How ‘Strengthen the Core’ emerged as the theme

Beginning 2022, I got focused on two new personal initiatives that were viewed as somewhat independent from one another (i) creating a website for my consulting practice and (ii) working out at a gym on a regular schedule. After several weeks of indulgence in each, I began to see a connection between the two that resulted in the emergence of my consulting practice theme ‘Strengthen the Core’.

I decided to build the website on my own since I did not have content ready to bring to a web developer. I would like the website to crisply communicate ‘what’ I do and ‘how’ I conduct myself for potential clients to see. As I sorted through consulting experiences and extracted lessons, there is no doubt that a collaborative people-oriented culture plays an axial role in helping organizations deliver a positive and productive work environment. A people-oriented culture also provides the agility and endurance needed for change initiatives to be successful. I have witnessed a number of costly change initiatives, e.g., ERP systems, Lean, and other promising technology investments that were unable to fulfill or approach their promise when the culture of the organization or sub-system was less than collaborative.

On the fitness front, I have tried working out on my own over the years. I walk, swim, stretch, and join yoga classes. This year, I decided to experience working with a fitness trainer with the goal of maintaining muscle, balance, coordination, strength, and endurance for improved performance. The trainer made it clear to me that to achieve my goal I would have to work at strengthening my core and each training unit, six in all, would involve routines that engage the core. By session three, I not only felt really good about the routines I practiced, I also started to see parallels between the benefits of strengthening individual core muscles and the organizational consulting work I envision.

• Strengthening individual core improves balance, form, flexibility, stability, coordination, supports strength training, and boosts performance, among others.
• Investing in building a collaborative culture (strengthening the organizational core) has a similar effect in organizations – It enhances collaboration, coordination, flexibility, teamwork, endurance, supports ongoing skills development, and boosts performance.

The consulting framework I propose identifies three key areas of focus for achieving a strong core – clarity of vision and values, participative leadership, and ongoing culture alignment. Within each of these areas there are routines that have been tested and proven over time, and when practiced have delivered positive results.

The experience from engaging in and practicing personal fitness exercise routines to strengthen my core surfaced a rich analogy for the work I choose to do as an organizational consultant and hence the theme of my consulting practice – ‘Strengthen the Core’.

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