In late 2004 a new CEO took over an Advertising Agency. A Founding Partner when the firms was a market leader, she now faced dissatisfied clients threatening termination, and an employee survey that put the company in the bottom 5% of its network.

Inviting creative, analytic, and account people to participate, we designed how to turn the company around. Respect was a big issue, and we were tested at every turn. I held fast that we would not go for 'buy in', continuing to invite everyone to join the inquiry. We had plenty of questions.

Employee distrust was deep, and the need for excellent work was pressing. We used Game Theory and the Master Moves^TM to quickly focus on what would make the company a great place to work. We needed to shift both culture and process. The teams designed 'Playground Fusion', with a view to the combination of the lyrical and the logical that characterized their best work.

The collaborative process fired Neuro-plasticity, which stimulates dopamine in the brain, and the mood of the Agency soon changed. In the next few months the design teams re-named and re-branded the company, and the CEO decided to move to new offices. They trademarked Collaborative Invention^TM - Master Move^TM-based - as their new collaborative tools, and they built their skills.

18 months later the Agency had more than doubled its profit margin, turnover fell, and the employee survey showed improvement in 97% of its areas.

Several keys made the turnaround possible.

• The CEO walked her talk. She understood that an unhealthy heirarchy had been part of what caused the Agency's troubles. She really believes she didn't have all the answers, and she took on Collaborative Invention^TM as her own way of working. In so doing, she fostered respect, minimized status, and cultivated curiousity and Neuro-plasticity.
• She was totally on board that the work environment had to be fun as well as productive.
• The Company began to use Collaborative Invention^TM with clients as well, asking them to participate in inquiry, rather than pushing solutions. This changed the tenor or clients meetings, making them more collegial. Clients responded favorably.
• Executives who were not respectful, thought they already knew everything, and refused to collaborate, were terminated.

The Agency had been a market leader in its early years - one of the first to use social sciences, and touted by clients as "The Smart Agency." They've become smart again, stepping up to address the biggest challenges in their industry: how to build trust in this chaotic and cynical age of Consumer Power.