Ann Latham, president of Uncommon Clarity of
Easthampton, MA, has been Board Approved as Master Facilitator.
SAC membership consists of less than 1% of consultants worldwide
due to stringent membership requirements, and less than 3%
of SAC members have achieved Board Approval status.
"This is a tough position to obtain, at the height
of one’s profession, and is a great criterion to apply
when clients are considering consultants," says
SAC CEO Alan Weiss, Ph.D. "It’s difficult to
choose the right resources in certain areas, and our Board
Approval is evidence, not mere promotion, of real instances
of consistent success in delivering client results."
The SAC office will serve as a reference point and share that
evidence with any clients seeking more information on Board
Approved members.
SAC is an international association of consulting professionals
who subscribe to an industry code of ethics and have provided
evidence of significant consulting results among their clients.
For more information, please go to http://www.consultingsociety.com,
write to info@summitconsulting.com, or call 800/825-6153 (401/886-4097).
|
As a Master Facilitator,
Latham helps client teams achieve superior results faster
and with greater commitment. Read what others say about the
value Ann provides:
"'Wow' sums it up nicely. Ann stepped into a delicate,
sensitive situation involving a diverse, disjointed group
of people with a challenging objective and, in remarkably
little time, moved us to a solid, shared conclusion. The way
she works is impressive: she has a great handle on people,
makes everyone want to work together, ensures every meeting
is focused and valuable, and simplifies issues so all understand
the challenges and options and can reach shared conclusions.
On top of that, I really enjoy working with her."
John Heaps, President, Florence Savings Bank
"Ann is simply outstanding at moving a group to
a strong conclusion. In our case, I couldn’t have imagined
a better outcome. What makes her particularly unusual is that
there isn’t a lot of noise, she doesn’t distract,
and no one wastes time. She lets discussions run but doesn’t
let them run amok. She is deliberate and straightforward with
a soft touch that keeps people on task, the process moving
forward, and ideas flowing. By always maintaining a clear
purpose, next steps, and expectations, she made me a better
contributor and able to get on task quickly despite the limited
time I had for the project. After working with Ann, I wouldn’t
hesitate to recommend her to anyone in need of a strategy,
plan, arbitration, facilitation, etc."
Chuck McCullagh, CFO, The Williston Northampton
School
"Ann does a great job of keeping people focused,
cutting to the critical issues, and avoiding 'rabbit holes.'
I would recommend her to anyone who wants to make better plans
and decisions in less time and with better confidence in the
outcomes."
W. Lowell Putnam, Chairman/CSO, Video Communications,
Inc.
"The process that our committee engaged in was outstanding.
First, the outcome of our work is truly exceptional. Second,
the process itself built amazingly strong relationships and
it was remarkable that these relationships evolved DURING
the process, not as an adjunct to it. That is, we didn’t
do team-building first and then address the challenge. We
built the team as we worked on the problem (without a ropes
course!). And given the many different perspectives, that
took real guidance from Ann, although I’ll confess that
it seemed largely invisible. Also, the process was not tedious.
There was no arduous research or endless brainstorming with
subsequent consolidation. We moved forward with each meeting.
Third, I learned a lot personally.
"One thing that really stood out, particularly in
contrast to other committee projects in which I have been
involved, was this sense of progress. Yes, we had a lot of
meetings, but the schedule was regular, they were conducted
according to that schedule, and we knew what we did and what
we would do next time. My participation in this project has
set a new standard for my expectations of groups like this.
And unfortunately few others measure up.
"I have already recommended Ann to others. I think
Ann takes a deep interest in the work she takes on. I have
seen other consultants apply one formula to different problems
and issues. And while that usually works better than no facilitation,
I believe that Ann really thinks about the outcome, how it
will be used or implemented, and then adapts her process to
fit both the need and the time allotted to solving the problem.
Too often, I’ve seen formula-driven processes end up
having to rush to conclusion, just when the brainstorming
and the mind-maps ought to be thoroughly tested.
"Ann is also a strong group leader. She has a physical
presence coupled with a calm demeanor that seems to keep even
a diverse and sometimes rowdy group on track."
Russell Peotter, General Manager, WGBY
Public Television for Western New England
|