Our mission is to deliver hope to the people of Denmark, by equipping the Danish people to live out their values each day.

–Debbie Stroman

Denmark is a sovereign state, located in the southeastern region of Scandinavia.  Formally, The Kingdom of Denmark, it consists of three regions: Denmark and two autonomous constituent countries, the Faroe Islands and Greenland.  Denmark has a total area of 42,924 square kilometers (16,573 square miles – slightly larger than the State of Maryland) and a population of just under 6 million people.  Denmark has a nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $302 billion (roughly the size of the State of Arizona), which ranks 34^th in the world, yet enjoys the sixth highest per capita GDP in the world, making Denmark one of the most prosperous countries in the world.  Denmark is called the “happiest country on earth,” due in part to a set of core values that direct the lives of the Danish people.

Transformation Denmark exists to support and encourage the core values of the nation.  Our mission is to deliver hope to the people of Denmark, by equipping the Danish people to live out their values each day.  Through a national movement, we plan to promote these values throughout the culture, utilizing a unique and proven Roundtable resource, further raising the quality of life in Denmark, ensuring it remains the happiest country on earth.

How do you transform a nation?

That was the question still running through my mind as I got off the plane in Guatemala.  During my three-hour flight from Dallas to Guatemala City, I had ample time to ponder this issue.  My approach toward answering this question was to ask more questions.

First, “Do the Guatemalans need transforming?” My conclusion was, “Yes, we all need to continually transform ourselves into the best version of ourselves.”  Life is not static, but constantly changing.  Unless we adapt and grow, we are likely to get run over by change, a fate that has fallen on many cultures throughout history.

The next question, “Do we have the tools to create transformation?” While my conclusion would have to be proven by action, I answered, “Yes, we have unique tools that have already transformed millions of lives in many different cultures and settings.”  As confident as I was that day, I was about to discover a tool that would begin a world-wide movement of transformation.

Third, I asked, “Do we have the resources to sustain transformation?” Again, I had to answer, “Yes, we have the resources to support this effort.” My confidence was well placed.  Joining me in Guatemala that day were 150 fellow coaches with The John Maxwell Team, a global leadership training company led by Dr. John C. Maxwell, the top-rated leadership expert in the world.  The John Maxwell Team has thousands of trained coaches all across the globe.  I concluded on the plane that day, that no other organization was better positioned and resourced to create sustainable transformation than The John Maxwell Team.

Finally, I asked, “What does transformation look like?”  I knew part of the answer.  The John Maxwell Team was in Guatemala by invitation of their President, for the purpose of growing a values-based society.  Working a top-down approach was certainly transformational, but the full answer to the question would come two days later, when I witnessed personal transformation in the hearts of the Guatemalan people.

Roundtables are transformational

It’s not often you get handed a tool that causes immediate and sustainable transformation.  As a trainer and professional coach, I often hear of “new tools” that offer change; but, once you get the program, you quickly realize it was marketing hype. The Roundtable process, I learned in Guatemala, is neither new, nor hype.  In fact, when I was first shown the process, I nearly dismissed it.  “Too simple,” I thought.  My trainer kept saying, “Trust the process.”

The next day, I began facilitating Roundtables through an interpreter. This inner conflict arose.  “It’s too simple…it won’t work” …followed by “Trust the process.”  I had no choice but to “trust the process,” and I witnessed the miracle of human transformation play out in front of me that day.  A college professor, through tears, confessed he had not been a good mentor to his students and set a goal to start a mentoring program that week.  Or, the tough-minded military General, who committed to ask forgiveness from his children for treating them like soldiers, with the promise he would once again be their dad.

During the course of that week, we trained 17,000 top level leaders to facilitate Roundtables in their areas of influence.  Since that time, over 400,000 people have participated in Roundtables.  Recently, Guatemala experienced the first peaceful transition of power in their history.  Many country leaders directly attributed the transformation to the high number of top-level leaders participating in the Roundtable process.  The Roundtable process is powerful, and the change sustainable.

A world-wide phenomenon

Since that day in Guatemala, I have trained thousands of people to facilitate values-based Roundtables.  Time and again, in numerous settings, diverse cultures and multiple countries, I have witnessed the Roundtable process create personal and community transformation.  Due to the success in Guatemala, Dr. Maxwell now has 24 presidents or prime ministers asking him to bring his team and the Roundtable process to their nation.  Roundtables are truly becoming a global phenomenon.  As it spreads, stories of transformation are emerging.

In Paraguay, a young college student decided to get involved in the Roundtable process as an interpreter for the English-speaking John Maxwell coaches, who arrived to conduct Roundtable facilitation training in his country.  At the time, he was struggling in school, weighed down by personal relationships, and suffered from a low self-image.  After going through the Roundtable process, his life has transformed.  He is regaining his health through fitness and better choices, he has repaired his relationship with his father and is making plans to finish college at one of the world’s leading universities.

In Africa, a human resource manager introduced the Roundtable process to a team dealing with xenophobia, racism, anger and fear.  The intention was to re-ignite personal and professional relationships.  It worked perfectly.  The results are beyond amazing, as the team is now working together, job satisfaction is at an all-time high and productivity soaring.

After going through the Roundtable process, a teenager in the United States said he wanted to, “Live in a community where people embraced a common set of values, because it is a positive alternative to a life of violence and gangs.”

Finally, a business owner in the United States decided to shut down the company so every team member could participate in the Roundtable training.  Several weeks later, the owner said, “This has completely transformed our culture, the way we think, and the way our customers see us.  This is the best investment we have ever made in our people.”

Equipping Through Values

We were clear that our mission was to “Deliver hope to the people of Denmark,” and knowing that brought a sense of peace and purpose.  Yet, as a leadership coach, I knew having a mission wasn’t enough.  We needed to define a vision and strategy for Denmark, because HOPE is not a strategy.

Our mentor, Dr. Maxwell taught us:

• MISSION provides PURPOSE, answering the question of WHY;
• VISION provides a PICTURE of what that mission looks like, answering the question of WHAT; and
• STRATEGY provides the PLAN, the HOW of what you will do to pursue your mission.

Having a clear mission was important, because it allowed us to recognize our vision and strategy when it came across our path.

As previously stated, Dr. Maxwell was asked by the President of Guatemala to bring his team into their country to help grow a values-based culture.  Based on the tremendous success of our work in Guatemala, many other country leaders began asking Dr. Maxwell to bring his team into their countries.  At an August training for The John Maxwell Team, Dr. Maxwell announced that Paraguay would be the second nation to host The John Maxwell Team and the values-based Roundtable process.  Six months later, 300 of us were in Paraguay conducting values-based training to over 20,000 people, with even greater results than we experienced in Guatemala.

Seeing the success of Guatemala repeated in Paraguay was the inspiration needed to form our vision for Denmark.  It was in Paraguay that we realized that Denmark needed to be one of John Maxwell’s transformation nations.  That was the day Transformation Denmark was born.  That was the day we decided to bring The John Maxwell Team to Denmark to conduct values-based Roundtable training.