Development

Development Simulations

Full Immersion Business Simulations

Can you make $2 billion dollars in three days? We can.

OSI’s realistic and robust business simulations emulate complete business systems. Our business simulations have been twice awarded the Excellence in Practice Citation by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD).

OSI’s simulation workshops run between 3-5 days. Imagine your leaders being thrust into a real-world setting, making decisions and taking actions to manage and grow a company. Their challenge is to lead a company through 5-6 years of growth towards aggressive financial goals. The key learning objectives in these business simulations are to develop and engage their strategic competencies (Strategic Thinking, Change Agility, Business Thinking, and Financial Acumen), plus core interpersonal skills and abilities.

The competencies of Business Thinking and Strategic Thinking can’t simply be “taught.” Like most complex concepts, both are learned through cycles of experience, feedback, reflection, and experimentation. Conventional approaches to leadership development, such as workshops, lectures, and case studies short circuit this process. They sabotage learning by placing “students” in a passive role and providing them with standard answers. Instead, our simulations allow managers to lead their own learning from realistic experiences that connect directly with their business.

Leadership and Management Seminars and Workshops

OSI has developed a number of training workshops to assist leaders and managers in improving their skills. These workshops can be linked into an integrated series tailored to the organization’s management development needs. The seminars can be geared toward front line supervisors, middle managers, or executives. Selected topics include: Influence Skills, Problem Solving & Decision Making, Managing Multiple Priorities, Team Development, Presentation Skills, Talent Development, Change Agility, and Communicativeness.

OSI Leadership and Management Seminars and Workshops

Managerial and Executive Coaching

High potential mangers, new executives, or managers in new roles may require one-on-one coaching. It’s often difficult to receive that support from within the organization because of status or availability. OSI can provide a “personal trainer” with intense one-on-one feedback sessions for skill improvement.

OSI Managerial and Executive Coaching

Team Building Sessions

Teams are the basic work units of organizations. Team building can be used both in start up phases and occasionally ongoing events to revisit purpose and processes. OSI has researched high performing teams to identify and develop the critical dimensions essential for success. OSI uses the following process to facilitate team building: team diagnosis and feedback (Polaris^® TEAMx), team event facilitation (team building workshops), on-going team consultation (group coaching), and innovative outdoor team experiences.

OSI Team Building Sessions

Mentor Programs

A very effective method of developing leaders is through individual coaching by seasoned members of management. OSI has helped many organizations formalize this approach. Mentors are selected and trained to provide ongoing support and coaching to high potential employees. OSI has developed a customized mentor program, Compass^™ Mentor Program, based on best practice and using the Polaris^® Competency Model.

OSI Mentor Programs

Strategic Planning Sessions

The most successful organizations are clear about their mission and the strategies they will employ to accomplish that mission. OSI has developed a process to assist an organization’s strategic leadership team to engage these very important issues. As a result, the organization develops a clear focus and a plan to reach strategic objectives. This process includes mission and values clarification and validation, issues in the corporate environment (customers & competition), organizational strengths and weaknesses, and strategic issues and actions.

OSI Strategic Planning Sessions

Clients

I worked directly for Bruce in the early 1990′s at OSI and have continued to leverage his knowledge, expertise, and counsel to this day. Bruce combines his deep expertise in OD with a broad-based business sense that makes him extremely effective at what he does. He can help an executive team develop high level strategy, and is grounded enough to help the same executives develop the operating mechanisms to turn the strategy into results.

Mark Alders

AVERY DENNISON VP Total Rewards, HR

We’ve worked with Bruce Griffiths and OSI over the last 7 years and they’ve provided us a customized, comprehensive Competency Profile, 360 degree Feedback Survey, Competency Development Guide, and Competency-based Interviewing Questions. These tools have really helped State Auto integrate our competencies into our culture, and we use them for development, selection, coaching, succession planning and when creating job descriptions. They’ve been excellent partners!

Cathy Ellwood

STATE AUTO INSURANCE COMPANIES, Officer Org Devel & Talent Acquisition

The Polaris competency model provides for a systematic approach to managing your human capital. From recruiting, to on-boarding, to performance appraisal, to developing your people, it is an easy to use method that will positively impact the culture of your organization and allow optimization of all talent management systems.

Carl Crown

COUNTY OF ORANGE, CA, Former Director of Human Resources

I found the Polaris Competency Model by OSI to be very effective in support of hiring, training and leadership development. Best of all, it is simple to use and I haven’t found a better product that is also backed by great service. 

Jeff Holmgren

TSA, Federal Security Director