The Jim Shaffer Group
The Jim Shaffer Group is a team of seasoned leadership development consultants devoted to improving strategy execution through strong leaders and engaged people. We help some of the world’s best organizations (and those that want to be among them) get even better. Learn more.
Successful Strategy Execution and Results Through People
Most organizations are underpowered! They aren’t getting the most from their people. The results show it. We prove every day it doesn’t have to be that way. We help leaders:
- Connect their people and teams to their business strategy
- Improve results that their people can control—quality, service, sales, safety, productivity, speed and costs
- Integrate the cultural and technical aspects of change–including lean six sigma–to sustain the improvements we make
- Align their goals, strategy, processes, people and culture to drive results
- Improve results and increase value by better managing communication
Our results are measurable.
We have:
- Reduced accidents at a manufacturer by 82 percent
- Increased a global shipper’s revenues by 23 percent while generating a 1,660 percent ROI
- Reduced damage by 65 percent and increased productivity by 16 percent at a large distribution center
- Cut waste by 18 percent at an international baking company
- Decreased cycle time by 74 percent at a building materials company
- Lowered turnover by 27 percent at a consumer goods company
- Improved on-time delivery by 38 per cent in a high tech engineering company
- Reduced turnover by 10 percent at a software engineering company
The Leadership Report
The Solution to Communication Frustration
I’m not sure who’s the most frustrated: CEO’s who can’t get their communication people to help improve business results, or communication people who want to add value but don’t have what it takes to do so. Most internal communication people play the role of town crier rather than business problem solver. They’re focused on distributing… Read more
What Kind of Boss Are You?
Roger D’Aprix has just published another book that should serve as required reading for every project, team and corporate leader. Bosses: True Stories of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly is Roger’s eighth book. Each focuses on improving business results through better managed communication. The most powerful communication in an organization comes from leaders—or… Read more
Change the Game: Save The Dream
Jack Stack has done it again. He’s produced another superior book about the huge successes that open book management is having on organizations of all sizes and industries. The book is “Change the Game: Saving the American Dream by Closing the Gap Between the Haves and the Have-nots.” Jack is CEO of SRC Corporation in… Read more
Minds are Like Parachutes
“Minds are like parachutes. They only function when open.” My dad loved to use this quote from Scottish businessman Thomas Dewar back when I was in high school. I thought of Dad’s favorite quote the other day, listening to a small group of people discussing the recent impeachment hearings in Washington, DC. The group seemed… Read more
Ask These Five Questions and Get Started.
The question I most often get from communication professionals who want to make the shift from the current town crier role to one that’s more aligned with improving business results is, “How do I get started? How can I make a difference in our organization’s outcomes?” I recommend beginning by asking five questions. Here they… Read more
Leading a major organizational and cultural turnaround is never easy. But Jim Shaffer’s advice and experience has been invaluable in helping our leadership team provide proper focus and direction, increase employee engagement and most importantly, take business performance to unprecedented levels.
I know you have a long list of success stories and that's why I wanted to make this work. I realize we were not a guinea pig on a "new" idea that you were testing. This has been successful in many other companies and I did not want to be on the side of failure with a proven method.
Jim's approach is driven by and leads to real and meaningful business outcomes. One session with Jim provided me with enough ideas to shave 3% from our total operating budget… plus I'm a better communicator.
Jim opened our eyes to the value of managing the operational and people aspects of the business to influence leadership and employee performance. His leadership and counsel on targeted safety, quality and productivity improvement initiatives in our supply chain have delivered results that exceeded anyone's expectations.
Jim is one of the most seasoned, wise, and fundamentally decent professionals with whom I have ever worked. The breadth of his experience is truly astonishing, and he has been disciplined in gleaning lessons from his experience. That, in turn, is the source of his considerable wisdom. And if that weren’t enough, he is a man of impeccable integrity, who delivers on his commitments without fail, and is a pleasure to work with.
It didn’t take long to realize that Jim would become a trusted advisor to me. His 30+ years of high level management consulting, especially in the area of change management, are fuel for a wealth of case studies on how communication professionals turned their practices from delivering “stuff” to delivering value.
I have known and worked with Jim since we were colleagues at Towers Perrin in the 1980s. He is the consummate professional and one of the most creative consultants I've ever met. He has the unique ability to get to the root cause of business problems and to offer solid counsel for their solution. As a business thinker and partner, he has few, if any, peers.
Jim is the best when it comes to driving real business results. He relentlessly encourages us to focus our work on only the activities that the customer is willing to pay for, and through that, helps eliminate superfluous activities that can bog down communication teams. He uses proven tools and strategies, and he is terrific at teaching his approach to others. He is a very strong partner.
His original and creative thinking often sheds new light on age-old issues business leaders face, but he is equally adept at using new technologies and ideas to wrestle with some of today's unique business challenges. Jim's years of experience in consulting to some of the top global corporations have cemented his ability to take businesses places they haven't been before.
After conducting a comprehensive assessment of our department’s work, Jim Shaffer helped us successfully navigate a new course that adds more measurable value to FedEx. Jim is helping us build the department’s capability to make a results-focused approach our new way of life.
I’m a believer. The returns we have seen here in Lancaster largely driven by culture and employee engagement has been nothing short of staggering. Sure, the other fundamentals of Lean have to be present but our people are the cement that holds the foundations in place. I look forward to showing off more in person.
You really have helped me in my career and helped advance our function and business. Thanks for inviting me to participate in this seminar and for coaching me for many months.
He's exceptional at helping get people engaged around improving safety, quality, productivity and costs. In the process, he creates stronger and more effective leaders. I especially appreciate how Jim challenges people to think beyond their traditional roles and to see things in new ways. He brings tremendous value to the table every time.
I've been a huge Jim Shaffer fan for years. Every business leader should incorporate Jim's understanding of how communication really works into the way they work and lead.
At first I was a bit skeptical that Jim would be able to help a little rinky dink firm like mine after dealing with major Fortune 100 companies. But boy was I surprised – Jim really knows his stuff.
The process has been nothing short of amazing and my staff is re-energized, focused and truly excited and engaged. GREAT JOB – no actually SUPER JOB, I am very pleased with your efforts and the positive changes we have already seen.
You were a major force of change for my team and me and your guidance has had a tangible effect in our organization that we still apply and live to this day.