"Excellent opportunity to work with board members and think about the “big” picture."
Board Member of NFP Group which works with the elderly.

"Enjoyed the openness of the discussion."
Vice President, small manufacturer

"Knowledgeable facilitator—you know our areas of concern."
CFO, software development firm owned by an Israeli group

"After four coaching sessions, my attitude changed. I quit wanting to switch jobs and focused my energy on doing my job better. As a result of being more assertive with my boss, I received my promised $5000 raise and am scheduled to receive another bump in two months. My boss has started to spend more time with me to hear how the system can be improved."
Systems Analyst

“By having a written plan with doable action items, we obtained focus for the first time in decades. We now know what opportunities to say YES to and when to say NO. More importantly, we found agreement with the owner on this direction."

ROI

Written plan with goals; salesmen who know what to focus on. Permission for growth was no longer solely in the hands of the owner. Power was shifted to the President with frequent reporting to the owner. All of this adds up to improved results.

Company Profile

This Company, started in 1947, provides key parts to the aerospace industry. The Company had $1M cash in the bank with annual revenues of $4.5M. Nearly 50 employees many of whom had worked for the founder who had since passed away. The current President was the son of the founder. The actual ownership was in the hands of the President’s late wife.

Challenge
The lack of freedom in the hands of the President was handcuffing the Company in its pursuit of new markets. In addition, new markets were not selected but were simply a default to those who called.

Solution
Blue Gill recommended the Company develop a strategic plan. It was also suggested that Blue Gill facilitate a discussion between the President and his mother, the current owner, to establish a comfortable level of freedom in decision making and what reporting would satisfy the owner. The plan was developed and new markets were identified through analysis of market conditions, capability by equipment and know how among the operations team, ease of entry, margins, salesman’s ability to penetrate, etc.

Result
The plan was developed with a full set of action plans. The Company began to pursue new markets resulting in renewed profitability.

“Finally, we have a plan. This business has been around since the early 1950’s and growing to over 100 employees and managing it without a plan was getting more difficult. We are technical people. We know nothing about planning. Our win is getting the sale. We made money for years. It was only when new competitors came to town, that our margins began to shrink. Our reputation was being challenged. Our quality was slipping. We were a mess. Antonette knew how to talk with us. She knew how to get to the bottom of our problem and then begin to rebuild our company.”

ROI

Not only was a plan completed, communications throughout the company was improved. It was not easy. The plan called for one goal: To improve revenue by a specific percentage. Two objectives were identified and around those the company was rebuilt. we rebuilt.

Company Profile

Having just over 100 employees, this service Company serves the construction industry throughout Ohio. This Company was successful for decades. The Company was actually operating in a world of the past and were not fully aware of the coming tidal wave which potentially could put it out of business. New competitors had entered the market and the customers were smarter and demanding more. Not keeping up with the latest technology eroded the competitive differential and the services were becoming a commodity. Margins began to drop. In addition, company know how was not being passed on to the next generation.

Challenge
The Company was made up of several owners and was experiencing infighting and an erosion of trust. The behavior in the business had become passive aggressive in that on the surface things seemed okay but in private, strong aggressive attacks were taking place. With no agreement on direction, the business was on the brink of a downward spiral.

Solution
Blue Gill recommended the Company develop a strategic plan. The plan called for a focused effort to identify common processes, and share information. The management had to walk the talk. The plan identified the entire history of the origination of the problem and how the company got itself into such a fix. But more importantly, it showed a way out. It was difficult. There was not a common understanding of quality. There was a strong feeling, prevalent in many companies, that it simply takes what it takes. Also, there was no limit on the “creeping elegance” which often moves into the design area of companies. Some employees are not aware of the harm this “creeping elegance” has with costs and erosion of profitability.
By the way, on this one I received a gift basket from the boss as he read the plan and saw the value and depth to the plan.

Result
The plan was developed with a full set of action plans. The Company began to pursue new markets resulting in renewed profitability. Managers had to make a commitment to improve their own behavior. This was difficult to fix. Improvements were made by bringing these issues out on the table. The company eventually moved through the planning process and began to focus on growth. It was much later when the actual understanding of the high cost of poor quality sunk in to others.

“It started with assessments of my skills and my behavioral style. Then my resume was redone to match my target job. My resume was too generic. It had very little of ME in it. Blue Gill provided a professionally done resume and appropriate cover letters. We then began to develop a personalized database with my targeted company lists. Blue Gill then helped me write my resume clip for Blue Gill’s Job Seeker Plus newsletter. That newsletter is reverse job hunting. With interview preparation, I started to enjoy the process of my job search and soon landed a job with a bright future.”

ROI

New Job searching skills were improved. The process was more focused and the information gained helped create a win-win match.

Profile

Thirty something college graduate had no real focus. The candidate did not like the career they had prepared for in college. The candidate had held a number of jobs and yet felt their dream job eluded them. Basic competency skills and employment compatibility were not clear.

Challenge
Trying to find a career fit where the natural behavioral style of a candidate and ideal work environment obtained from DISC behavioral assessments and other skill assessments. Job searching skills were limited and needed polish.