Full Circle Associates

I was sitting in the “Virtual Conference Miami Home Base” reading posts in the online space when a smiling gentleman asked to use one of the computers to check his email. Seeing that he was from Brasil, and I know some Portuguese and love Brasilians, I said hello. Then I saw he was from Nutrimento and I asked if I could interview him as soon as he finished his email. He graciously said yes. I had remembered David Cooperrider mentionting this amazing company in his opening keynotel

Now, you need to know that at 46, I often forget names. I did not happen to notice that the gentleman was none other than the leader of Nutrimento and a great force in the AI community. I got lucky!

We had a wonderful conversation in both English and Portuguese. We’ll see if my translation is adequate! Smile. Blame the bumps on me!

I asked Roderigo to tell me a bit of how he brought and wove AI into Nutrimento, a consumer foods company based in Curitaba, Brasil. Here is what he told me:

In 97 we began, 7 years ago. The response was very good, very fast. We were in a difficult epoch in the industry. There was a great change in the economy, a changed market, and we had to reinvent our company. There were issues with capital and credit. We had to finance this change. Others more experience were in the market were already in the market.

We looked for an asset we could use to help us into new business, a new understanding of the company, a new form of the organization. We made a big change of culture, and a change in technology. We had to get new knowledge areas. We had the idea of transforming the organization into something different than the traditional business. A learning organization.
We needed a form of strategy to do that so we adopted AI.

After the process, we were renewed. We became more profitable. In four years, we grew 6 times over. We built the capacity to keep this alive. We found the changes we needed to make to reposition in the market. (Nutrimento was a business to business company and shifted to direct consumer convenience foods – a major shift!)

This shift required new skills. This movement continues, the people, all the people, continue to apply the methodology. Day by day. We also use the Balanced Scorecard. It fits with AI very well. The scorecard process was built in a shared way. We are using it as a strengths based tool. It translates the strategy of the company -- the strategy that was built in a shared way by the company We chose the indicators. We designed the profit sharing. Profit sharing is becoming usual in Brasil. More now than 4-5 years ago. Ours includes all the people. One of the scorecard core learning area is is appreciative culture.

--- My experience with Brasilian culture 30 years ago was that it was a very social and collaborative culture so I asked if the Brasilian culture helped in the adoption?

Yes, AI fits with Brasilian culture. For instance, when we installed the balanced score card, we did that in 5-6 months and it usually takes 2 years. The same happened when we changed our information platform. From mainframe to AS400 platform. We made the shift in 5-6 months. When we install new tools, like ABC costing, that usually takes 2-3 years and a lot of training, we did it in 6 months. People are very collaborative. The change is fast.

The people of Nutrimento have built a culture that enjoys learning. It has now happened in the organization I now head, the Federacao de Industrias do Parana. It is a business organization. Now I have the power of sponsoring. I can sponsor change in many companies, many institutions at the same time. Because we are doing that, we have success because the Brasilian people accept the AI approach.

I love what I am doing. At that time, when involved with Nutrimental’s transformation, it was a very exciting time, but now, it is even more exciting. The impact is many times larger. To give you an idea, this association has 5000 industries. More than 500,000 people. A big sphere of influence. Technical schools. 100,000 students. Introducing AI in the schools now. Preparing staff, and the structure, the infrastructure. Able to deliver AI services for the whole system.
Working on the idea of disseminating this to many organizations to create community, to facilitate more learning, like Peter Senge writes, we sustain the changes by moving them through the system.

----What’s your dream?

To see most of the human organizations in my area, my place, being learning organizations. And surely the AI process should be one of the key levers For creating and sustaining and continuous evolution.

At a country level, surely if it happens, when it happens and consolidates in Parana, it will spread for the rest of the country. When something works, it spreads quickly. President Lula creates a council of advisors to deal with social and economic development. I am one member. It is a learning council… yes. We had a meeting with AI last year, I suggested and it was adopted in one moment last year, one summit. IN September. President Lula didn’t participate, his minister did. He enjoyed it very much. We created a vision of Brasil. The group meets once a month, looks at the issues the presidents wants consultation on. It’s up to him to accept or not. Not a deliberative consultation. Advisory. Can influence.

----- I asked Rodrigo if he had a message to the folks online.

I think that to develop a new style of leadership, is an imperative for change. And appreciative inquiry one very effective process for allowing the space and opportunity for this kind of leader to emerge. It’s not a matter, it is not enough of a new style of leaders. We also need new kind of organization, a flexible, learning organization. For this purpose also fits very well. Also it needs techniques for management, steering and managing the day to day; and the changes. Again AI has the capability of using the current tools with a new perspective, use them higher purpose.
I think that in my experience, AI works well in these three dimensions: leadership style, organizational development, enlightened management.