From Nine Partners to
One Unified Team
I designed and facilitated a high-stakes executive offsite for a global leader in the quick-service restaurant (QSR) industry, turning a collection of world-class vendors into a single, aligned force to rescue a critical, multi-year transformation program.The Challenge
Even the most ambitious transformation programs can be derailed by human friction. Two years into a massive global finance standardization program and only six months from the deadline, a QSR leader faced a classic challenge. Their nine elite partners were operating as a constellation of individual vendors, not a cohesive delivery team.
The Emerging Issues
Siloed Execution
A lack of cross-partner engagement and communication meant teams were working in isolation, creating redundancies and unforeseen dependencies.
Pervasive Ambiguity
Unclear roles and responsibilities created confusion and slowed down decision-making, while a lack of transparent escalation paths left problems to fester.
Misaligned Priorities
Without a shared understanding of the critical path and key milestones, partners were optimizing for their own workstreams, not the program's overall success.
Untapped Collective Intelligence
The immense expertise of the nine partner firms was being squandered. There was no forum for leaders to connect, share challenges, or solve problems together.
My Mission Was Clear
My role was to be the architect and neutral facilitator of a pivotal conversation. As the program entered its final, high-pressure phase, it needed a guide who could navigate the complex human dynamics between powerful organizations. I was responsible for diagnosing the core issues, designing a custom one-day intervention, facilitating the offsite for maximum impact, and delivering an actionable blueprint to carry the momentum forward.
When you bring together nine of the world's top consulting and systems integration firms, you're buying elite talent. But you often inherit a collection of competing agendas. My goal was not just to host a meeting, but to engineer a turning point for this critical transformation program. The mission was to:
Accelerate Collaboration
Break down the invisible walls between nine different partners and forge a true, unified leadership team.
Mitigate Hidden Risks
Move beyond surface-level status updates to uncover and address the real risks and impediments threatening the delivery date.
Forge Alignment
Drive consensus on program milestones, critical dependencies, and shared governance to get the program back on track.
Establish Crystal-Clear Roles
Eliminate ambiguity by defining and securing commitment to precise roles and responsibilities for all internal and external partners.
Facilitation Principles
Be the Guide
Help others get to where they need to go in the most efficient and enjoyable way possible
Set and Get Expectations
Close the gap between expectations and reality—before, during, and after
Avoid Curse of Knowledge
Don’t assume that everyone has the background to understand.
Improv
is Key
Redesign on the fly as the goal posts move.
The Approach
You cannot solve collaboration problems with another status update. You must design an experience that forces leaders to confront reality, commit to solutions, and build personal accountability. My approach was a deliberate, multi-stage process designed to move the group from insight to action with ruthless efficiency.
Diagnose Before Prescribing
I began by gathering candid, confidential feedback through pre-offsite surveys and small-group partner interviews. This wasn't about validating assumptions, it was about understanding the true sentiment and pinpointing the most critical issues from the partners' perspectives. This data became the bedrock of the day's agenda.
1.
Architect the Conversation
Using the direct feedback, I designed a custom one-day agenda. Every session, from the kickoff by the Global CFO to the final commitment-setting, was purposefully structured to tackle the identified challenges head-on. The day was a balance of strategic framing, small-group problem-solving, and full-group alignment.
2.
Facilitate for Action, Not Just Discussion
I employed structured collaboration techniques to make the offsite ruthlessly productive. These methods are designed to bring every voice into the room (not just the extroverts), eliminate circular conversations, and drive groups toward concrete decisions and outputs. This ensures that a one-day investment yields weeks' worth of progress.
3.
Solidify and Synthesize
Immediately following the offsite, I delivered a comprehensive summary and recommendation report. This document translated the day's discussions and whiteboard notes into a clear, actionable blueprint for collaboration, governance, and risk management moving forward.
4.
Measure and Reinforce
A post-offsite survey was launched to measure the event's success and gather feedback for future engagements, ensuring the value was not only delivered but also recognized and built upon.
5.
A Blueprint for Success
The offsite served as a critical reset, transforming the dynamic from a group of vendors to a unified leadership team with a shared mission. We didn't just talk about problems; we produced tangible agreements and action plans that directly addressed the program's biggest threats.
99% satisfaction
Role Clarity & Aligned Expectation
We established and secured public commitment to a clear "rules of the road" framework for collaboration, communication, and multi-vendor governance.
Timeline Accountability
he group aligned on key milestones and dependencies, giving leaders a direct line of sight into their specific responsibilities and fostering peer-to-peer accountability.
Strategic Risk Mitigation
We mapped and validated the highest-risk assumptions, uncovering critical dependencies between teams and forming initial action plans to address them before they could derail the program.
Unified Leadership Front
We mapped and validated the highest-risk assumptions, uncovering critical dependencies between teams and forming initial action plans to address them before they could derail the program.
Related Work
Summary needs updated.
Ready to transform your organization?
Let's discuss how strategic design leadership can drive growth and innovation in your company. I specialize in building high-performing design teams and creating measurable business impact.
Enterprise UX
Transform experiences across complex organizations
Team Building
Build and scale high-performing design teams
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Develop frameworks to measure design impact
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Ready to transform your organization?
Let's discuss how strategic design leadership can drive growth and innovation in your company. I specialize in building high-performing design teams and creating measurable business impact.
Enterprise UX
Transform experiences across complex organizations
Team Building
Build and scale high-performing design teams
ROI Strategy
Develop frameworks to measure design impact
Executive Coaching
Advise leaders on design-driven strategy