Client Testimonials : Impact of the SDI
“Participants who have had training with the SDI inventory continue to use the language of the SDI to resolve conflicts because it is simple, memorable and it accurately describes what is happening in conflict situations.”
Pamela Chapman Foss, PMP
IGSI Project Management Curriculum Development
IBM
“Wow, wow, wow! Today’s workshop was a home run with bases loaded. The staff has talked about it all morning.” That’s a quote from one of the participants of the workshop that my director and I co-facilitated shortly after we received our certification. Having oversight for organizational development and team effectiveness, I will be using the Relationship Awareness Theory and tools to strengthen communication between different patient-care disciplines. There’s nothing better than to witness those ‘ah-ha’ moments when you know there’s true learning and capacity for change. Having used numerous other behavioral assessments, the richness of the SDI, along with the ease in which it can be understood and put to use, is remarkable.”
Joy Goldman RN
MS Director, Center for Learning and Organizational Effectiveness
St. Joseph Medical Center
“The SDI is a simple but effective and dynamic tool for understanding the driving forces behind behavior in both normal and conflict situations. It has become an essential tool for coaches and consultants who help their clients increase self-awareness and awareness of the motivations underpinning others behavior.”
Robert DiCalogero
Leadership & Management Coaching, LLC
"I continue to find the SDI to be a real power tool. I also use the LBA II (Situational Leadership) and the MBTI with my students. Of those three instruments, I really think we get the most impact out of the SDI."
Bill Velbeck, Ph.D., MBA, SPHR, CPT
“I'm amazed at the reception and instant connection to the SDI. People leave energized and begging for more.”
Barbara Jemmott
Training Coordinator, Information Technology
Deloitte & Touche
“The SDI was our instrument of choice to help us accomplish the rather daunting task of helping the department build sensitivity, plus skill in one day training sessions. Nearly 300 managers and line staff, in mixed groups, experienced the SDI. A few days after the training program was finished, the department director (also a participant) told us he had personally received more email, phone calls, and personal comment from staff about these programs than any training event in his memory. In fact, he said it was the most effective and memorable training experience for his department. WOW!”
Al Baldwin
Director, Organization Development & Training
Contra Costa County
"SDI gives us the tools we need to support team effectiveness across a significant global integration effort."
Jay Spach
SVP, Organization Development
Thomson Reuters
“In 2008, Süd-Chemie Inc. embarked on a company-wide effort to improve leadership and the effectiveness of how our people work together. We sought a program suitable for our entire employee population, from our hourly workforce to our executive management. Following an inspirational introduction by Keith Catchpole of Personal Strengths which included a pilot program involving key managers throughout our organization, we selected Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI). The program focuses on one of the most important aspects of diversity in the work place…differences in personal motivation that leads to conflict and productivity losses.
Thus far over 500 Süd-Chemie Inc. employees have participated in a one and a half day workshop and the results have been remarkable. Our employees have adopted a new vocabulary that indicates a refreshing level of appreciation for differences in personal styles and approaches.
An important reason why SDI is so effective is that it is easy to understand and the experiential teaching methods employed by Personal Strengths causes employees to internalize the concepts. As a result, the program is having behavior changing impact on virtually every participant and our business is reaping the benefit.
To maximize the return on our investment in SDI and to ensure lasting improvements, Personal Strengths is helping us implement reinforcement training. Participants test their ability to adapt to a range of motivational styles and to effectively modify their behavior in order to optimize outcomes. We are also looking to incorporate SDI into other training programs we offer (such as sales and negotiating training).
Simply said, SDI may be the most important employee development tool I have encountered in my 30+ years in the business world.”
Charles D. Maisch
President
Süd-Chemie Inc.
Download Full Statement of Strategy
“I gave the SDI to 20 engineers in the manufacturing sector. Talk about non-believers! Finally, one (250# guy) said “this is BS! You say my third stage conflict is Blue, but I would NEVER completely surrender.” Thinking back to my recent training I responded “third stage is where you are most uncomfortable (score of 9), that is why you will do almost anything to avoid using it.” Silence. He grinned and said “You’re right. I guess this stuff works.”
Dave Cross
Manager, Command Development Programs
United Airlines
“I use the SDI in my two supervision classes at the University, the students usually start out very tentative until they decide the instrument really does have validity, then they want one for their boyfriend, their girlfriend, etc… etc… I love it!"
Beth A. Fauber
Professor
Indiana State University
“The SDI was clearly one of the highlights of the retreat. I believe all of the participants enjoyed learning more about themselves and the rest of the team, and this helped set up the rest of the retreat.”
Steven C Moreau
President and CEO
San Antonio Community Hospital
"You have a tool in the Strength Deployment Inventory as well as in other material that is a great help to many. We see it every day as we work with people and get to know them over our extended leadership development programs. Take pleasure in knowing that your material has helped change the lives of over 300 people in our leadership program as well as over 100 in our marriage enrichment program. Thanks for what you do and for these resources that change lives."
Olin Jennings
Chairman
The Jennings Group
“Relationship Awareness Theory is the cornerstone of my consulting work. The SDI is memorable in comparison to other assessment tools, including MBTI. It is simpler to use and leaves a lasting impression on my clients. It also addresses “Conflict Styles” which often define a person or team; helping team members get along better and deal with issues more effectively.”
Bryan Stitt
Training and Performance Strategies, Inc.
“This is more than just an incremental improvement, this is a quantum leap forward in training!”
Tom Beasor
Blue Line Consultancy Ltd
“Without a doubt, the Strength Deployment Inventory changed my life forever. It was incredible to spend 2 days learning so much about myself and how I relate to everyone I associate with. I will use this information in ALL aspects of my life.”
Ramona Wienck
Human Resources Manager
Landoll Corporation
"On behalf of The Northeast Air Defense Sector, I thank you again for your presentation of the SDI. Truly, this exceeded our expectations. I did not expect to see implementation on Monday morning, and I believe it is already taking place. The more thought I give it, the more powerful I realize it is."
M. Elise Hereth, Maj.
NY ANG, Quality Improvement
“Everyone was extremely happy with the workshop…considering where this group started and the conflict stored up between parties, SDI worked like magic and provided a very safe structure to talk about these difficult conflicts.”
James L. Carter
The Carter Group Inc.
"Since taking your facilitator qualification training, I would not bring a campus-wide task force for strategic planning together without first taking them through the SDI"
Dr. Gretchen Anderson
Dean School of Continuing and Professional Studies
Bellarmine University
"I became so fascinated with the concept of how the SDI can work in business and personal situations. I became a facilitator and now teach a course on small business management. In that time I have received numerous accolades about how I have saved their marriage, saved a relationship with a friend or family member or how I have saved their business. No monetary reward could amount to the value of what I see in helping others in such a direct manner. The bottom line here is that I owe it to SDI and using it to assist my life values to improve my life and my business"
Doug Bowles
Horizon Consultants
"A must for any company that wants to improve their productivity and improve employee relations."
Tom Morehouse
Broker/Owner
Prudential California Realty
"While the SDI is certainly great to use as a stand-alone tool, I find it to be a fabulous complement to the MBTI work I've done with prior clients. It adds a unique dimension of self-awareness that I've been able to mesh with type very well and my clients are quite pleased about this."
Ray Linder
CEO
Goodstewardship
"Our training will never be the same again. The SDI is now part of who we are"
Charles Lickson JD, Ph.D
“We use the SDI in our regular catalog courses that all employees attend, and also in our Leadership Program for Deans, Division Chiefs, and Department Heads. Also I use it with a leadership program that I am doing with the Whitaker Foundation. (for Biomedical Engineering). People love it!”
Linda Dillon-Jones
Director for Center of Training
John Hopkins University
“The SDI is easy to relate to and uses concepts that ‘stick’ better… it’s a powerful tool for promoting understanding and teamwork in our organization.”
Steve Blankenship
Director, Learning and Development, Time Warner Cable
"I attended a four hour Relationship Awareness Workshop with my teenage son. Both of us learned a lot about ourselves and were excited and motivated afterward. As a wife and mother who doesn't work outside the home, I find it really empowering to have a better understanding of what makes us tick!"
DeAnsin Fox
Homemaker
"Whether you are raising money for your business, negotiating a new contract, managing a group of people inside your company or in sales and need to know how to approach your potential customer to ensure a successful sale, SDI will give you tools to make certain you are successful. I have raised over a billion dollars for my various companies, and I wish I had known about this incredibly powerful tool then. You can’t leave figuring out what motivates your people to chance. SDI removes the mystery."
Keith Cunningham
President
KJC Investments, Inc.
“Within a short period of time we were able to effectively use the SDI to assist a group that was experiencing difficulty in relating to other members of the organization that were critical to their own success. The SDI provided an opportunity to better understand their personal motivational system and its impact on viewing interactions with others. It paved the way to create a stronger partnership.”
Dianne Wassall
SPHR Director, Human Resources
St. Joseph Medical Center
“The tool is of great value and I know that these youth will take it with them in their future. The Development of the tools is greatly appreciated and I wanted to let you know that it had great impact on the group I was instructing. Just wanted to let you know that you once again touched some lives that many people believed were untouchable.”
Jacqueline A. Nason
Jagtag Enterprises
"I really like the SDI because it is a validated instrument, yet it is still easy to understand and enjoyable to people with a wide range of backgrounds and education levels."
Fiona Burdick
Senior Family Programs Instructor
U.S. Army Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) Academy
“I can honestly say that the SDI is the most useful tool I know of. It´s unique!”
Michael R. Lavery
Management & Team Training
ESI International
“I learned more about myself so that I can better understand myself and how I relate to others. This is so helpful in my teaching of others. I can better connect to my participants while instilling core diversity skills.”
Marianne Pinto
Independent Trainer
“SDI is, by far, THE best way to talk about Soft skills in a concrete fashion. Relationship Awareness Theory and the SDI are “IT””
Denise Schaller
Owner and Lead Trainer
Schaller Solutions
Our Clients Say it Best SDI participants and facilitators talk about their experiences using Relationship Awareness  A collection of SDI success stories...Download Magazine |