William N. Davison, Founder and President
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One of the most important, and too often neglected, issues for any organization is succession planning. Today’s businesses, institutions of all types, and government are feeling the loss of a generation of workers who carry with them valuable knowledge not only of process history, but also of organizational culture and dynamics. The effect can be devastating, especially on smaller organizations.

But authentically collaborative organizations, in the end, are much less likely to suffer the effects of “brain drain” than those whose employees are constantly doing workarounds because information is hoarded, or whose ways of working isolate them from their peers and discourage new approaches to work processes. As a result, they end up working in silos that over time become not only taller but more counterproductive to both organizational and individual workplace success.

We have helped many of our public and private sector clients to replace silos with environments in which collaboration is the “gold standard” for knowledge sharing, idea generation, problem-solving, and ultimately, succession planning. When collaboration is the rule rather than the exception, staff are constantly developing both their base of knowledge and experience and their leadership skills. In a vibrant, truly collaborative organization, new leaders are always in development as a by-product of the collaborative model, and succession planning almost takes care of itself.

In a seemingly chaotic environment that almost daily stresses the structures and systems on which we rely, collaboration takes on a role of even greater significance. George Washington once observed that a “hundred thousand men, coming one after another, cannot move a Ton weight; but the united strength of 50 would transport it with ease.” In any workplace, there is no substitute for a well-honed, focused, cross-functional team of peers, working toward a single goal. This level of collaboration, when it is a clear expectation for all staff, can be a powerful tool for raising the bar of performance organization-wide. In these difficult times, authentic, pervasive collaboration can also “spread the wealth” of creativity and critical thinking for problem solving, idea generation, and decision making.

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President

Since 1988, we have worked on site, one-on-one, to go beneath the surface—to gather and analyze data and unlock the process knowledge at every organizational level. This is where inefficiencies, misconceptions, duplicative or even archaic patterns, and outdated or misplaced priorities are typically found, and where we begin to discover the opportunities for organizational change.
2010-11 Engagements
Adams County PA Children and Youth Services
Adams County PA Court Administration
Adams County PA Criminal Justice Advisory Board
Adams County PA Probation Services
Bethlehem PA Area School District Business Office
Blair County PA Adult Parole and Probation
Blair County PA Court Administration
Blair County PA Criminal Justice Advisory Board
Blair County PA Juvenile Probation
Lehigh Carbon Community College
PA Council for Children, Youth, and Family Services
PA Family Support Alliance
Pinebrook Family Services
Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton
Township of Palmer PA
Post Office Box 1398 Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 Phone: 717-649-5104