Leading Change with no Fluff: Practical Tools Backed by Science

Many change efforts stall – not because the strategy is wrong, but because alignment never fully takes hold. In high-performing organizations, change is not treated as a one-time initiative. It is built into how decisions are made, how people engage, and how progress is sustained over time.

 The Performance Excellence Network — in partnership with Wisconsin Center for Performance Excellence and the Iowa Quality Center and in cooperation with the Greater Rochester NY Quality Council — is pleased to host an online webinar discussion on Thursday, July 9: “Leading Change with No Fluff: Practical Tools Backed by Science.”

Full disclosure: This session is designed as a teaser of PEN's Change Lab workshop, which consists of two half-day sessions, one live in Minneapolis and the other on-line. The live session is required to attend the on-line session, so attending the workshop may not be realistic for people outside of the PEN geographic area. GRQC is publicizing this webinar as a standalone program for folks from upstate New York.

In this interactive session, Dr. Mitch Kusy (organizational psychologist) and Dr. Gilled Benoit (3M AI Engineer) will introduce a practical approach drawn from their most recent book hot off the presses—The Playbook for Leading Change: Proven Strategies for Success. This webinar has two purposes:

• Provide top tips for leading change in how to build alignment around key change decisions

• Give you a flavor of the upcoming “deep dive, immersive experience” they will offer—Change Lab workshop, available to our PEN Network on July 22

A Friendly Caution! In this webinar, you won’t be subjected to one slide after another. Instead, Mitch and Gilles will engage you with just the right amount of science and just the right amount of application…and no fluff!

By the end of the 1-hour webinar, participants will:

• Identify why many change efforts struggle—even when the strategy is sound

• Experience a tool to produce stronger alignment around key decisions

• Determine how decision-making and engagement practices connect to sustained results in high-performing systems

• Be inspired to move from the “tip of the iceberg” in this webinar to the upcoming immersive experience of the Change Lab workshop.

In the follow-up Change Lab workshop, participants will learn how to develop a performance excellence organization where change is not treated as a standalone effort, but embedded in how decisions are made, how people are engaged, and how results are sustained. This webinar offers a practical introduction to the capabilities that will be developed more deeply in that experience.

About the speakers

​​​​​​​

Mitchell Kusy, PhD

Dr. Mitchell Kusy is an organization psychologist and an international thought leader on organizational development and workplace culture change. He has authored seven business books and brings decades of experience helping leaders navigate complex change and build environments where people and performance thrive. Mitch’s work focuses on practical, research-informed approaches that leaders can apply immediately—especially in high-stakes and high-impact situations. He is the co-author of The Playbook for Leading Change: Proven Strategies for Success.

Gilles Benoit, PhD

Dr. Gilles Benoit is a senior AI scientist at 3M and a prolific innovator holding over 70 patents. His career at the intersection of materials science and technology has produced breakthroughs ranging from life-saving optical fibers for non-invasive surgery to display technologies used by Apple and Samsung. An MIT-trained scientist, Dr. Benoit specializes in bridging the gap between AI hype and measurable business impact. He is the co-author of The Playbook for Leading Change: Proven Strategies for Success.

JOIN US FOR THIS FREE PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE NETWORK (PEN) WEBINAR

Date: Thursday, July 9

Time:  9:00 - 10:00 am (ET)

Location:  On-line, via Zoom

Cost:  Free to GRQC members and non-members

Registration:  Click below to register.  Note:  Registration may not work with Internet Explorer; please use a currently supported browser.

Can’t make it live but interested in the content?  Register anyway: all registered attendees get a link to the recording after the session!

Please direct any questions to events@grqc.org.