Uncommon Consulting

“On a collaborative project with Boeing Phantom Works, Ann did a tremendous job in identifying the cost drivers, producibility issues, and productivity barriers of a supplier organization, all of which were impeding the success of our project.  With Ann helping to provide the focus and oversight, the supplier was able to meet their commitments for quality, cost, and schedule.”

Ed Gerding, Chief Engineer C-17 St. Louis, The Boeing Company

“Ann has a knack for working with groups, identifying key issues, exploring alternative solutions and, best of all, implementing solutions that work.

“Ann recognizes that “best practice” may not be “best approach” for her clients, and when it is not, her working knowledge of alternative approaches will result in a solution that will be better than “best” because it works for you, in your plant, with your people.

“Ann can help you identify the crux of a problem and solutions that will work for you. While others may be good, my 35 years of experience tell me that no one is better.”

Perry Walraven, President and CEO, Performance Controls, Inc. a Subsidiary of Hitachi Medical Corporation

“Ann’s ability to simplify complex issues such that everyone understood their respective roles was a key part of her success.  She truly helped us achieve profitable and predictable growth while improving the quality of our methods and processes.”

S. W. Emery, Jr., Chairman and CEO, MTS Systems Corporation

“Thank you for a great two days.  You are clearly a gifted facilitator and helped us achieve some important outcomes, both in terms of a strategy for the future and our ability to work more collaboratively together.  The ROI was there.”

Bob Fazzi, President & CEO, Fazzi Associates

“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 straight forward 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

“We asked Ann Latham of Uncommon Clarity, to help facilitate our strategic planning for the agency. What we received in return was an individual who helped us clearly define expectations, held us accountable, helped us identify core assets and skills, and focused us to make tough decisions about the direction of the agency. Overall I recommend Ann’s services to those organizations committed to improving their operation and performance.”

Juan Campbell, Vice President Sales & Service, Health New England and Board President, Children’s Study Home

“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

“I hadn’t realized how entrenched I was in so many time-wasting habits until Ann Latham made them transparent. It’s almost embarrassing.

“She observed a few meetings and then provided me with feedback and very specific, practical techniques, not generalizations or theory, that have changed the way I think, conduct meetings, and work with my staff and Board. Each meeting and phone call with Ann left me very aware and armed with techniques that are so applicable, so practical, and just hit home so hard.

“One thing I really appreciate is that she sugar-coats nothing, provides critical feedback, and demands critical thinking. And yet, she redirected me with great patience. The results have definitely exceeded my expectations, and what I’ve learned will have broad and long term impact.

“Our meetings are dramatically shorter and more powerful, but it goes beyond that. Our clarity of purpose, decision-making, problem solving, and communication are also improved.

“Ann has certainly made me a stronger, more effective leader and manager. I would recommend Ann to others and intend to hire her again myself.”

Jim Goodwin, CEO, Center for Human Development

“Ann is an excellent facilitator of ideas and issues. She has the capacity to get people to think about change, even when they are more than satisfied with the status quo. Her work with us helped change the direction of three units very set in their ways and has opened up a myriad of possibilities for growth in the future.”

Joan Schuman, Executive Director, Hampshire Educational Collaborative

“I hired Ann because I’d heard she was results-oriented, and I would hire her again because she definitely is! We got terrific outcomes, wasted no time (finished in 2/3 the expected time), and everyone walked away feeling good about both the process and the results. I was especially delighted to watch Board participation and interest increase along the way, which is not what usually happens. They were really engaged and are now totally committed to our direction and the reasons for our decisions. I just gave a glowing recommendation of Ann to another agency and won’t hesitate to do so again. Ann is really different from the typical consultant.”

Steve McCafferty, Executive Director, The Children's Study Home

“Ann Latham transformed our thinking about how our organization works. This discovery led us to a strategic model that solves our pain and opens new opportunities. She truly lives up to her brand of ‘uncommon clarity.’”

Suzanne Beck, Executive Director, Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce

“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

“What I like about working with Ann is how she keeps a group strategically focused while making the process engaging, easy, and humorous. She uncovers common ground, creates opportunity, and guides the group to new shared conclusions in remarkably little time.”

Laurie Fenlason, Vice President for Public Affairs, Smith College

“I’ve never been to a retreat that was so focused, so fast paced, and with such clear progress throughout.”

Jay Primack, Managing Partner, Moriarty & Primack P.C.

“Having worked with Ann on multiple projects, I know to expect a lot.  Nonetheless, she continues to exceed expectations. Ann gets people out of their comfort zones, thinking, and seeing other points of view. She manages somehow to turn personal agendas aside and create powerful teams. She is always well prepared and willing to take charge to ensure we accomplish what needs to be accomplished in a timely fashion. In addition, she is personable and articulate. I highly recommend her services.”

William F. Dimmitt, Account Executive, The AXiA Group

“Ann is an outstanding team player.  Working with a diverse group of manufacturing and design team members, Ann was able to gain consensus for improvement initiatives, win over even the skeptical, and move the team forward toward production-readiness.  Every team member has the highest regard for Ann, her professionalism, dedication and energy, and outstanding change management skills.”

Dana Badgerow, General Manager, AeroMet Corporation

“Ann provided us with the focus, structure, and critical thinking that both my team and I needed to make some tough strategic decisions. She also pushed us hard to define quantifiable outcomes and take action on several critical issues. Her ability to help both strategically and right through implementation with on-going feedback makes her especially valuable. She is a pleasure to work with as well.”

Tim Sneed, Executive Director, Massachusetts Career Development Institute

“I’ve recently had the pleasure of working with Ann Latham as a member of a multi-constituent collaboration project. At first, our group began the process without the presence of an outside facilitator, however we quickly realized that our efficiency and effectiveness were limited. Ann was asked to facilitate our meetings and has proven to be an incredible asset to the process, providing a structure and clarity of purpose, soliciting ideas and encouraging individual contribution, while instilling accountability and helping all to keep focus on our desired outcomes. Clear and measurable progress is being made, and at a speed not possible without her guidance.”

Dave DelVecchio, President, Innovative Business Systems, Inc.

“Ann Latham guided our Board of Directors through a process to reflect, renew, and regain our purpose. Ann has an amazing ability to draw people out, pull people back to the critical issues, and reframe the conversation with her questions. She got everyone really thinking and contributing. The result was a clear and strong conviction of purpose that we didn’t have. I now measure everything against that purpose and am totally committed to providing ambitious, career-oriented professionals with strong leadership & growth opportunities.”

Ellen Albano, President, Women's Partnership, and Assistant General Manager, Eastfield Mall

“Ann Latham is extremely effective at helping diverse groups of people to find their common goals and create action plans to reach those goals efficiently. When you work with Ann, you get the job done, and you enjoy the process along the way.”

Janet Warren, President, MarCom Capital

“Thank you again, Ann, for your excellent leadership. You organized our retreat so that participation by everyone was possible and all voices could be heard.  We were able to identify areas in board organization that needed to be addressed and together developed solutions with the goal of becoming a more effective board. I saw results at our first board meeting after the retreat!”

Judith L. Strzempko, Smith College Representative on the Northampton BID Board of Directors

“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 with greater speed and confidence in the outcomes.”

W. Lowell Putnam, Chairman/CSO, VCI (Video Communications, Inc.)

“Ann is highly skilled in helping her clients clarify their goals and the steps it will take to achieve them. She respectfully keeps the participants on track and moves the process forward to completion. With Ann’s guidance you can be certain that you will reach your destination.”

Martha Nelson Patrick, Director, Office of Community Relations University of Massachusetts

“I recently had the pleasure of experiencing Ann’s facilitation skills on a significant collaborative project involving several influential members of the community.  Ann was organized, focused, and kept things moving.  It is clear to me we would not have accomplished what we did in a similar timeframe without the benefit of Ann’s drive and commitment.”

Molly Keegan, Financial Planner, Davis Financial Group, LLC

“Ann has a natural ability for process improvement and easily learns new systems and adjoining processes.”

Sandi Klemann, Controller, Certes Financial Pros