of a team
to accomplish this goal is tracked by a computer model that
reports each team’s financial performance and the significant
customer loyalty score to determine how successfully teams
are driving transformation on behalf of the customer.
Throughout the simulation individuals
have the opportunity to use a leadership log that creates
the reflective time and space to set goals for their simulated
and real life roles. The leadership components of the goals
that are set are closely connected to Whirlpool’s leadership
competencies. Throughout the simulation, from planning through
performing and debriefing, participants receive feedback from
colleagues, the butler/facilitator, trade partners, and the
supplier on how they are demonstrating their leadership talents.
This feedback allows participants to track their observed
performance against their personal learning goals. Stars,
along with documented feedback sheets, are awarded for individual
performance that moves the organization forward in an innovative
manner on behalf of the customer.
Participants discover that transforming
the company requires them to look through a new lens as they
execute strategy in the simulated world. They discover that
looking through a traditional lens leads to poor performance
in both the simulated and the real marketplace. The Brand
Essence Wheel is one of several tools provided within the
simulation to encourage teams to understand their customer
deeply. The simulation concludes with a debrief that mines
the learning experiences and recognizes the team with the highest
customer loyalty score, reinforcing the need for each participant
to accept the responsibility to drive transformation on behalf
of the customer.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
The learning outcomes include developing and demonstrating
skills and knowledge in:
- Talent selection and leveraging diversity
- Creating dialogue with customers, trade
partners, suppliers, and team members
- Interpreting and translating knowledge of
customers into innovative strategy
- Leadership skills required for transformation
on behalf of the customer
- Demonstrating stewardship and service
RESULTS
As of October 1, 2005, the Infinity inc. simulation has had
three highly successful runs (two in the United States and
one in Italy). There is every indication that the simulation
will continue to be well received and that it will serve Whirpool’s
goal to transform their organization on behalf of the customer.
THANKS
Our clients have been committed and personally devoted to
the success of this program from the start. We would like
to particularly acknowledge Tammy Patrick who has been instrumental
in leading the vision, providing support, and ensuring that
the simulation and program achieved the seamless integration
required for a meaningful learning experience. We would like
to thank Barbara Pitcher and Donna Onken for their continued
dedication and support for the program. A special thanks to
Ken Chakiris of BJ Chakiris Corporation for being a tremendous
supportive partner in our business. |
