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Your questions are welcome, they allow us to continually clarify our services and how we partner with our clients. Dialogue sparks creative innovation that stimulates greater value for both of us. Here are a few of our most commonly asked questions with answers:
Business & Leadership
What kinds of things can you help me with?
How to lead, develop purpose, values and vision; as well as implement plans, practices and systems that keep your people fully engaged. Often we are brought into a business for fundamental reasons like:
- Challenges with your people are interfering with productivity and your peace of mind
- It’s time to take a skilled group within the organization to a higher level of performance
- Leadership needs a new perspective and skill set to make the changes needed to transition the organization into it’s next phase of development
Statements or key words you may hear yourself or others say that merit a conversation with us include; better teamwork, overwhelm, burn out, we can’t keep up with growth, they aren’t willing to listen, it feels like we keep going round and round over the same ground, they have their own agenda, s(he) is so great except…
Because every business is unique, interviewing you about your specific circumstances is encouraged and if it’s not the right fit I may have resources or other consultants to suggest.
Have you ever worked with my type of business before?
My primary value is bringing people together to pursue and achieve inspiring visions and achieve higher levels of success. We must work through challenges, clarify objectives and get things done. My work and success do not rely upon industry specific knowledge so I work with clients in many different types of industries.
As a matter of course I always learn your industry-specific and company-specific language for the sake of weaving my contributions into your existing flow of business conversation. You know your business better than I ever will and I promise my clients two things:
- I will learn your company language well enough to help you progress faster with my help
- I will bring my experience, perspective and energy into our collaborative efforts in a way that allows for progress that wouldn’t be possible otherwise
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How do you charge and/or how do I financially plan for your services?
Here are 3 examples of how we can work together to create a win/win experience around the financial aspect of our relationship:
- We can define a specific scope of work and I will provide you with a range of fees (not less than to not more than) for that scope of work. The deliverables can be either tangible or intangible as long as we have them clearly defined.
- We can establish a set of goals we are working towards together and agree upon a monthly fee for a specific number of months. I will clarify the number of hours I will invest for that fee and we will ensure you are satisfied with our progress at the end of each month or quarter.
- A third choice is to call upon me as needed and pay me by the hour for my services. While this hourly rate is higher than the rate used in the first two approaches, it is an especially good option once the bulk of our work has been completed and you want to keep me “on call” for regular maintenance and the challenges that arise from time to time.
Your investment in our relationship will always be your choice to make. My job is to add sufficient value and offer next steps, as long as we both see our relationship as a good fit. I only engage when I believe we have a strong likelihood of a win/win outcome, and that requires adding real value to the organization and enriching the lives of those we work with.
Do you work with my whole company or my core team or individuals?
Yes, yes, and yes!
It all depends on what you want to accomplish, what it will take to accomplish it, and how much you can invest in making that happen.
I customize my approach with you so that your results are optimized with the best use of my time and expertise as well as yours. Ideally, the work is in partnership with the owner or CEO for several reasons. One reason being that you lead by example, intentionally or otherwise; and the best use of your investment with us is that we are clearly aligned with leadership every step of the way.
Your ability and willingness to embrace new ideas and leadership skills will multiply the positive impact of all of the other work we both do with whoever else is involved in the pursuit of your desired changes.
Additionally, part of my work is to assist you identify the people in your organization that have the potential and desire to step into higher levels of responsibility or make larger contributions.
I prefer to ask you to invest mostly in your best people, as opposed to spend an excessive amount of money on people who are not fully engaged or able to perform at the level of excellence you need.
This approach results in compassionately coaching everyone “up or out” so that your commitment to excellence is reflected back to you by everyone in the company.
How are you different from other consultants who do, or want to do, what you offer?
Everyone has their own set of unique strengths, of course. I have been a lifelong learner in the arenas of leadership, empowerment, communication, human and organizational development, as well as heart and soul based healing. I often say “I was born and bred into a business oriented family” because my father was one of my greatest mentors; he taught me both what to do and what not to do to find success and fulfillment.
So it’s in my blood….and I get very passionate in helping others rise to the level of success and quality of life they long for and move past their self-imposed limitations.
Seeing people free themselves from the “grind of running a business” is my ultimate reward and what drives me. If we are a great match I will make our mutual success my highest priority. Only when you win, do I win.
