Transforming Systems
Aligning Strategy, Culture and Performance
Common to every highly performing organization are people enthusiastically working together toward a clear and common future. Yet, complex systems hold inertia, and even the most detailed assessments often fail because they miss the human element.
David Sarju guides organizations through transformations that align people, processes, and purpose for compounding impact. By identifying opportunities to translate "intangibles"- such as culture, narrative, and relationships - into actionable results, David helps enterprises achieve their strategic, operational, and workplace culture priorities.
His work bridges the gap between vision and execution by clarifying the future state, mobilizing leaders, and shifting culture. The result is an organization that emerges stronger, more unified, and adaptive.
Quantum Physicist and Philosopher, David Bohm wrote that dialogue should focus on bringing to the surface and altering the "tacit infrastructure" of thought. Bohm described dialogue as a way of communicating while simultaneously paying attention to assumptions taken for granted, to create a culture of "conscious collective mindfulness".
- 1985, Loveland, Colorado: Foundation House
The Underlying Challenge
The difficulty is often not one of resources, skills, or effort alone (as is often assumed) but the lack of personal interests linked to a shared vision. Even talented and motivated people can only contribute as much as the culture allows.
Many organizations pursue production efficiencies, product improvements, technical skills training or marketing programs to boost bottom-line results. However, driving for organizational honesty may offer the fastest route to sharply better enterprise performance, market share and revenue growth.
Can your organization improve? YES.
We'll demonstrate that improvements take effect when leaders first honestly acknowledge organizational realities (strengths, obstacles, unsuspected mindsets, and unspoken fears). These realities are sometimes obscured by, old misunderstandings, turf competition, failures to confront tough issues, misalignments, or just too many "priorities".
Patrick Lencioni in his leadership fable, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team wrote, "the ultimate dysfunction (of a team is) the tendency of team members to seek out individual recognition and attention at the expense of results."
- 2002 Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA
Service Offerings
True transformation occurs at the intersection of Strategy, Operations, and Culture. I help leaders move beyond fragmented efforts to build truly integrated solutions. My work bridges the gap between vision and execution, translating intangible elements - like narrative and relationships - into actionable results that drive compounding impact.
Organizational Transformation
New systems generate compounding value when they are deeply adopted, not just technically installed. My work begins with an accurate assessment of the current state and measurable descriptions of the future state. Unifying narratives and frameworks like ADKAR connect individual contributions to the larger mission, ensuring agility during uncertainty.
Resources
Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows
The Relational Work of Systems Change by Katherine Milligan
Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail by John Kotter
Strategic Alignment
The aspirational becomes achievable only when narrative, data, resources, and culture are strictly aligned with clear priorities. I partner with leaders and stakeholders to map the critical terrain between today's reality and tomorrow's vision. Designing operating models that integrate disparate systems to improve both employee engagement and customer outcomes, ensures that clear targets and data-driven scorecards foster shared accountability.
Resources
Good to Great by Jim Collins
What Is Strategy? by Michael Porter
The Theory of the Business by Peter Drucker
Culture Change
Culture is the engine that catalyzes the commitment needed to realize a vision when stakeholders at every level value their contributions and are valued. I work with teams to electrify their organization by awakening long-sought-for inclusion. Shining a light on blind spots moves teams from reactive repairs to proactive shared outcomes.
Resources
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks by Yuval Noah Harari
Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams by Amy Edmondson
Leadership Development
Strong operational managers can become architects of co-creation in complex, evolving environments. I coach executives to navigate the complex human side of technical change, recognizing that the most critical "operating system" in any organization is the culture of the people. My approach equips "leaders of leaders" to manage ambiguity and model an inclusive, adaptive enterprise.
Resources
The Work of Leadership by Ronald Heifetz
What Makes a Leader? by Daniel Goleman
The Dawn of Systems Leadership by Peter Senge
As stated by organizational learning guru Peter Senge in "The Fifth Discipline", "Seek Alignment, Not agreement. The temptation will be strong to paper over differences for the sake of reaching resolution and producing output".
- 1994 Doubleday NY, NY
Case Studies
GOVERNMENT
King County IT
Transformed IT from a "utility" to a "strategic lever," unifying 450 employees and realizing $5M in annual savings through cultural alignment and operational agility.
NON-PROFIT
Plymouth Housing
Broke down silos between Property Management and Social Services, resulting in a 40% reduction in violence against frontline staff and a 30% reduction in turnover.
CORPORATE
Starbucks
Revolutionized facility oversight by moving from a manual "clipboard" model to a networked data model, eliminating a 60% blind spot in store conditions across 9,000+ locations.
GOVERNMENT
Aging & Disability Services - Seattle/King County
Navigating deep political fractures, I transformed a planned closure into a civic rebirth. By uniting Council, labor, and advocates, we replaced a sunsetting office with an expanding network of dignity and care.
Testimonials
“David helped the Directors build a cohesive executive team and then delved into weak organizational areas and leadership challenges, helping to build teamwork to more successively deliver engineering projects”
“David quickly identified key influencers, determine where leverage truly sits, and helped the organization move from intention to execution.”
“David coached and guided the leaders of IT service teams to exploit their individual and service team strengths that focused on customer and constituent wins. His analysis was insightful and aligned with the overall department and County vision.”
“David built on his people-centered approach by using data and analytics to measure and communicate our progress... We were better able to measure our impact and communicate those successes to both internal and external stakeholders.”
“David led human-centered enterprise transformation efforts that integrated complex systems like behavioral health, housing, and operations, while simultaneously building thoughtful change management processes that brought diverse stakeholders into alignment. Externally, David is a coalition builder, able to bridge City, County, nonprofit, and internal stakeholders with clarity, empathy, and credibility.”
“David’s work with our leadership team has helped us to be more thoughtful, deliberate, and collaborative when addressing tensions and decisions. We strengthened trust among executive team members. I learned to listen more carefully and to ask questions to enhance my understanding of what is being stated.”
