The alignment of paddle strokes, says David Hanna, is a key component of a successful rafting team. “On the river, the consequence of misaligned members is known immediately—the boat moves to the left or to the right rather than in a straight line,” he said. In the business world, the consequences of misaligned members are not so obvious, but just as harmful in terms of goal achievement, Hanna said.
Hanna, founder of Confluence Consulting, feels it’s not too much of a stretch to use rafting metaphors to help leaders experience how natural laws govern the survival of all living systems. “Participants have some new and exciting experiences when they come on the river,” Hanna said, “and the new environment helps them see things about the workplace that they might not notice otherwise.” Each Confluence Expedition aims to help participants reapply the river’s lessons about alignment and teamwork to their work group and organization. “Our participants find our programs to be bottom-line oriented,” Hanna said.
The mission of Confluence Consulting is to partner with leaders at all levels, helping them to align people, systems, and natural laws to create an enduring standard of excellence. A former senior consultant with Franklin Covey and Procter & Gamble, David has consulted with executive teams and their organizations in North and South America, Europe, Russia, Australia, and Asia.
He is experienced in the areas of principle-centered leadership, strategic planning, organization diagnosis, high-performance work design, executive development, and team development. His clients include General Motors, Conoco, Xerox, Saturn, Siemens, Shell, SC Johnson, Novell, Metro Cash & Carry, and Philips. Because of his ongoing work as an organizational consultant, he frequently travels back and forth between the United States and Europe.
Hanna earned a BA in communications in 1973 and an MOB from the Marriott School in 1974. He and his wife, Charlotte, reside in Mapleton, Utah. They have five children.
