LRI History

LRI was founded by Eric Douglas. This is his story about the origins of LRI.

“When I started LRI, I wanted to create a different kind of consulting company – one that helps organizations achieve real, meaningful change. This was born out of my experience hiring two different types of consulting companies when I was an executive.

One type was the big-name consulting company.

We’d hire them to figure out what geographic markets we should be in or what a certain set of customers wanted. The firm would do its work and generate a massive report, but there’d be no buy-in or support. In one instance, we spent over $1 million on a market report that went nowhere.

The second type of consultant we’d hire was a facilitator.

We’d hire facilitators to help us during our offsite planning meetings and ensure we had good, thorough discussions about specific topics. But after two days of talk, there would be no follow-through. In both cases, we’d spend all this money and be left where we started.

When I founded LRI, my vision was to combine these two skill sets.

I wanted to combine the skills of expert facilitation with organizational development experience and the capacity to analyze and make recommendations so that we could guide a management team or an entire organization through a successful change management process.

We began with just one senior-level consultant – me – and a small support team. We attracted a diverse array of clients that wanted to achieve a significant change – a grocery store that wanted to expand, a utility that wanted to improve its governance, a bank that wanted a stronger leadership team. Over time, we attracted a stellar group of consultants and a stellar support team. We focused on five practice areas: strategic planning, board governance, organizational development, leadership development, and business process improvement. Now, 20 years and 300 clients later, we can happily say it all worked. And our mantra remains: facilitating real, meaningful change.”

– Eric Douglas, Senior Partner and President

Sacramento Ballet

LRI is outstanding! Eric Douglas led the Sacramento Ballet through a challenging project of developing its first-ever comprehensive written strategic plan at a critical junction in the history of the organization. Eric’s leadership skills were superb as he worked to enlist the support of all stakeholders and facilitated discussions that allowed the organization to put into words its hopes and dreams for the next several years, while helping the project team remain focused on keeping the objectives realistic, achievable and measurable. I highly recommend LRI without any reservation.

KQED

The process that LRI took us through was remarkable in several ways. First, you gave us a road map and directed us through a very complicated situation. The end result was a detailed, but easily comprehended, set of guidelines to inform our decision making. What was particularly impressive, given the complexity of the task, was your ability to keep us on schedule and operate within budget. I looked back at my notes today and the process took 10 weeks from start to finish.

California School Employees Association

“LRI’s coaching for one of our managers was a resounding success. There’s been marked progress in her collaborative approach, more profound insight into her role as a supervisor, and an enhanced level of commitment. LRI’s coach was a harmonious match for our organization. Her approach to coaching, her techniques, and general demeanor aligned seamlessly with our organizational culture.” – Keith Pace, California School Employees Association