Consulting

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As an expert in change management, organizational development and strategic planning,
Carlann is often asked to consult on various projects.
Her expertise includes:

  • Vision creation and team strategic planning
  • Change management
  • Behavioral assessment of executive candidates
  • Succession planning

Vision Creation and Team Strategic Planning

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Carlann has been leading executives through vision creation and strategic planning since her first job with the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. That initial process included scenario planning and led to the creation of the Fort Worth currency production site to ensure capability in the event the Washington DC facility was crippled. Since then, her strategic planning has enabled companies to reach aggressive revenue goals and survive market crashes.

Carlann has a unique gift of helping any CEO, even those who swear they aren’t visionary, find their energizing rally call to an incredible future. She is also able to help leaders see patterns that uncover opportunities and avoid disasters. After she helps the leader discover their vision, the full team is engaged in the analysis and creation of the strategies and success measures. As a past client said, “The process and results are so compelling that we could have put the plan in a drawer and locked it away, and we would have still reached our vision. She made certain that what we created was a part of us.”

"I approached Carlann to assist us with a strategic plan. I initially wanted and interviewed firms that had experience in the design industry. After several interviews, I decided to engage Carlann even though she didn’t have experience in our field. It was one of the best decisions that our firm has made in a long time. It was very intense, but the end results speak for the value. We had one of the best years last year in the last six years!”

Donna Gaines

CEO, Gaines International

"We requested Carlann to develop team alignment and vision creation for our engineering department. The results were remarkable. Our department changed from a group doing autonomous engineering and construction to one building relationships and serving our internal customers.”

Mike Featham

Manager of Fossil Operations Engineering, Florida Power Corporation

Change Management

Carlann is a change management expert and spent 30 years leading companies through major change efforts. During that time, she perfected the process to ensure lasting change. This earned Carlann and her teams two Intel Quality Awards, the Press Ganey Innovation Award, and a Visteon Leadership Summit finalist recognition. She applies this methodology to her consulting work. She also teaches this process through Northwestern University’s Leadership Certificate Program in Chicago, Il.

As an expert in change management, she has led:

  • Strategic directional changes and job scope changes
  • Company culture changes
  • Company restructuring and downsizings
  • Growth into global markets
  • Merging of factories, departments and companies
  • Company acquisitions
  • Multiple system landings including 12 systems within a 6-month time frame
  • Manufacturing process and system changes
  • New business start-ups
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"I was tasked with growing our business from national to international while needing to reduce headcount. Carlann assisted me in aligning my senior staff to a common vision, redesigning the organization, and helping us appreciate our cultural differences. This resulted in the merger of four divisions into a streamlined organizational structure that flexibly delivered multiple services while reducing headcount and costs. Carlann helped coordinate the organizational contributions of 15,000 direct employees and contractors in the location, construction, and operation of Intel facilities worldwide. This division controlled a $2B operating budget and $3.5B capital expenditure budget. These changes to the support infrastructure enabled Intel to double their manufacturing capacity."

Bill Sheppard

Sr. Vice President, Corporate Services, Intel Corporation

“I still remember a challenging construction and factory start up in Costa Rica where we were trying to form a large organization of new hires into the effective teams needed to run this complex operation. Carlann brought her expertise in leadership, team dynamics and diversity to my organization and spent a week with us sharing her skills and insights on how to effectively work together. I distinctly remember the "wow" effect she had, and how so many referenced and used those elements of leadership and respect for others as the project progressed. Carlann, I remain a huge fan and owe you a debt of gratitude for the leader you have helped me become. You are a unique talent.”

Frank Robinson

Real Estate Project Manager and Strategic Planner, Intel Corporation

Behavioral Assessment of Executive Candidates

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It’s expensive to hire the wrong candidate, especially at the executive level. Using the highly validated Harrison Assessment, Carlann takes your selection process to the next level of certainty by knowing if your candidate has the behavioral traits that are a good fit to the position and to your culture. The Harrison Assessment meets the rigorous requirements for use in selection and hiring.

Carlann’s extensive expertise in executive coaching and leadership behavior enables her to see patterns that others often miss. She not only points out potential areas of concerns but also indicates how those might manifest. Based on the findings she provides customized interview questions for your next step interviews with the candidate and questions to ask the candidate’s references. These questions will help you determine if the candidate has learned to modify their approach, could be coached upon hire, or is not a fit to your needs. She can even tailor the tool to assess fit to your company culture.

"Carlann is one of the most talented organizational development professionals in her field. She has the ability to ask the right questions, and to dig deep into finding root causes, as opposed to quick fixes."

Marcia Brandt

Sr. VP, Human Resources, Source Refrigeration & HVAC

Succession Planning

Carlann has designed and facilitated succession planning for over 20 years. She starts with getting the executive team to agree on the success measures, the amount of transparency, and other key factors such as the inclusion of contingency successors or acceleration options to enhance leadership diversity. This allows her to tailor the approach to your company needs. Then she provides tools that create richer discussions such as the identification of candidate derailment factors. Her expert facilitation ensures that discussions are focused on the right input and create an achievable plan to ensure candidates are ready by the timeframe identified.

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"As a result of Carlann’s work we were able to incorporate business drivers into our processes, identify high potential employees and their developmental needs and ensure our succession plans could be realized. Our plan went from a 40% selection rate to 90%. Her work incorporated the latest research and recognized the unique challenges of our diverse and global business."

D. Stephenson

Executive Vice President Human Resources, Visteon