Riding in on The Harley
Growing up, I remember my father introducing me to his friend:
✨The Business Transformation Consultant✨
This is how I recall him explaining how he fixed the "broken companies" who hired him:
Day 1, he’d ride up to their home office on his Harley motorcycle.
(This Harley part was VERY important to him. He said it really helped him hit the right tone with the new team.)
He’d tell the people in charge, "Get Ready for Change!"
He’d smack his 150-page playbook on the front desk of the top executive.
And 2 years later, the business would be entirely transformed.
This guy was amazing - charismatic, a total character, and clearly very smart.
And from what I recall, he lived in a really nice house on the water, so clearly other folks liked him too and bought what he was selling.
The thing is though,
In all this storytelling, I never recall hearing about any specific company he really helped turn around.
Now 25+ years later, working as a CFO & Advisor for growing companies, I've somehow slipped and fell into being something akin to ✨The Business Transformation Consultant✨
But my approach looks very different from my father's friend:
Day 1, I have a heart-to-heart with the founder, who is - without fail - 10X more amazing than they give themselves credit for.
(Letting them know everything I see them doing right is VERY important to me. We can make more progress when founders see how much they've accomplished already.)
We figure out what's going on in this business by doing a short diagnostic study on their company, speaking deeply with the leader, interviewing key team members, and reviewing systems, processes and financials.
I build them a custom roadmap to achieve their unique goals. To encourage focus, it's limited to 3-5 steps this particular company needs to take this quarter to achieve success. Each step comes with a complete execution instruction manual, and we walk through it and answer questions together.
Then it's up to the founder! The roadmap is 100% portable, so
They can execute the plan themselves,
They could hire another team to do it,
We can work through it together a weekly basis,
Or they can just hire my team to get it all done for them.
This approach is more work for me, and it's not as sexy as a Harley
But in an environment where typically only 10% of startups succeed,
It's how I've gotten in over 75% of the companies I've worked with funded or profitable, and growing.
(In February, it'll be 83%.)
Here's the thing:
It seems like in the consulting business, there are a lot of folks who want to ride in on their Harley and tell you how it's done.
With their course, or their 150-step plan, or their magical software.
But I've always found it's best
To truly listen to what amazing founders want to achieve
To identify their unique keys for success
To hand them those keys,
And let them drive.
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