Innovation Partners International, Inc. Named Among World’s Most Democratic Workplaces
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jen Hetzel Silbert, #401-742-9323
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Innovation Partners International, Inc. Named Among World’s Most Democratic Workplaces
Management Consultants Win International Award for Practicing What They Preach: Participatory and Purposeful Organizations Succeed
WAKFIELD, RI – Innovation Partners International, Inc. (IPI) is proud to announce it is joining trailblazers like the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Linden Lab (creators of Second Life®), Great Harvest Bread Company and Honest Tea as one of the 25 Most Democratic Workplaces for 2008. The list of worldwide winners was announced on April 24th as part of WorldBlu, Inc’s second annual Democracy in the Workplace Day. IPI is a consulting firm with offices in Canada and the United States specializing in strength-based organizational management consulting. WorldBlu, Inc. is a leadership and business design studio based in Atlanta and committed to organizational democracy in business, government and non profit workplaces.
“It is wonderfully gratifying to be recognized for doing what comes naturally,” said Bernard Mohr, one of IPI’s 10 founding partners. “We’ve always believed that walking our democratic talk enhances the consulting services we offer, and this award is validation that we are doing the right thing – for our clients as well as for our own team.” The application process for the WorldBlu List involves employees completing a survey evaluating their organization’s practice of 10 democratic principles such as decentralization, accountability and transparency on leadership, systems and process levels.
IPI helps its clients in the public and private sectors become strength-based organizations. Following a comprehensive and system-wide analysis, IPI’s first goal in moving clients towards sustainable success is identifying “moments of excellence,” strengths and unnoticed assets. This Appreciative Inquiry method turns traditional consulting strategies on their head: rather than focus on what’s wrong, the goal is to spotlight and cultivate what’s working well. “We are reminded every day in our own work together that when people are invited to do what they do best, they rise to the occasion, embrace responsibility and become so invested in their mission that democratic participation takes root and the organization flourishes,” said Joanne Daykin, IPI’s Canadian Managing Partner. Rather than focus on failures, IPI guides its clients through designing and implementing strategies that create incentives for success and engage the entire organization in the change process.
IPI’s staff and leadership practice five key forms of workplace democracy themselves. First, each partner is a member of the board and owns equal shares in the corporation so each is both empowered and accountable for their own success, and for the firm’s. Second, they strive for consensus in collaborating on IPI’s public identity, with all partners actively participating in marketing their brand. Third, while working independently with individual clients, the team divides up daily operating tasks based on each member’s strengths and wishes; rarely do “assignments” fall through the cracks because each is done by someone with a passion for it. Fourth, project management and internal leadership roles are rotated among the partners, creating a dynamic in which a fresh and empathetic approach is the norm. Fifth, intellectual property is community property, meaning ideas and resources are freely shared, facilitated by a comprehensive intranet site.
“In the same way that democracy makes for great nations, workplace democracy makes for extraordinary organizations,” said Jen Hetzel Silbert, IPI’s US Managing Partner (2004-2008). “Innovation, performance and social contribution are all unleashed when members at all levels of an organization have full voice, opportunity and responsibility. We pursue this ideal at IPI which, we believe, makes us a superb laboratory from which we can share best practices with our clients.”
Organizations from the for-profit, non-profit, non-governmental and government sectors that have been in operation for at least one full year and have five or more employees can apply for the WorldBlu award. This year, organizations from the US, Canada, the Netherlands and Malaysia were selected from industries such as technology, healthcare, telecommunications, media, manufacturing and retail, representing nearly $8 billion in combined annual sales.
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Innovation Partners International, Inc. is a management consulting firm founded in 2004 that offers a fully customized, strength-based program of change to help organizations achieve their goals. IPI’s whole-system change approach to organizational effectiveness deals with everything from core purpose, leadership and strategy to technology, structure and culture. IPI’s ten partners offer business consulting, public and in-house workshops and speaking engagements for government, non-profit and corporate clients domestically and abroad. Details at www.innovationpartners.com.
WorldBlu, Inc. is an Atlanta-based leadership and business design studio specializing in organizational democracy and freedom-centered leadership. Founded in 2003, WorldBlu works with CEO’s and executive teams to design, develop, and lead the most successful democratic companies in the world. Worldblu, Inc. launched the Most Democratic Workplaces List in 2007. More information at www.worldblu.com.
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