Here's what more leaders are saying about Compression Planning...
| "Jerry not only helped me to create a relationship with a group of people I had no experience with, but also turned that session into a results oriented meeting that will generate benefits for some time to come. He did an excellent job of staying on task to make sure we accomplished what I had intended from this session and then generated a document that helped us to follow-up in the weeks and months ahead. Thanks Jerry!!" Scott Schrank
|
| "It just amazes me how powerful Compression Planning is. There are some fundamental reasons why — once people get involved with the information in a visual way, they start to make the connections. When you make planning visible and movable, people start to rearrange ideas, and it becomes even more powerful. Compression Planning works on so many different levels. People basically learn in three different ways Visually, auditorially, and kinesthetically. This process incorporates all three into a whole brain process. Even people who may initially be resistant to the process, start to get drawn in as they see ideas and information start to take shape. It engages every type of thinker, and at the end you wind up with a useful plan. It's very democratic. People who have never gotten involved before start to get engaged and it really helps everybody have their say. Recently, the Boston Consulting Group released a study showing 80% of CEO's think that innovation is critical to their future, but less than half of them think they are doing a good job with it. It also showed that we have lots and lots of good ideas, but were not commercializing them. To me that means there are probably one of two things happening. Either the good ideas aren't good enough to capture the imagination and passion of the people. OR, they don't have a process in place to successfully implement ideas. Compression Planning does both of those things. It can take a good idea and make it great…and it creates an environment that allows passion and engagement to emerge which greatly enhances the likelihood of successful implementation. I'm fully convinced that Compression Planning saves a huge amount of time. And as much as saving time, it averts disasters. You go through the process very systematically, and you walk away with a functional plan that works. Compression Planning completely defuses the ineffectiveness of meetings in general. There's an ownership that comes from being heard followed by specific action agreed to in written form, that just doesn't happen in the typical meeting format. I think Jerry McNellis is one of the wisest people I know. His depth of understanding is tremendous. The process of Compression Planning, and the way Jerry delivers it, is magic." Joyce Wycoff |
| Compression Planning provides an opportunity for groups to focus on important issues and to become excited about planning for positive action. The process is structured in such a way that people find themselves engaged and involved naturally, even if they initially feel reluctant or skeptical about "another meeting." Nearly two dozen Compression Planning sessions that included every area of my college have paved the way for developing five important strategic initiatives. Compression Planning facilitated productive meetings which ended with tangible positive results. Beyond its impact at the college, a colleague recently shared that she used Compression Planning for a community group that had been trying to develop a project without much success. After one 2-hour Compression Planning session of focusing and creating an action plan, the group had what it need to get its program funded and operational. I appreciate Jerry McNellis and the process that he's developed. It works!" Sula Hurley |
"I've been using Compression Planning for about 20 years. It becomes so natural, there are very few times when I'm not using the process. The biggest benefit of Compression Planning is the ownership. When you do this process, people are involved, they contribute, they own it. So when you get done, it's theirs and they know it. It's really the best thing I've ever seen for getting ownership from a group of people. And that means the chances of implementation are significantly increased, because they own it. With Compression Planning, I've seen a lot of application, implementation, and execution occur, when other things hadn't done it. For example, I did a session for the Bayer Diversity Advisory Council, involving employees from all over Bayer in North America. We were trying to put their strategy and vision together. And we did it in half a day. Normally, that would have taken at least a few days. Every time I've used Compression Planning, it's been a huge time-saver for the participants. I'd say absolutely 75% savings in time. I've used it in church work…even helping my brothers in their business to help them get organized. It just makes sense, because you can literally see the big picture in front of you. I've been involved in a planning session with almost 300 of the top leaders of our company at one time. The high energy level was unbelievable…the involvement and energy go up tremendously. As for Jerry McNellis, he is so knowledgeable. He truly is an expert, but he doesn't pressure you in any way. He is really what I would call a partner. He is incredibly sincere and unselfish. I've been with Bayer for over twenty-six years, and Compression Planning is probably the best skill I have learned in my career." Jay Duffy |
"I discovered Compression Planning back in 1990. I was at a meeting held by the coordinating body for higher education in Ohio. We were responding to a request for proposals from the State of Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Sinclair Community College was one of about ten colleges that came together on a Friday afternoon. Basically, we were to put together a $3,000,000.00 grant to provide training for Job and Family Services employees statewide, including carving 88 counties into service areas, selecting the budget fiscal officer and the evaluator, planning the whole thing. Frankly, to accomplish this on a Friday afternoon…I thought "no way this is going to happen!" That is, until I saw the process in action. I was just blown away by what the facilitator was able to accomplish in a short period of time. We were able to do everything we'd set out to do. After the planning session I asked the facilitator "What is this process?" and she referred me to Jerry McNellis. I attended the training session in 1990 and I've been using it ever since. Compression Planning shortens the amount of time you invest in the planning of a project, and you get better outcomes as well. It's true:, it shortens the planning time, and you end up with a more effective plan. I've used it over 100 times here at the college and in the community. It's phenomenal. People just really get engaged in the process. They can't resist getting involved, because it's totally painless. You get to express an opinion, and it gets spun into an idea. Your ideas go up on the boards in front of the group, and you participate in a democratic fair process for the final selection. Everyone's ideas get heard, and the ones with the most energy rise to the surface. I estimate we complete projects in about a third less time with Compression Planning. The process allows us to be one of the most productive grants offices in the United States. There are only two staff members in our office, and last year we completed 182 projects. Personally, the largest project I've designed with Compression Planning was a $5,000,000 proposal, which we put together as a result of a series of sessions, and were awarded. We use Compression Planning in all sorts of groups with project planning. We've used it with non-profit agencies, businesses, school districts, and with huge universities like Purdue. Their engineering technology division is the largest in the country. And they turn to us to facilitate joint planning sessions for grants. I've heard a comment that most business meetings go as long as the highest ranking people keep from falling asleep. When they fall asleep, the meeting's over. Compression Planning wakes people up, physically and mentally. It gets them involved. Jerry McNellis is a marvelous person. He's an extremely deep thinker, very methodical, and compassionate. He's a genuinely wonderful person, who really cares about his customer's success. Jerry's Compression Planning system has revolutionized the way we do business. It makes us much more effective as employees, and working with our internal customers. It helps us out-compete other colleges to get grant funding. So much so, that I've given a number of presentations across the country on how we do it. Because grants offices have learned that when they adopt this process, they become much more effective. It gives you the competitive advantage over anyone else who's not using it. Compression Planning is definitely a formula for success." Neil Herbkersman |
"Thank you for your great Compression Planning presentation at the Greater Pittsburgh Coaches Association meeting on Wednesday. You had wonderful visuals. You made your topic relevant to us. You involved us to give us an experience of Compression Planning. You opened our minds to the possibilities of using this process in our businesses and our lives. And you did all of this in a very tight time frame. Thank you for sharing your expertise with us." Sam Wieder |
| "We would all like to thank you for the excellent Compression Planning training at the Regional Learning Alliance. It certainly lived up to, and exceeded our expectations! Since we have returned to our jobs, each of us has been finding ways to use the technique. We have used the feedback from our Compression Planning sessions, and are happy to report one of us was able to turn a report around within 24-hours of returning to the office. Last week, all of us conducted a planning session for a purchase. Our Vice President was very impressed, and approved our "top of the line" recommendations! We greatly appreciate the time, energy, depth of knowledge and experiences, enthusiasm, interest, and caring that all of you demonstrated during our time together." Roland Baeslach,
Alice Demeter, |
"We've used Compression Planning for everything from Medicare, to commercial, to our marketing planning process. There's probably nothing that hasn't been touched in some way. I think the biggest thing is getting people at a table together and having a way to lead them through a planning process. the whole design forces a kind of strategic thinking. You can make decisions a lot faster. It's impossible to sit there and be passive because other people are going to make decisions that are going to impact you one way or another, so you grab the wheel and help drive. Actually, I'm very bullish on the whole process. Everyone has a say, and you feel good about the decisions you make after you leave. And Jerry McNellis has such a down to earth perspective on things. He's passionate about Compression Planning, and I like his style. He's been very supportive of me on a personal level. I can't tell you how important that is when you run into people like that in business…people who have a lot of integrity and actually care. That really comes through in Jerry." Stew Price |
© Copyright 2006 | Compression Planning® | All Rights Reserved.