In a global top 3 chemical company diagnosis showed that the company culture was too polite and too consensual. Everybody’s opinion was discussed and debated and very few objections were voiced. Genuine worries and doubts were not expressed and as a result there was frustration and an attitude of doing only what the boss had said. Personal responsibility was low. Employee satisfaction was low. Lip service was paid to open discussion but painful choices were avoided. The strategy of added value services and innovation suffered greatly.

800 senior managers were identified as key players. An IMD psychologist worked on finding 6 behaviours to encourage more meaningful difficult conversations. Starting with the Board itself, and then the 800 managers, a two day seminar was rolled out with professional actors making them do the behaviours in front of their peers, with immediate feedback from the group. The programme is so successful it has been running for 6 years and is now covering the next tier down of the organisation

In a global top 3 software company had put in place a complicated segmentation strategy using psychological attitudinal criteria. The strong Sales culture of this American company meant that understanding and calculating relative segment attractiveness was poor. As a result resource allocation was sub-optimal. Courses had been used to teach the theory, but the knowledge had not been transferred.

The world’s leading business simulation company whose products are used by over 600 business schools around the world and all of the top 10 FT MBA institutions built a customised simulation. The key players were trained in segmentation, needs analysis, determinant needs, positioning, production and product design in a simulated atmosphere with winners and losers. Their actions were debriefed throughout. Satisfaction scores averaged above 92%.