We are Laura Crandall and Toufic Hakim, founding partners of Willo3. We met in 2011 at the Center for Self-Leadership annual conference. While expressing a desire for greater curiosity, compassion, and playfulness in organizations, we discovered other, seemingly unrelated, shared interests – like physics and optometry. Early conversations about the duality of light and limitations of linearity, combined with our love of systems theory and fascination with complexity, morphed into a vision for Willo3.
Toufic Hakim
Toufic’s thinking has been shaped by the science of dynamic systems and simulations of reality, models of matter and interactions, and fluidity of knowledge. His passion for understanding organizational culture grew within the space of higher education, where he experienced up close the complex challenges and opportunities of executive leadership. Toufic’s values were formed by a coast and mountains, an ocean and a sea away, where he learned about family, community, and joie de vivre. A civil war ignited his obsession with peacemaking and vivre with the other, and a new home taught him over three decades about vivre for high ideals and big dreams.
Toufic, who is multilingual and holds a doctorate in physics, served as university professor of physics and engineering, university senior research officer, and executive officer of a large professional society. He has been a key leader in innovative ventures, public, private and non-profit, and finds deep fulfillment through the promising work of Willo3. Toufic is a big fan of Gibran and Dr. Seuss, and his fascinations are fueled with words and images.
Laura Crandall
Laura’s favorite bumper sticker asks, “What if the hokey-pokey IS what it’s all about?” It’s a perfect example of how an unexpected perspective on a familiar situation can facilitate a richer experience of situations we take for granted. This sticky question combines cultural context, physical action, and existential curiosity with joyful hilarity.
Using any of these four elements is the starting point for Laura’s approach to organizational success, which centers on communicating well with other people. Combine them to see an organization thrive – and have a good time in the process.
Laura is a workplace communication expert and management strategist who helps organizations and their leadership teams use all of their data – even the emotional and interpersonal stuff – to create better experiences at work. She has worked for over 25 years in industries that include manufacturing, hospitality, philanthropy, and academia; fifteen of them were spent managing work teams. Laura earned her EdM from Harvard where she studied cognitive neuroscience and organizational behavior.