The work Crossroads did allowed my people to move rapidly from a very individualistic way of being in a company, to a team of colleagues and professionals aligned in a common, useful purpose to the corporation. The communication amongst them, and between them and the rest of the company, opened up considerably. I would hear from their functional-area clients in the organization that they were more collaborative, professional, and dedicated to supporting that client.

Remarkably, after this work with Crossroads, we had zero turn-over. People were banging on the door to get into our group. We were highly valued in our organization, all the way up to the senior executives. What had been a rag-tag bunch of individual trainers had become a very professional organization, a professional group of colleagues—We were lighting the world on fire. It was amazing what we were able to do, and the difference we were making in the company. We created a cohesive organization, built in such a short period of time—and transformed the development and training function. It would have been ten times harder to get people to operate inside the company the way I wanted them to if we hadn’t done the work with Crossroads.

The Secret at the Top of the Mountain

Reaching the level of senior executive in a credible and meaningful company is an achievement that is viewed by many as “climbing to the top of the mountain.”  It’s a significant accomplishment to those that desire it and even to many of those who don’t.

In many ways, one can even bask in the glory of “making it.”

“Whatever I did and whoever I am has served me very well in the business world.” For sure, you’ll see many executives who will not outwardly demonstrate a public display of this thinking; but you can bet they have thought about it.  Over the course of time, they will have had many discussions with themselves about how they have broken the code for what is needed to get to the top.

Here is the most interesting piece to the above and what so many of us do not know…

Buried deep down in all of this kind of thinking, at whatever level of “making it” has taken place within an individual, is the creation and implementation of a system that has  served to propel you to a high level of  success and has been the key formula to carrying out your life’s work.

Now, get ready for this… more than anything else, that same success formula is at the core of what is limiting you!  That’s right, it’s holding you back, big time; and more than you will ever know!

How can this be, you may ask. It is the very reason for my performance success!  By today’s “man made” standards, the formula “is” the reason for your success; but it is also the reason you cannot climb above the mountain and experience a whole new set of possibilities.

For so many years I believed I had the magic formula nailed, most things figured out, my secret success formula calculated to perfection.  Then I had the opportunity to participate in a formal and deep study of my past assumptions and habits.  This deep down dive into self examination soon became all about unleashing an unknown power, one so compelling that I became astonishingly aware of my current and past limitations…and my future possibilities!

Wow,  something powerful is happening here…my secret formula had served me well but also surrounded me in a never ending “shell” of limitation   Finally – teachings so meaningful that a real transformation can take place, one that goes beyond anything previously experienced.  Technology that provides you the tools to make many things that seemed impossible very possible.

Over 30+ years of business dealings,  mixed with a steady diet of business and life books,  regular attendance of every seminar known to man,  and even a sabbatical from work in the middle of my career to live and learn executively while buried at Stanford for three weeks,  never made this kind of an impact or difference.  The technology utilized by Crossroads and Barry Pogorel is the single most explosive and productive learning experience I have experienced in life to date!  Barry’s work is engaging, dynamic, mind blowing, revealing, and most importantly, results oriented.

After each member of our senior executive team attended The Forward, we felt compelled to have each of our 21 directors participate also.  Because of this experience, the management team at Wayport is beginning to enjoy a new level of performance that we could not even identify previously.   The future is very bright at our company and the possibilities are endless as we get ready to climb “way beyond” the top of the mountain.

Additional comment by Dave:

Your work with us allowed us to take our entire execution and performance “game” to an entirely new level. At the heart of our culture was value creation for all of our stakeholders and your work gave us the necessary tools, as a leadership team, to be very focused on creating value in our space when others could not. This resulted in us redefining our goals and “what was possible” to a higher standard. I think the point here is that this is not typically done. Your work allowed us to eliminate “the way things are normally done” and do things out of the ordinary, reach for a higher goal, make sense of it and execute. Simply put, without your work we would have set our sights lower and achieved a lower result.

We initiated an “Impossible RGI Game”. It could have been EBITDA… We challenged every hotel general manager throughout Asia-Pacific to declare an impossible RGI (revenue generation index–measure of market share), a breakthrough, for each of their respective properties. This game challenged them to strive for what was impossible, a much higher-than-what-was-budgeted RGI for their hotel.

The short version is that 30% of the GMs made their impossible RGI and the rest exceeded what they budgeted. And the head office! We corporate officers were all eligible for 100% of the full year salary as a bonus—because Asia Pacific made so much money for Starwood. We were the only division who did this in the entire company. Bob Cotter, our President, said the Asia-Pacific division was the only division that met/exceed all its financial goals and that had formed a seamless team after the Starwood-Sheraton-Westin merger.

I can tell you, we had a multitude of whopping stories. For example, I think of Young Lo—GM of a Westin—an OK performer before the Impossible Game; then during and after, he became a hero of mine… He went so far beyond his budget—it was unbelievable. He became free—he freed himself, as the others did. So much power.

For those lucky enough to work with Crossroads, they coach you in a series of mind-blowing self-revelations that dissolve the “box.” Success often limits and contains us. Crossroads work sets people free.

…We do amazing work at creating technology innovations, yet we historically struggle to land them in market as intended given the complexity of cross-group dependencies. The value of this specific training was to learn to get past defensive listening and the weariness of bandwidth constraints, and to achieve alignment that breaks through barriers of organizational complexity, sacred cows, finger-pointing, and inter-personal baggage.

…If the executive team and staff could turn the company around, it would be one of the greatest successes of my career…

By the conclusion of our time with Crossroads I had become a different kind of leader. My wife, my kids, and my employees all noticed “something different” in who and what I was being. I noticed significant differences in their behavior as well. Peace at home and quality time with my wife and kids became a daily event. Projects at work that once seemed insurmountable became realities. My employees worked together taking on roles and responsibilities I never would have thought possible. Over the next few years our Information Technology staff created breakthroughs that revolutionized our industry. We subsequently obtained the coveted “CIO 100 Award” and the “Computerworld 100 Award” for two consecutive years; Hospitality Technology Leadership Awards; Best in Class Awards; and other distinguished honors. Our company achieved its turn-around mission as well. I don’t believe the company, or our department, could have ever accomplish these breakthroughs without Crossroads work.

I interpreted Crossroads technology as a possibility of personal and professional transformation. If you are the CEO of a major corporation, your dream may be to achieve unprecedented quarterly or annual results with your team. Crossroads will provide you with the technology to realize whatever dreams you may have.

Picture for a moment 12 senior executives engaged in a completely honest discussion with no agendas: open and accessible, listening to each other, and not worrying about whose idea is best or who makes the most points…. Powerful stuff courtesy of Crossroads. Creating an environment that enables individuals and teams to get outside of what has made them individually successful and discover and create new dynamic possibilities for themselves, their co-workers and teams…and their families and friends.  Our entire team at Wayport has developed a new respect and work-relationship with each other…. A new language and communication has emerged that simplifies the most desired behavior in society…..Accountability!  Unshackled by traditional constraints…re-energized around what were previously impossible goals… We have seen this happen at Wayport. It is both liberating and powerful…. We are adding tremendous value to all of our stakeholders.