YOUR OWN WAY
Steps to Consider
Developing Strategy: Engage in robust dialogue that translates into alignment. Look at the opportunities and threats before you, consider your team and their strengths, assess the environment, honestly assess organizational weaknesses, clarify mission, vision and values, form high-level goals while creating realistic, measurable objectives.
Business Plan Performance and Clean Execution: The plan becomes your guide. Things change, so be resilient and open to adjustment quarterly. Starting with a handful of measurable objectives, create a simple matrix that includes tactics linked to financial performance, operational efficiency, culture, and growth. It takes discipline and heart.
Prioritized initiatives that support strategy and plan: Effectives work partnership based upon organizational goals and objectives touch everyone in the organization. Insist upon clarifying, on-going communication, deep respect, empathetic leadership, accountability and measurement linked to empowerment.
Mindfulness at work: Focus upon ways to achieve clarity linking healthy practices such as meditation (breathing), mindfulness (paying attention), understanding how the brain works (neuroscience and neuroplasticity) and emotional intelligence. Subtle and strong, these practices inter-connect understanding with prioritized objectives and work.
HOW WE CAN HELP
Our services can be engaged individually or wholistically. We take time to get know you, your team, your market and your work. Wherever you choose to work with us, everything does interconnect. That’s the way life is.
Wellbeing@Work
Ideally each of us chooses the way we live and work based upon who we are. Yet, we can get buffeted by the expectations of others and sometimes our own ingrained, unhelpful ways. The person you are, based on your self-defined values, is the soul who shows up at all times, most importantly for your own wellbeing, your loved ones wellbeing, others wellbeing and good work. Changing for the better, we offer seminars, workshops, guidance and resources to keep you growing and flowing with:
Meditation: Breathing, noticing your thoughts and returning to your breath. is the essence of meditation. We provide the practice as secular. If you are a person of faith your spiritual choice can be integrated and is respected. It’s a lifetime practice that helps you relax, chill and find clarity.
Mindfulness: “Meditation” sometimes triggers people so some prefer the term “mindfulness” for meditation. We offer exercises in mindfulness to help you pay attention to the moment. Listening and using your senses are key.
Emotional Intelligence: Starting with Self-Awareness, moving to Self-Management, Empathy (understanding yourself and others) and putting it to work in work and life is the essence of it. An example is how to navigate a difficult conversation.
Neuroscience: Understanding the science of how the brain works and grows is helpful. “Neuroplasticity”, the empirical fact that your brain grows with meditation and other activity, translates primarily into not letting your Amygdala take over in moments of stress. Your primal (lizard) brain where fight, flight and freeze are triggered can be tamed! We share the linking science that guides how your cognitive process can grow!
Nutrition: You are what you eat. We appreciate the fundamental joy of enjoying food and drink. We do not lecture about one of the greatest joys in life! We simply provide reminders of the food and eating habits that nourish. We also provide information about the food that creates inflammation and illness. Moderation!
Movement: We need to be at home in our bodies, not some marketing-based guilt trip about how we look! Fitness comes in all forms. A strong, flexible, relaxed, pain-free body is worth working for. We offer a few exercises you can do at work that help. No stereotypes on what your body looks like, rather, how you feel!
Strategic/Business Planning & Performance
Exploring, thinking, including everybody, is an engaging and exhilarating process. We start with the CEO and attempt to engage the best thinking of everyone. The result is a forward-thinking strategic plan based upon the past, seeing the moment and forecasting the best possible future for the business and the people within it. The business plan is a road map for the year to come. It translates into a simple communications/ prioritization process. A lean matrix including top objectives, leader/resources, timeline, budget, status, results and adjustment keeps it all lined up.
Coaching
Having had the benefit of many mentors, life experiences and resources, we all recognize that helping others starts with listening and grows with time as trust becomes the point of connection. We take all our personal interaction seriously. We are not “executive coaches” or “management consultants”. We are here for you and your teammates as you are. We do our best to listen, reflect and guide you so you may thrive in harmony with your values while enjoying your good work.
Helping people grow professionally and personally while being true to their values, is the mission of Cooperative Strategies. Cooperative Strategies was founded in 1991 by John Parsons in a farm house in rural Connecticut. Living in that hillside home along with her Mom and little brother, was a 7-year daughter named Jessica. She now partners with her dad. Click here for their bios.
WORKING TOGETHER
STRATEGY & PERFORMANCE
“Financial Wellbeing: Interconnecting Startegy, Performance and Mindfulness.”
WELLBEING@WORK
Cooperative Strategies can help you, your team, and your credit union grow.
THE MINDFUL JOURNEY
A talk on mindfulness from the “Big Bright Minds” conference at Harvard.
TESTIMONIALS
I am pleased to offer my highest commendation for the “Wellbeing@Work” workshop led by John Parsons and Jessica Parsons for our leadership team. Their expertise in mindfulness and his ability to tailor the content to the specific needs of our executives made this workshop an invaluable and substantive experience.
From the outset, they captivated our leadership team with their insightful approach to mindfulness in the workplace. Their deep understanding of the challenges faced by leaders in our industry allowed him to deliver content that was not only relevant but immediately applicable to the demands of our roles.
One of the most notable aspects of “Wellbeing@Work” is the emphasis on the intersection of mindfulness and effective leadership. Through thought-provoking discussions and practical exercises, John and Jessica guided our leadership team in exploring how mindfulness can enhance decision-making, foster collaboration, and cultivate a positive organizational culture.
John and Jessica’s engaging presentation style and interactive sessions created a collaborative and open learning environment. Their ability to connect with our executives on a personal level fostered a sense of trust and openness among the team. The mindfulness techniques introduced by John have since become integral to our leaders’ daily routines, resulting in increased focus, resilience, and overall well-being.
In summary, I wholeheartedly recommend John and Jessica Parsons and their “Wellbeing@Work” workshop for any organization looking to empower its leadership team with tools for success in today’s dynamic business landscape. Their expertise, combined with their personable approach, makes this workshop an investment in the growth and effectiveness of any leadership group.
Wade Painter
President/CEO
Monterra Credit Union
Jeff Goff and John.
I have had the pleasure of working with John for almost 10 years. During that time, he has guided our credit union’s strategic planning process and staff professional development efforts. He has lent his expertise in guiding our board on governance issues and his ear to me, as the CEO, on management matters. Given the size of our team, it has been wonderful knowing that I have access to someone as knowledgeable and committed as John. He is trusted and respected by everyone in our organization and has been an invaluable partner over the years.
Jeff Goff
President/CEO
WSSC Federal Credit Union
Vicki Johnston and Board Chair Charles Yancey.
John has guided our management team by helping us to understand ourselves better. This has resulted in our team successfully running our credit union for the past 5 years during very challenging times. He has had a tremendous impact on our team dynamics and our ability to be successful. He has been a mentor to both me and my team and I look forward to continuing our work.
Vicki Johnston
President/CEO
NYMEO Credit Union
Julie Marquis, Jessica and Teddy.
We at Five County Credit Union have had the pleasure of working with John and Jessica Parsons over the past two years on various initiatives, including strategic planning, employee wellness, and general counseling. His expertise and dedication have been instrumental in our success.
John and team have a unique ability to understand our needs and tailor their approach to fit our specific goals. Their strategic planning sessions have provided us with clear, actionable steps that have significantly improved our operational efficiency and long-term vision.
In addition to their strategic insights, John and Jessica have been a tremendous asset in promoting employee wellness. Their workshop “Wellbeing@Work” have not only enhanced the well-being of our staff but also fostered a more positive and productive work environment.
Furthermore, their general counseling services have been invaluable. John Parsons offers compassionate and practical advice, helping our team navigate challenges with confidence and resilience.
We highly recommend John and Jessica Parsons to any organization seeking a partner who is knowledgeable, supportive, and genuinely invested in their clients’ success.
Julie Marquis
President/CEO
Five County Credit Union
COOPERATIVE STRATEGIES
John Parsons
Founder / Senior Partner
- Army Brat, son of Maine, born in Japan, raised in France and all over US.
- Class President BA, Bowdoin College
- MS Communications, Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Certified Teacher, Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, founded at Google
- Board Member and Supervisory Committee Chair, Maine Harvest Federal Credit Union
- Vice President, Technology Federal Credit Union (Silicon Valley and SoCal)
- Chief Operating Officer, Connecticut Credit Union League
- Executive Vice President, Mission Federal Credit Union (San Diego)
- Chief Executive Officer, First City Federal Credit Union (Los Angeles)
- Trusted advisor to over a hundred credit unions throughout the country.
Jessica Parsons
Partner {Also shown: Teddy the dog, trusted advisor)
- Born in San Francisco, raised there, in Connecticut, Maine and Encinitas, California
- BA (Political Science), University of Colorado
- Vice President, Operations and Client Services, Mladineo Ventures, Chicago, Illinois (current)
- Partner, Cooperative Strategies/Wellbeing@Work, Oakland, Maine (current)
- Pilates Teacher, Chicago and on-line (current)
- Intern Coordination and Research, Senator Diane Feinstein, San Diego, California
- Assistant Account Manager, Martha Stewart Living/Omni Media, Chicago, Illinois
- Certifications: Pilates, Yoga, Meditation, Reiki, Nutrition (May, ’25)