"Marilyn is a very good group facilitator. She interjects effectively when necessary and prompts responses from team members when needed. She does not allow the discussion to drift off the primary topic. Marilyn also has a good grasp of individual personalities and knows how to ‘push the right buttons' if needed. Our team is stronger because of the Five Dysfunctions of a Team sessions she has facilitated."

Mitch Forstie-VP, Downs Food Group

"Marilyn does a great job facilitating workshops. She makes team building fun, interesting and meaningful. Our executive team has learned how to identify and address issues, and I have gained understanding on the need to focus on trust and conflict before moving on to higher level functions. Our team is stronger because of what we have learned in team sessions."

Greg Cook – VP, Downs Food Group

"Marilyn is a great facilitator because the questions she asks of the group are pertinent to the issues at hand and good dialog is created as a result."

Tom Aniolowski – Plant Manager, Downs Food Group

"I think everything we've done in our Five Dysfunctions training has been positive. I think this is a good deal. I appreciate the follow up with you. Often when you complete a workshop most people think you're just done. With this process it keeps everybody fresh and keeps our goals in front of us. Kudos to you for your follow up and the program you've put in place."

Shane Todd – Scheduling & Purchasing Manager, Double D Foods

"To be quite honest I think everybody's working together to make it happen and I think it's great. It's probably something we should have done a long time ago."

Angela Moore – HR Manager, Double D Foods

"I have attended many self improvement, team training seminars over the past 15 years! I must say our seminar held this past Saturday with synergize was awesome! You made the difference! It is very rare to have someone absolutely love what they do! You DO! AND it showed in the excellent way you facilitated the instruction, and provided priceless insight for us in so many areas! I listened intently to every question asked by our team, and your answers were like watching a book chock full of knowledge and plenty of heart, come to life! You made a dramatic difference for us in just one day. I look forward to using more of your services, because I know the return on investment is a sure thing! Thank you!"

Diane McCracken – Executive Coordinator, Shaklee

Excerpt from interview with John Fischer, Plant Manager, Double D Foods, Oklahoma City, OK

synergize!: How have team meetings been going since our Five Dysfunctions workshop last month?

JF: "Some people are doing better, and some are staying in their shell. I posted our Communication Guide right next to my computer. When somebody comes in I look at that to jog my memory as to how to communicate with them in a meaningful way. It's real stuff and it helps and it works.

synergize!: What changes have you personally made as a result of what you've learned?

JF: "I'm taking a softer approach. Life's all about an adjustment. If the team sees me making changes then they will realize that I expect them to make changes. I'm not preaching, I'm a part of it. I'm not calling people out in the group to embarrass them. I'm trying to be more reserved."

synergize!: What challenges have you experienced?

JF: "I think unless I'm beating them over the head they're not doing something! Some people are still standing back instead of standing up and taking initiative. I understand that because so many times an initiative has started and been allowed to go away. Some team members still think this will go away so they're waiting to see how long before we go back to the old ways, more comfortable ways. But we're not going back."

synergize!: What benefits have you seen since you've implemented a more effective approach to working as a team?

JF: "We've improved from 60% on time start ups to 80%. And it's filtering down to the production line, too. The guys are more upset that they missed two start-ups because it messed up a perfect streak. The Production Supervisor was very upset to lose 18 minutes that could have been prevented due to overusing machinery. But in trying to fix it we exposed more flaws. I think for each person on the team the idea of letting the team down is more important than getting called out for not doing something."