Breakthrough Group Case Studies


The Challenge:		A senior executive at Philip Morris USA was concerned that his direct reports weren’t functioning effectively as a team. He noted they appeared to avoid conflict more often than they would risk engaging in effective communication. The annual employee survey showed a marked drop in employee job satisfaction. The executive asked Breakthrough to help him address these issues and improve the ability of his direct reports to function effectively as a team.

Breakthrough Solution:		We sequenced a series of programs designed to: Get the underlying issues on the table and ready for discussion. Get the people on the team willing to work together. Build team member competencies to perform effectively as a team. Establish a commitment to accountability to not only achieve business results but also to live by the company's values.

Results:		Turnover in this executive's organization dropped to under 1%. “The work that Breakthrough did was integral in improving my team’s communication and our internal report card has never been better.” -- Harry Steele, CFO, PM USA “I want you to know how much I appreciate your thoughtfulness and contributions to the development of future leaders at Philip Morris USA. You and your people have done a superb job of embodying the values we hold dear, both in working with us and in creating and executing programs for us.” -- Mike Szymanczyk, CEO and Chairman PM USA
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The Challenge:		To solidify their value proposition to the marketplace by instituting a standardized methodology by which the Executive Search teams continue to meet client talent needs in a world-class, reliable and globally calibrated manner.

Breakthrough Solution:		Breakthrough teamed with the internal professional development group at Spencer Stuart to create a series of case studies that Breakthrough turned into Search ‘Flight-Simulator’ scenarios. These sophisticated, highly interactive scenarios gave the participants (search consultants) the opportunity to apply the behaviors required in the new search methodology and to practice the skills in a highly realistic environment.

Results:		“This was excellent work. I’m particularly pleased with the feedback of the more seasoned and somewhat skeptical groups. There was a real shift in people’s views about how they do their work and how they work together.” -- David Daniels, CEO, Spencer Stuart “This initiative made me fall in love with Spencer Stuart all over again and reminded me of the reason I came into this firm: A passionate commitment to excellence.” -- Program participant
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The Challenge:		To enhance the customers overall store experience and increase sales by instituting a renewed store operations & customer service model that would be executed by the store managers.

Breakthrough Solution:		Banana Republic devoted an annual field leadership conference exclusively to the successful implementation of this new store experience. Breakthrough created a learning experience that brought the new model ‘to life’ and store managers were able to experience the future store ‘today.’ They had the opportunity to understand intellectually, physically and even emotionally the impact of the changes. The participants interacted with ‘new store’ customers and employees (trained Breakthrough Actors) which gave the store managers the opportunity to practice the challenging conversations they would need to have with their store teams to ensure the transition would take place effectively.

Results:		Same store sales increased in subsequent quarters. “My thanks to you and your team. The overwhelming response was that Breakthrough was a total hit! I thought your team did an amazing job in both preparation and delivery. Targeted development is our focus and you really helped to bring the message home.” Steve Stickel, SVP Stores – Banana Republic
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