Gary Heil

Gary has focused his career on the belief that there is a better way to organize human effort. That people want to organize, even need to organize, in order to accomplish goals that they deem important. And that it is not only possible, but imperative that we find a way to combine our efforts if we hope to effectively meet the challenges of a more complex, technologically advanced, competitive environment in which the differences in the human side of enterprise will determine an organization's success or failure.

Like all organizations, our performance is effected by the assumptions that we make about people and organizations. We understand that assumptions are rarely 'right' or 'wrong' and are usually incomplete oversimplifications that attempt to describe a way of viewing the complex environment in which we live and work. We believe that the most dangerous assumptions are not the ones that are inaccurate, but the ones that we believe are accurate and therefore, no longer question.

In order to ensure that we continue to question our beliefs, we routinely articulate our assumptions in the hope that by doing so, we will invite scrutiny and enhance our learning in the process.

Mr Heil believes that:

People want to organize in pursuit of causes that they deem worthy.
Given an environment with moderate levels of mutual trust, respect and security, people will focus more of their efforts on doing what is necessary to achieve interesting and meaningful goals.
People are by nature curious, creative and meaning seeking.
Organizations are organic, as opposed to mechanical, systems. Therefore, every interaction necessarily changes the system.
Trusting is a prerequisite to being trusted.
Over time, people will act in a manner that is consistent with their beliefs.
Organizational renewal begins with personal renewal.
Most behavior is consistent with a person's most important values.
Organizations, like people, are in a constant state of discovering.
All behavior is need based. When we stop seeking need fulfillment we stop living.
People are born motivated. They can't be movitivated by another person. Leaders must create environments which allow for natural motivation.
Leaders are defined by the choices they make.
The behavior of people in organizations today is often a direct result of past management practices.
People don't resist change as much as they resist being changed.
The willingness of people to commit to organizational objectives is directly related to their ability to make choices that provide an opportunity for personal need satisfaction in pursuit of organizational objectives.
When a group shares a sense of purpose and develops a mutual understanding of present perfomrnace that differs significantly from what was intended, the tension created in that group can result in increased efforts to close the perceived gap between present performance and the ideal.