Success Stories

West Central

“I appreciate the contribution you and The Twelve Core Action Values have made to the personal and professional development of the West Central employee group. With your help and guidance we have been able to clearly show the relationship between our personal lives and our ability to perform at work. This attitude has been accepted and adopted by the Spark Plugs. This core group… is prepared to carry the message forward into the future. They are already connecting The Twelve Core Action Values to daily events at work and demonstrating how those values apply to decisions we make. Thanks again for your contribution to our ongoing success.”
Jeff Stroburg, Chief Executive Officer
West Central Cooperative

West Central is one of the largest agricultural cooperatives in the Midwest, with nineteen locations in Iowa. After Joe was a featured speaker at the West Central annual employee meeting in 2000, newly-appointed CEO Jeff Stroburg commissioned what has become a 4-year project (still ongoing). In the first year, all employees participated in training sessions conducted by Joe on The Twelve Core Action Values.

During the second year, Joe presented programs on goal-setting, personal finance, and leadership. West Central’s Spark Plug Facilitators now conduct training for all employees, produce weekly newsletter articles on the Twelve Core Action Values, charity drives, organize employee recognition activities (such as root beer floats with The Twelve Core Action Values printed on the mugs), and staff a booth at the annual meeting trade show.

Joe also authored a custom book entitled The Farmer, a story capturing the culture, values, vision, and mission of West Central. West Central’s website will also feature a section on The Twelve Core Action Values. These unique resources, coupled with the ongoing training and service activities of the West Central Spark Plug Team, will solidify the impact of The Twelve Core Action Values for many years to come.

The Farmer is a fictional story that Joe wrote for the company to capture key elements of the history, culture, values, and vision of West Central. It was written with multiple goals in mind, including: 1) to reinforce The Twelve Core Action Values as an element of West Central’s culture and philosophy; 2) to serve as a tool for recruiting people for whom values really matter and orienting them to the organization; and 3) to promote West Central as the kind of company that customers, suppliers, and partners really want to work with.

From the book’s back cover:
Randy Wallace had just graduated from Iowa State University and was thinking about his future when he took the bike ride that would change his life. He would later say that losing control and crashing his bike on the side of a country road was one of the best things that ever happened to him, because that was how he met The Farmer, and through him became associated with West Central. Join Randy as The Farmer takes him on a mystical journey that explores the history, values, and operations of a truly remarkable organization: West Central.

National Park Service

“I want to pass a big thank you from the staff... You are, as always, an inspiration to us all... You not only provide food for thought but lay out a feast for the brain and soul.”
Paul Cox, Program Manager
Grand Canyon National Park

When Paul Cox assumed responsibility for the fee management department at Grand Canyon National Park, he scheduled a 2-day outside retreat for his leadership team with Joe Tye to study The Twelve Core Action Values. The specific reference was on fostering a more positive organizational culture. This is especially important in Paul’s department, since his people are the first human contact most visitors have with the Park.

As a follow-up, Joe was invited to hold open seminars for all Grand Canyon National Park employees; all of Paul’s supervisors were enrolled as Spark Plug PLUS members; and a second session for the management team focused on specific leadership skills. As a result of these interventions, Paul reports significant improvements in both attitude and performance, and is now working with his team to raise the bar once again.

Navapache Regional Medical Center

After Leigh Cox heard Joe Tye speak at a conference of the American Society of Healthcare Strategic Planning and Marketing, he wanted to share the message with his entire team. At the hospital’s annual employee meeting, Joe conducted six sessions over three days. Here again, the reaction was so positive that several follow-up leadership sessions were scheduled, and the medical center provided every employee with a complete audiotapes and workbook on The Twelve Core Action Values.

Grinnell Regional Medical Center

When Todd Linden arranged for Joe Tye to present a program at Grinnell Regional Medical Center, he said it was “just what the doctor ordered. After the first session, word “spread like wildfire,” and more than 90% of staff on duty that day attended one of the sessions.”

A follow-up program was scheduled on The Twelve Core Action Values. Subsequently, 11 GRMC employees participated in a three-day intensive training sessions to become facilitators. During the first year, nearly 50 GRMC employees completed the year-long Building a Better You course conducted by those facilitators, based on The Twelve Core Action Values.

Critical Access Hospital Network

Washington County Hospital and Clinics and Marengo Memorial Hospital are critical access hospitals in eastern Iowa. These two organizations teamed up for a joint Spark Plug Facilitator training program.

Each organization sent a dozen individuals (including both CEOs) to the off-site program. This joint approach optimized both sharing of ideas and cost-effectiveness. WCHC and MMH are each taking different implementation approaches based upon their organizational culture and operating objectives.

Griffin Hospital

Griffin Hospital , flagship for The Planetree model of patient-centered care, initiated Spark Plug training in 2000. The program is now in its fourth full year, with approximately 20 percent of the hospital’s staff having participated in one of the year-long training sessions.

A cadre of facilitators have been trained, and are running the program internally on a fully self-sustained basis. The Griffin Hospital leadership team is now recommending The Twelve Core Action Values to the other 80+ members of The Planetree Alliance. As of this time, three of those hospitals are actively implementing training on The Twelve Core Action Values.