GDI ´¯`·-· Our Approach, Principles & Values

Many consultants today think consulting is giving advice. Some think consulting is providing direction. Some believe consulting is assisting clients while never accepting emotional or financial liability of a failed assignment. We believe consulting is about making changes . . . not just advising on change or training clients on change. The real value of consulting manifests when good change occurs and sticks!

We have a very simple motto that drives all our consultants at GDI Consulting & Training Company. This motto, seen in Exhibit 5, exemplifies all that we want to do for our clients. We excite and MOBILIZE our client so we can become true change partners. We DIRECT our client because we almost always have more breadth of experiences than they do, (though seldom do we have the depth of the client). There will always be doubters and risk averse people that we will have to PERSUADE to a new way of thinking. Finally, we love to role up our sleeves and DO some or all of the work, not just talk about the work. We are proactive, persuasive and have a can-do attitude at all times.

GDI Consulting & Training Company maintains 16 core business beliefs which all Team Members support. These core principles form the heart and sole of our business philosophies much the same way a constitution forms the basis for a society's beliefs. Our core business values include:

Creating wealth for owners is the most important goal in any business.
Implementation of action plans is far more difficult than planning the actions.
Improvement initiatives should be based on factual analysis, not opinion, myth or hearsay.
Change is as much a behavioral process as a technical process. Emotional and political reactions to change must be managed equally along with technical implementation issues.
Benchmarking often leads only to parity. Innovation and courage is a prerequisite to market dominance.
Industry leaders are not afraid to break rules of their industries. We should not be afraid to break the rules of our industry.
Mastering the basics of the business and the economics of the marketplace takes precedence over implementation of new technology and management concepts. Operating principles and technologies are enablers at best, and confusers at worst.
Changing behavior is usually more critical, (and difficult!) than changing technology.
Methodology is at best, a guideline. Overly prescriptive change processes often become the end instead of the means.
All improvement initiatives should be supported with a solid business case and high level employee mobilization actions.
Dramatic improvements always come from (1) a desire to eliminate the process all together, (2) a desire to modify and improve the process and, (3) a desire to automate the process.
We view organizations as systems of interconnecting processes. Achieving challenging goals requires systematic solutions that cross functional boundaries.
All organizations have only a few critical core work processes. These high-leverage processes form the focus for dramatic improvements.
Continual measurement and feedback are essential elements of any change program. We must learn to over-communicate with our clients.
Our consultant's role is to act as a change catalyst, analyst, guide, coach and provider of innovative insights. We provide structure, methodology and tools to accomplish our mission. Clients always maintain ownership of the issues and the results.
Consultants are never a substitute for decisive leadership.

GDI Consulting & Training Company believes that to be a consultant is to be right in all recommendations. Our biggest concern is not that the client won't listen to us . . . it is that the client will listen to us and do what we recommend. It is for this reason that we believe we must support our recommendations with appropriate levels of facts and analytic rigor. Anything less creates an unacceptable risk to our clients and ultimately to our reputation.

GDI Consulting & Training Company has created a work environment that trusts it's Team Members, cares about their families and values teamwork and individual performance equally. Our firm demands the following 14 values from all Owners, Leaders and Team Members to be practiced at all times:

Priorities while on client assignments are: (1) the client's needs, (2) our firm's needs, (3) the GDI Team Member's colleague's needs, and (4) the GDI Team Member's own needs, in this order.
Family and health always come before the needs of the firm.
Always be a good business doctor. Never forget that the health of the client is our responsibility.
Always do what is right for our client. Disagreements and conflicts are inevitable in any transformation assignment. Learn when to compromise and when not to compromise.
Enjoy the learning that every assignment brings.
Learn to be introspective and critical of your own thinking. Learn from your mistakes and openly share them with your colleagues so they do not repeat them.
Be concerned about the welfare of your colleagues. Learn to anticipate their needs and to "back-stop" them when necessary.
Always over-communicate with clients and colleagues.
Always set a good example for colleagues to follow.
Integrity and compromise are never mutually exclusive. Always demonstrate integrity while doing right.
Demonstrate empathy on all assignments, both for client and colleague situations.
Maintain the highest level of confidences and confidentiality with clients, colleagues and those who you coach.
Never underestimate the value of intense, detail-oriented project management principles and actions. Learn to simultaneously manage your project and your client.
Have some fun on assignments.

Because our Team Members live by these values and core business beliefs, GDI Consulting & Training Company is unquestionably a different kind of consulting firm.

Most important of all, clients look to firms like ours to practice what we preach . . . and these values are those that we always preach. We have no choice but to live by them.