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.

Terms like “transformational” or “revolutionary” are so overused that using them to express the profound impact caused by the work with Leadership Reinvention is an injustice. But Leadership Reinvention is transformational and is revolutionary and so much more. It is the barometer by which all other trainings or workshops will be measured. Leadership Reinvention is the very thing that so many of us need to get at the core of our own leadership, and is the foundation on which the pillars of great leadership rest and the key to any organization achieving extraordinary business results.

Leadership Reinvention is not the warm-fuzzy, superficial leadership rhetoric peddled by other vendors. The work is grueling and not worth wasting on those that simply want to float through their professional careers acting out the leadership fad of the week. Leadership Reinvention is for leaders that are serious about creating a level of performance that surpasses what was previously possible.

For those that are exhausted at the thought of sitting through another day of training, knowing the incremental results gained will be lost the moment another work day begins, Leadership Reinvention is antidote.

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), 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.