ITB Partners – Management Consultants
Our Business is Your Success
Join Us for the April Atlanta BENG Chapter Meeting
featuring Erica McCurdy, MCC, Member of Forbes Coaches Council is the Managing Member of McCurdy Solutions Group, LLC.
Tue, April 9, 2019
7:30 AM – 9:30 AM EDT
Erica will be presenting:
Not every problem has a solution
Last week I talked about building a foundation for success. This week I was walking the walk, immersed in the concept of building healthy cultures. I have long been interested in developing nurturing cultures, so once again I was in my sweet spot. The fun began late Monday afternoon, meeting a founding partner to talk shop and other things over cigars and Guinness Draft. One of our primary topics was the values we need to reinforce to build a better culture and company. He is a big proponent of the 5C model, but I will save that for a later date.
Tuesday morning, I facilitated the monthly meeting of the Business Executives Networking Group, The BENG. Gregg Burkhalter was the featured speaker. Greg positions himself as the LinkedIn Guy. He’s an advocate for personal branding via LinkedIn. Before the meeting, Greg told me that he’s been doing more work for corporations, helping their employees become effective LinkedIn users. I found his revelation shocking. I remember when people were reluctant to join LinkedIn. They feared their employer would see their profile and think they were looking for another job.
Greg said that employers realize that their employees are their best ambassadors. Now, they encourage their employees to become active on LinkedIn. Apparently, this has become an upgrade to many cultures. The cynic in me would say “it’s about time.” With so many people using LinkedIn, employers don’t have much choice. It makes sense to embrace LinkedIn, gaining leverage through their employees’ accounts. At least it seems to be a positive step in the right direction
Wednesday evening, I enjoyed a cigar and a beer, or two, with a millennial friend, Chris. Chris and I met through a mutual friend. He was about to publish his book on millennial happiness and I had just published mine. He’s since built a consulting career as an expert on the millennial condition. Our meeting was meant as check-in and catch-up. Chris said that he’d recently completed a presentation to Google and delivered a Ted talk. Currently, he’s moving beyond Millennials to the larger population of career professionals. Eventually, we moved on to discuss the similarities and differences between Millennials and Baby Boomers from a cultural perspective. Chris, like me, is involved in helping companies create more effective cultures.
Thursday morning, after closing a deal to recruit another consultant, I moderated our Executive Leadership Team meeting. Although I facilitate these meetings, I try to avoid dominating the discussions. I want to ensure that everyone’s voice heard and respected. From a leadership perspective, I like Nelson Mandela’s example, be the last one to speak. I believe these values are appropriate for our culture.
Later that afternoon I met a potential client whose company is going through Chapter 11 reorganization. I was referred to them to help engineer a turnaround. The meeting was mostly a “getting to know you” session. It seemed to be dragging on until I asked their opinion about what needed to be done. The meeting became much more productive after that. The CEO became animated about the need to penetrate a different segment of the market. She told me that their primary business development function was her networking through trade associations. They weren’t doing much of anything in the way of electronic
Friday, I facilitated our monthly member’s meeting. The speaker was Josh Sweeney of Epic Culture. Epic Culture works with companies to build better cultures and thereby, improve performance. The topic of his conversation was “Culture First Hiring.” In other words, focus on
It isn’t often that I’m able to spend an entire week working on my favorite issue. Building a healthy culture is most gratifying. Yes, it was a good week!
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ITB PARTNERS
Join us for the March Atlanta BENG Chapter Meeting featuring Gregg Burkhalter who will present: “LinkedIn & Personal Branding (2019) – What You Need To Know”
Greg Burkhalter is a recognized authority on Personal Branding and LinkedIn. He has helped countless professionals in the U.S. and abroad define and grow their Personal Brand using LinkedIn. Gregg spent the first part of his professional career behind the microphone at radio stations in Savannah, Jacksonville, Charleston, and Atlanta. Following his radio years, Gregg worked in national music marketing and distribution.
Today, Gregg is known by many as “The LinkedIn Guy.” He provides Personal Branding Coaching and LinkedIn training via one-on-one and group training sessions, corporate presentations, and webinars. He is a frequent speaker at civic and chamber events and area universities.
Tue, February 12, 2019
7:30 AM – 9:30 AM EST
Bella’s Kitchen
6600 Peachtree Dunwoody
350 Embassy Row
Atlanta, GA 30328
Monthly meetings are structured to help each member get the maximum benefit.
BENG Networking Meetings:
Networking meetings provide members with an opportunity to sharpen their networking skills, meet peers from various disciplines and share business opportunities and job leads.
To register or for more information:
R.S.V.P required. For more information about The BENG, go to www.thebeng.org.
Last week I ended my post recommending that you seek professional help to achieve your career goals, especially if your efforts haven’t been successful. This week I am pleased to provide you with more information in this connection. What follows is my interview with my colleague Richard Kirby a Career Coach. Richard has been helping people achieve their career goals for 20 years, so he is the ideal person to provide insight into the subject.
Jim: Richard, thank you for making time to talk with me. To get started, tell me what a career coach does. Why does someone come to you for help?
Richard: Jim, I help my clients evaluate their strengths and weaknesses and develop a plan to address those weaknesses. A large part of my work is to help them find a role that makes them happy. This may be with their current employer or with a new employer if they are between jobs.
Jim: That is terrific Richard! Can you tell me more about the process you follow to help your clients?
Richard: My process begins by having the client complete a self a valuation. I use a number of online assessments to identify needs for improvement. This helps me focus the client on their objectives. I also help them craft a marketing plan to land their desired role. It could be a role different from their current career path but one that will use the same skill set that is equally fulfilling. So, I help them identify and uncover career opportunities and to go after them.
Jim: After you’ve worked on needs and have developed a marketing plan, what’s next?
Richard: The next phase is to help them prepare for the interview. I began with a five page ‘how to prepare’ worksheet which gets the candidate thinking about answering questions they should expect. I also help the candidate respond to difficult questions which may relate to changing industry segments or gaps in their profile compared to the employer’s expectations for ideal candidate. We’ll conduct mock interviews, which I video, to be reviewed and studied by the candidate. I make notes and comments about their body language, verbal style, and the quality of their answers. Later, we have a follow-up discussion to reinforce the positives and identify work to be done. I am very hands-on with my clients.
Jim: Richard, how important is it to understand the employer’s culture? How do you coach a client in this area?
Richard: I have tools to help the client understand the target’s culture. I suggest they use Glass Door and talk with people who work for or have worked for the company.
Some aspects of the culture will inhibit the candidate from getting the first interview, like educational background or prior employment. There is nothing to do to fix those gaps, at least in the short run. It is different than one looking to improve their situation with their current employer as they are already part of the culture. They know it, live it, and understand it.
In one case a client was able to create his ideal job by finding a need that wasn’t being addressed. I coached him to present the need to the department head and then sell himself as the solution.
I consider myself to be the client’s champion. I am their chief motivator and inspiration. “I believe my clients have more potential and can achieve more than they think they can.” I push them to believe in themselves and to face their fears. A good coach must believe in their clients. I have turned down or canceled contracts with one or two who did not have enough self-confidence or failed to follow through on their assignments.
Jim: What else do you do for your clients, Richard?
Richard: For an additional fee, when appropriate, I help them negotiate an offer to arrive at the best possible outcome.
Jim: Richard, thank you for your time today! I am a big fan of your work, especially for people who find it difficult to achieve their career goals. I will provide links to aid anyone interested in more information about your services.
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ITB PARTNERS
Wednesday, February 13,
The panelists talked about the need to follow your passion when picking a business. They reinforced the need for confidence to strike out on your own. Perseverance through difficult times was recognized as a fundamental requirement. All agreed that the major reason for starting a business is to gain control over one’s life and career, especially in a highly volatile environment where tenures are short.
I find it useful to look back on a recently completed day, week, month, or year to evaluate my activities relative to my results. It is a component of the problem-solving process which leads to adjustments ensuring that I reach my goal. Without that evaluation, I will find myself off course with diminishing opportunity to reach my goal.
After evaluating the week just passed, I found that my time was divided into two major areas. About a third was talking with folks looking for another full-time situation while the balance was helping independent consultants with their business development efforts. In each case, my time was devoted to coaching these folks about the importance of networking. Of the job seekers, one is the Millennial son of a friend. He just lost his job due to a change in strategy which caused a reduction in force. I encouraged him to focus more time on networking and to consider joining the Atlanta Chapter of The Business Executives Networking Group (BENG). The second is an older guy referred to me by a mutual friend. He is in the market after thirty years with the same company. Regrettably, his network is mostly within his past employer. I advised him to get his resume to as many Executive Recruiters as possible but don’t try to build a relationship with them. It is too late for that, however, if they have a search that matches his background, they will contact him. Instead, I told him to focus his time on networking and to be open to contract work. This will give employers more options to consider. The third is a female colleague looking for an office manager/accounting role with a small company. She is a Baby Boomer who understands the value of networking to find a job. I told her the same thing I told the second gentleman; provide the employer with additional options to consider by indicating a willingness to take contract work or a 1099 situation.
Those discussions gave me an opportunity to refer back to my last blog post where I made the point that networking is like making friends and dating. Most understood the idea of making friends, but the concept of dating generated interesting responses. The guys just grinned and nodded their heads. Obviously, they don’t understand women and didn’t want to pursue the topic further. The ladies, all single, had a lot to say usually beginning with a groan. They all agreed that there are far too many men who spend their time talking about themselves (selling) with little interest in learning about their female partner. One volunteered that her policy is “one and done” for those types. Another said that dating was a “nightmare,” as she meets far too many self-obsessed guys. I suggested to one that we should create a skit to demonstrate the wrong way to begin a date, with a follow-on showing the right way. Of course, this would be a useful opener for further discussion about networking in general.
I realize that making friends or networking doesn’t come naturally for some, especially those who may be somewhat introverted. However, if you want to find that next job or romantic interest you must make the effort to overcome your fears. Fundamentally, all these endeavors are based on interpersonal skills that are easy to understand and execute. The rule is to learn about your partner by asking questions to qualify them. It’s not about you, it’s about them. Don’t begin talking about yourself or your business until you are asked to do so. By following this advice, you accomplish two very important objectives: first, you determine if the other is a viable prospect and secondly, by showing interest in the other, you begin building a relationship. That relationship will make the difference if your questions reveal the other to be a viable prospect. I suspect that people who have difficulty making friends or networking are uncomfortable because they have the process reversed.
If you want to minimize your time in the job market or find a mate, get into the game. You must get out of your comfort zone to get experience. Experience builds confidence. Confidence leads to success. Joining a networking group like BENG would be a good place to start.
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Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.
ITB PARTNERS
This past week was a good one. Well, suffering through the remnants of the prior week’s Cold wasn’t fun, nevertheless, it was a busy week with many accomplishments. My time was devoted to coaching and mentoring my clients, recruiting new consultants, and a lot of networking. It was a good mix of productive activity that makes my work interesting and enjoyable.
My recruiting discussions included people interested in opening new offices for ITB Partners across the country and signing new members for our Atlanta team. One of those discussions was with a trusted colleague I have known for many years. It was a good opportunity to compare notes on the business environment and to catch up on each other’s progress. I even made an indirect pitch to sell her on the idea of joining our network. I am confident that my discussions will lead to follow-on contacts, creating more business opportunities.
I also learned how to create a survey in constant contact, and how to conduct a ZOOM video conference. I have a keen interest in learning, especially about leadership and the use of technology to improve my productivity. The value of ZOOM is to make our routine meetings more productive, eliminating drive-time for face-to-face meetings. The Constant Contact Survey Function will support the work to complete our 2019 Strategic Review. As we are using Constant Contact for our email marketing outreach it seemed to be unnecessary to pay for another service like Survey Monkey.
The highlight of my week was a luncheon meeting with a friend and one of my colleagues. The purpose of the meeting was to introduce my colleague to my friend, whose company could benefit from his expertise. After making the introductions, throughout most of the luncheon, I listened to their conversation, taking notes for follow-up introductions and networking. During that discussion we learned that her company’s updated business strategy is focused on acquiring an operating company. This gave my colleague an opportunity to talk about his strength in helping companies navigate significant changes, such as a change in ownership.
As she described their acquisition criteria, I made notes listing people she should meet. Naturally, I thought of people who could be helpful; two investment bankers, and a colleague who just helped her client with an acquisition. In this case, my colleague ran the due-diligence process for the acquiring company as a consultant. When the transaction was completed, she become their CFO. Having had recent M&A experience, especially with a CFO’s perspective, I know she can be very helpful to my friend and her company. Later that afternoon, I made those connections for my friend via LinkedIn. As I write this post, they are in the process of scheduling introductory phone calls.
I even thought of another client, who is prepping their business for sale, that may fit their criteria. This client is owned by a Private Equity Group (PEG) that is interested in realizing the increased equity they have created during their holding period. I mentioned that company in general terms, telling her that I will get back to her with more information. That led to a phone call with the target company’s CFO who promised to connect me with their advisory firm. We also talked about scheduling a dinner meeting to discuss future opportunities.
Overall, last week was a very productive week indeed, especially from a networking perspective. My orientation is that effective networking meetings begin with an objective and a good strategy. One must have a win-win mindset with a primary focus on helping the other party in the discussion. Good net-workers understand that reciprocity is the unspoken rule. By helping my friend find a viable acquisition target, I am confident that my colleagues and I will benefit from contracts with her company. Knowing her as I do, I am equally confident that she will provide us with outstanding references leading to additional business. I would call that a win-win proposition.
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Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.
ITB PARTNERS
In a period of roughly 14 months, Jerry Heilpern of ITB Partners successfully decreased Food Cost from 110% of sales to 20% of sales, labor cost from 95% of sales down to 19% of sales, and reduced packaging cost from 65% of sales down to 12% of sales.
Under Heilpern’s guidance, the Saige kitchen was converted from a typical casual dining restaurant kitchen, in which many products are brought in pre-made through the back door, to a kitchen in which every meal is fully made from scratch, even down to the sauces.
Heilpern brought further efficiency to the production process by purchasing and instituting Chef Tech as Saige’s cost of sales management program, which allows Saige to track actual food cost against theoretical food cost and results in more efficient ordering and a significant decrease in food waste. Chef Tech additionally allows Saige to track and flag any allergens within dishes and recipes.
In this time, Saige also instituted standardized recipes for every production cycle and every product and has created a photo catalog of every single menu item to assure consistency in plating and portioning. Since May 2018, with the promotion of a new Head R&D Chef, Chef Joshua Heilpern, over 175 new menu items have been added to Saige’s catalog. The net effect of all of these changes has resulted in a vast improvement of food quality, variety, and flavor.
Finally, since July 2018, the company has been experiencing a sales increase of 10% week over week. Saige looks ahead to the 2019 year with excitement and confidence under the leadership of Jerry Heilpern, as they continue their individual meal delivery, launch their new catering service, and continue to expand their product catalog.”
About Saige:
“Every Sunday, Saige Chefs delivers fresh, healthy, chef-prepared meals straight to the doors of customers across the Greater Atlanta Area, offering dishes catering to a variety of diet types, including vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, and gluten-free. Meals arrive fresh, ready to be stored in the refrigerator and reheated in the oven or microwave whenever convenient! Quality meals with impeccable flavor start at $11.99/meal for adults and $6.99/kids.
Saige Chefs has additionally recently launched corporate and private catering services, and will soon be introducing fully prepared and delivered meals for four at just $9.99/serving. Learn more at saigechefs.com or contact help@heysaige.com with inquiries.
For more information about ITB Partners and how we can help you, contact -Jim Weber at (770) 649-7051 or Jim.Weber@itbpartners.com