Profitable Growth Partners Featured in ACG Newsletter

This month Profitable Growth Partners' Managing Partner, Randy Bancino, was interviewed by the Association for Corporate Growth, and the interview was featured in the monthly newsletter. Below is the text from that interview:

Randy Bancino is a Managing Partner of Profitable Growth Partners, LLC (“PGP”), a Grand Rapids-based management consulting firm working directly with the leadership of small-to-medium-sized businesses to harness the potential to accelerate growth and enhance profitability.

Randy has over 25 years of business experience, including executive positions with global companies, numerous consulting engagements, and teaching positions at the university level. His degrees include a M.B.A from Western Michigan University and extensive executive training from the University of Michigan.

Recently, ACG asked Randy to take a few minutes and tell us a little about his experiences, both with ACG and PGP.

When and why did you join ACG? We joined ACG shortly after starting our firm, Profitable Growth Partners, LLC, in 2006. We joined the organization after hearing a great deal of positive feedback from current members about ACG's ability to bring together key business leaders for the purpose of sharing best practices.

How has your membership in ACG benefited you and your organization? We have learned a great deal from organizations that have presented at the monthly breakfast meetings, and also have been able to connect and re-connect with other business leaders in the community. Since my partner and I come from corporate jobs for which we traveled extensively internationally, we previously have not been able to fully integrate into the local business community. ACG has given us the opportunity to connect, re-connect, and learn from the great business talent that exists here in West Michigan.

Tell us about PGP – how did PGP begin, where has it been and where is it going? My partner, Claire Zevalkink, and I formed Profitable Growth Partners early in 2006. We formed the mission of the firm around two of our great passions: (1) strategy development, and (2) people development. Leveraging our global corporate experience, we have been able to work with companies in West Michigan to drive sustainable competitive advantage through an exclusive strategy development process, and help organizations deliver on their strategy through a no-nonsense approach to skills development. Two of our people development programs, “Boot Camp for Managers” and “Soft Skills for Hard Core Technical Professional,” have been especially well received.

Describe the PGP strategic planning process. PGP’s Accelerated Growth Process helps an organization focus on the three core disciplines which every company must master to grow the top line and the bottom line: (1) Getting and keeping good customers, (2) Efficiently delivering goods and services, and (3) Effectively developing high performance people. The planning process is done in two phases. In the first phase, we work with an organization to assess its current state including environmental pressures, customer demands and satisfaction, current strategy, core processes, alignment of internal structures, systems, culture, and core competencies and skills. In the second phase, we take the leadership team through a series of working sessions that ultimately results in a strong, well thought out and prioritized growth plan for the future. Finally, we work with the organization to establish milestones and measure its Progress toward the goal.

Other than its business consulting services, how has PGP been active in the West Michigan Community? In addition to our support of organizations such as ACG, The West Michigan Chamber of Commerce, and the Economic Club of Grand Rapids, we serve on various boards at Western Michigan University. We do ongoing strategy work for the Grand Rapids Opportunity for Women (GROW) organization, teach summer school programs for the Chamber of Commerce, and have mentoring relationships with up-and-coming business people in the community.

In all of your travels around the globe, what is your favorite place(s) to visit? I have had the opportunity to visit and work in dozens of countries around the world. It is very difficult to pick a favorite, as I can honestly say that I have enjoyed the people, culture, and sights of almost every place I have ever visited. If I have to pick one place, I would have to say that I really enjoyed China, the place I visited most in the last few years. The combination of the rich and long history, incredible sights, friendly people, and the incredible potential make it an exciting place to visit AND do business.