The Business Accelerator Blog

Mannatech Promotes Key Executives, Supports International Expansion

2010-02-27T07:27:00.002-05:00

Check out the latest from Mannatech, especially as it relates to global expansion...

Randy Bancino Interviewed by Direct Selling News

2010-02-02T17:05:00.003-05:00

Randy Bancino, President Global Operations and Expansion for Mannatech was interviewed by Direct Selling News as part of this month's company spotlight.

Profitable Growth Partners Achieves Third Straight Year of Triple Digit Growth

2009-01-10T12:24:00.002-05:00

Profitable Growth Partners, LLC., a Grand Rapids-based strategy consulting and training
organization, announced that for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2008 the firm has achieved it's third straight year of triple digit sales growth. The announcement was made by Managing Partner, Randy Bancino.

Grand Rapids, MI (PRWEB) January 7, 2009 -- Profitable Growth Partners, LLC. a Grand Rapids-based strategy consulting and training organization, announced that for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2008 the firm has achieved it's third straight year of triple digit sales growth.

Profitable Growth Partners is lead by Managing Partners Claire Zevalkink and Randy Bancino. Both Zevalkink and Bancino have over 25 years of high level executive experience leading companies large and small to new levels of growth.

"At Profitable Growth Partners, we serve companies ranging from small start-ups to Fortune 500 organizations," said Randy Bancino, Managing Partner with Profitable Growth Partners. "Our clients continue to demand world class expertise, backed up by real world experience. Through our consulting and people development programs we continue to offer the best to our clients."

Profitable Growth Partners was officially launched by Zevalkink and Bancino in early 2006 and has consistenly grown each quarter since. The firm works with clients across North America and Internationally. Both Bancino and Zevalkink are highly sought after speakers and trainers in the areas of strategic planning, leadership, and business growth.

About Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.Profitable Growth Partners, LLC. works directly with the leadership of small, medium, and large companies to help them harness their potential to accelerate growth and enhance profitability. Through their exclusive Business Acceleration Process and their experiential training programs, the experienced business growth experts with Profitable Growth Partners deliver improvements to a business's strategy, processes, structure, systems, and culture, resulting in measurable improvements in both the top line and bottom line.

Contact Information
Randy Bancino, Managing Partner
Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.
616.942.4769

Claire Zevalkink elected to the Board of Directors of G.R.O.W.

2008-03-19T11:39:00.001-04:00

Claire Zevalkink, Managing Partner with Profitable Growth Partners, LLC., a West Michigan based consulting and training firm has been elected to the Board of Directors for the Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women (GROW) organization. GROW is a non-profit economic development organization which provides women - many of whom may face social, educational, or economic barriers - with opportunities to develop the skills and acquire the knowledge needed to achieve economic independence through self employment. Ms. Zevalkink, who has volunteered her own time and the time of her firm over the past couple of years, was elected to the Board, and will also lead the Marketing Committee.

Focusing on small business, GROW provides the training and on-going counseling needed to start a business, plus several support services needed to sustain or expand a business. Since starting a business often affects all aspects of a woman's life, GROW is also committed to providing group and individual support for both business and individual development.

“I am thrilled to be able to continue to contribute to furthering the mission of
GROW,” said Zevalkink. “I have seen first hand the positive impact in the
lives of women that participation in the GROW programs can have.”

About Grand Rapids Opportunity for Women (G.R.O.W.)G.R.O.W., established in 1989, is a non-profit economic development organization that provides business training, counseling and support services for female-owned start-up businesses. G.R.O.W. services include training (business plan development, financial budgeting and planning, marketing, general management and people skills), networking opportunities, mentoring with local business leaders and free business counseling.

About Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.Profitable Growth Partners, LLC., a business strategy and people development company, works directly with the leadership of companies and organizations to help them harness their potential, improve effectiveness, and accelerate growth. Through their exclusive Business Acceleration Process and their Top Gun for Business People TM series, the experienced business growth experts with Profitable Growth Partners deliver improvements to a business's strategy, processes, structure, systems, and culture, resulting in measurable improvements in both the top line and bottom line.
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Randy Bancino Speaks to the ITMA

2008-03-05T15:23:00.001-05:00

March Monthly Meeting: Best Practices IS/IT Business Plans & Budgets

Quest Speaker: Randy Bancino

Managing Partner

Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

The ITMA March meeting will present speakers who will explore this timely topic. The presentations will be informative, the discussions will be interactive and your time will be well spent. This meeting will review the following areas:

• Alignment with the Business
• Planning Horizons
• Structure of the Actual Plan
• Process/Approach to Building the Plan
• Incorporating IT Trends into the Plan

Plan on attending the next ITMA meeting starting at 8:00am with a continental breakfast and ending with lunch at 12:00 noon.

Kalamazoo MeetingMarch 11, 2008
Meeting Agenda

8:00 - 8:30 Registration & Networking
8:30 - 8:45 Introductions
8:45 - 9:00 Member Profile - Jeff Martignon, BlueGranite
9:00 - 9:10 Sponsor Profile
9:10 - 9:45 Content Expert - Randy Bancino, Profitable Growth Partners
9:45 - 10:00 Break
10:00 - 10:45 Content Expert - Randy Bancino, Profitable Growth Partners
10:45 - 11:15 Breakout Groups
11:15 - 11:45 Open Discussion on Today's Topic
11:45 - 1:00 Optional Lunch and Ad Hoc Topics

Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Time: 8:00am - 12:00pm

Location: BlueGranite

4664 Campus Dr.Kalamazoo, MI 49008

Click here for map

Grand Rapids MeetingMarch 13, 2008
Meeting Agenda

8:00 - 8:30 Registration & Networking
8:30 - 8:45 Introductions
8:45 - 9:00 Member Profile – Jason Decker, Gentex Corporation
9:00 - 9:10 Sponsor Profile - Marty Priller, Crowe Chizek
9:10 - 9:45 Content Expert - Randy Bancino, Profitable Growth Partners
9:45 - 10:00 Break
10:00 - 10:45 Content Expert - Randy Bancino, Profitable Growth Partners
10:45 - 11:15 Breakout Groups
11:15 - 11:45 Open Discussion on Today's Topic
11:45 - 1:00 Optional Lunch and Ad Hoc Topics

Date: Thursday, March 13, 2008

Time: 8:00am - 12:00pm

Location: CPR @ Watermark Tech Center

1595 Galbraith Ave. SEGrand Rapids, MI 49546

Click here for map

If you have questions or are not a current ITMA member, email mailto:mengle@itma.net?subject=ITMA%20-%20RSVP%20or%20Inquiries%20 or call Melissa at 616.575.8500 ext.1220.

GROW Volunteer Spotlight: Claire Zevalkink

2007-10-15T14:37:00.000-04:00

Volunteer Spotlight: Claire Zevalkink
(From the GROW Fall 2007 Newsletter)

While in the process of opening her own consulting firm, Profitable Growth Partners, LLC., Claire Zevalkink began searching for available resources in the Grand Rapids area. One of the resources she discovered was GROW. Claire went to GROW to seek out volunteer opportunities and was delighted to find that she already knew Executive Director Rita VanderVen. As she spoke to Rita about what she might be able to give to the organization, Claire learned that one area where GROW was seeking assistance was in developing a Marketing Strategy. Claire began facilitating meetings with Rita and the board as well as GROW graduates. The result was the presentation of a strategy that has started to take form, a work in progress that the staff has embraced and begun to implement.
Claire has also participated in “Lunch with PUNCH,” a program where newly graduated business owners have lunch with experts in the community who give practical advice and encourage networking.
Claire has a great appreciation for the impact GROW has in the community. She also appreciates the opportunity to offer support for the women who participate in GROW’s programs. “It’s been great working with the Board and GROW staff, a diverse group of women who are passionate about what they do.” “GROW is a wonderful organization,” Claire says, “I support and believe in what GROW is all about.”

Profitable Growth Partners Featured in ACG Newsletter

2007-08-16T10:34:00.000-04:00

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.

Conflict Management

2007-07-10T10:57:00.000-04:00

Do you have regular conflict in your management team? If your answer is “no” you may want to consider what you should be doing to inject more conflict into your decision making process. There is an old saying, “the absence of conflict is not harmony, its apathy.” The key is to keep constructive conflict over issues from degenerating into dysfunctional interpersonal conflict, to encourage team members to argue without destroying their ability to work as a team.

In an excellent article entitled “How Management Team Can Have a Good Fight,” the authors studied 12 companies to see how the highest performing companies managed conflict. What they found, is that the best companies used the same six tactics for managing interpersonal conflict. In those companies, team members:

Worked with more, rather than less, information and debated on the basis of facts
Developed multiple alternatives to enrich the level of debate
Shared commonly agreed-upon goals
Injected humor into the decision process
Maintained a balanced power structure
Resolved issues without forcing consensus

The authors concluded that “in fast paced markets, successful strategic decisions are most likely to be made by teams that promote active and broad conflict over issues without sacrificing speed. The key to doing so is to mitigate interpersonal conflict.”

Soft Skills for CIOs and Aspiring CIOs: Four Ways to Boost Your Emotional Intelligence

2007-06-28T10:24:00.000-04:00

June 25, 2007 — CIO — Emotional intelligence and "soft" skills are musts for today's CIOs and other IT workers. From entry-level coders to those in the C-suite, few people have the luxury of a lone wolf mentality. Research shows it's your soft skills and emotional intelligence (EI) that determines everything from whether you get promoted to how happy you are at work. Luckily, with knowledge, awareness and practice, you can boost your EI.

[Read the full article ...]

Check out the Profitable Growth Partners Tech Soft Skills Blog!

Randy Bancino
Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

Technology Typology Test

2007-06-05T12:08:00.000-04:00

I'm an omnivore.

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, I am in the 8 percent of the population that enthusiastically embraces new technology and maintains nearly constant interconnectivity. I recently took the assessment, and was not at all surprised where I ranked. I think my 2 laptops, blackberry, two iPods, digital camera, and 2 blogs gave me away…

Find out where you fit (if you are reading this at 3 am or from a handheld Internet device, you probably already have a clue) by taking Pew Internet Project's quick quiz.

Randy Bancino

Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

CIOs Are Looking for Soft Skills

2007-05-25T11:28:00.000-04:00

In a new survey by technology recruiters Robert Half, they poled 1,400 CIOs. CIOs were asked, “In which of the following areas do you think your IT staff could most use improvement?”

Technical abilities............................................................ 25%
Project management skills............................................... 23%
Verbal and written communication abilities........................ 15%
Organizational skills........................................................ 14%
Interpersonal skills......................................................... 12%
None/no improvements needed........................................ 3%
Other/don't know............................................................. 8%

While “technical abilities” were ranked first as a single classification, the combination of verbal and written abilities, organizational skills, and interpersonal skills, in other words those abilities that are typically thought of as “soft skills,” accounted for 41% of the areas that need improvement.

“Technology changes rapidly, making it crucial for IT staff to constantly learn new skills to keep pace with industry advancements,” said Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director of Robert Half Technology. “While it’s ultimately up to the individual to keep his or her technical abilities current, the best employers invest in ongoing professional development for employees at all levels.” Lee continued, “Professional development programs also can aid a company’s recruitment and retention efforts. In today’s competitive IT hiring market, employees want to work for firms that encourage them to build new skills and assume more challenging responsibilities.”

We all know that technical professionals need solid technical skills, and most organizations budget for training programs that help technical pros keep pace with industry advancement. However, in order to take advantage of the technical skills, CIOs are beginning to recognize that they need to upgrade the soft skills of their teams as well.

For more information on the topic of Soft Skills for Technical professionals, check out the Tech Soft Skills Blog.

Randy Bancino
Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

Do You Need Summer School?

2007-05-11T14:20:00.000-04:00

Profitable Growth Partners is an active member of the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce. One of the ways we support the Chamber is by volunteering our time to teach in the "Chamber Summer School" program.

This year we are teaching two classes: (1) Meetings with Muscle, and (2) Take Care of Your Customers and They Will Take Care of You. These classes our adapted from our Boot Camp for Managers series and our Soft Skills for Hard Core Technical Professionals program.

You can see of full list of summer school classes at the Chamber's web site. So, check out the schedule and see if there are some areas where you could brush up on some of your skills, and come join us at Summer School 2007.

Randy Bancino & Claire Zevalkink

Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

Profitable Growth Partners Published in Techniques Magazine

2007-05-02T17:21:00.000-04:00

By Randy Bancino and Claire Zevalkink

In many technical professions the complete focus of education and training is on technical topics either directly or indirectly related to the technical discipline. Students are generally required to master various mathematics skills, science skills, and detailed technical skills directly related to the specific discipline they are planning to enter. However, increasingly technical professionals in various disciplines such as information technology, engineering, research and development, etc. are required to broaden their skill sets to master what have traditionally been called “soft skills.” Soft skills, as defined by Wikipedia, are “the cluster of personality traits, social graces, facility with language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that mark people to varying degrees. Soft skills complement hard skills, which are the technical requirements of a job.”

Read the Full Article ...

Words That Work

2007-05-01T11:27:00.000-04:00

At Profitable Growth Partners, “Communication” is one of the central themes in both our Boot Camp for Managers™ program and our Soft Skills for Hard Core Technical Professionals™ series. Recently I was reading an excellent book (there are many) on the subject. Words That Work, by Dr. Frank Luntz provides an insightful look into the way we use words. The book contains excellent stories about how changing the words we use can re-frame an entire conversation, and he also provides practical tips on how to use the right words to make your point clearly and effectively.

Dr. Luntz also provides the “10 rules of successful communication:”

1. Simplicity: Use small words. Avoid words that might force someone to reach for the dictionary, because most Americans won’t.
2. Brevity: Use short sentences. Be brief as possible. Never us a sentence when a phrase will do.
3. Credibility Is as Important as Philosophy. People have to believe it to buy it. If your words lack sincerity or if they contradict accepted facts, circumstances or perceptions, they will lack impact.
4. Consistency Matters. Repetition. Repetition. Repetition.
5. Novelty: Offer something new. Words that work often involve a new definition of an old idea.
6. Sound and Texture Matter. A string of words that have the same first letter, the same sound or the same syllabic cadence is more memorable than a random collection of sounds.
7. Speak Aspirationally. The key to successful aspirational language is to personalize and humanize the message to trigger an emotional remembrance.
8. Visualize. Paint a vivid picture.
9. Ask a Question. A statement put in the form of a rhetorical question can have much greater impact than a plain assertion.
10. Provide Context and Explain Relevance. You have to give people the “why” of a message before you tell them the “therefore” and the “so what.”

Often the book comes from the advertising or political perspective, but there are great insights for all of us who have to communication, and persuade, and inspire.

Randy Bancino

Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

Where Have All the Leaders Gone?

2007-04-23T13:38:00.000-04:00

Remember Lee Iaccoca? Remember “if you can find a better car … buy it!”? Well, Mr. Iacocca, retired CEO of Chrysler Corporation has a new book out on the topic of leadership. The book is entitled Where Have All the Leaders Gone? It is an extremely provocative book that does not pull any punches. Mr. Iacocca “speaks his mind” as he writes about the Bush Administration, about the trials and tribulations of the US auto industry, and about the current crowd of presidential hopefuls. On the topic of leadership, Mr. Iaccoca provides what he calls “The Nine C’s of Leadership:”

Curiosity: Listen to people outside the “Yes, sir” crowd. Read voraciously.
Creative: Go out on a limb. Leadership is all about managing change.
Communicate: A simple one. You should be talking to everybody, even your enemies.
Character: Having the guts to do the right thing. If you don’t make it on character, the rest won’t amount to much.
Courage: Courage in the 21st century doesn’t mean posturing and bravado. Courage is commitment to sit down at the negotiation table and talk. If you’re a politician, courage means taking a position even when you know it will cost you votes.
Conviction: Fire in your belly. You’ve got to really want to get something done.
Charisma: The ability to inspire. People will follow a leader because they trust him or her.
Competent: Surround yourself with people who know what they’re doing. Be a problem solver.
Common Sense: Your ability to reason.

Finally, Mr. Iaccoca writes that the biggest “C” is “Crisis.” Leadership is forged in the times of crisis. It’s easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. If you enjoyed Mr. Iaccoca’s previous book, written in 1985, you will find this an interesting follow up read.

Randy Bancino
Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

Did you miss your Blackberry?

2007-04-23T13:08:00.000-04:00

Well, it appears we all survived last week’s Blackberry outage. I only found it a minor inconvenience as I was trying to set up a last minute breakfast meeting late in the evening of the outage. But I resorted to the good “old fashioned” cell phone to get it done. The outage certainly got a lot of press last week. As a matter of fact, USA Today called me the morning after the outage and interviewed me for an article they were doing (BlackBerry outage exposes RIM's 'soft underbelly'.)

The article called me a “self described Blackberry Addict” though I certainly don’t recall describing myself that way. Anyway, the whole flap got me to thinking about the divide between people who feel the need to stay in constant contact, and those who don’t. There appears to be some animosity between the two groups. I have already admitted (as reported last week in USA Today) that I am a member of the staying connected group. However, even though I stay pretty much connected, I have never taken a call or answered an E-Mail during dinner, or during church, or in the middle of a conversation. I check my messages every now and then just to keep on top of what’s going on with my business associates, clients, and friends.

I suspect part of the animosity aimed directly at the perpetually connected comes from a pattern of semi-rude behavior. I bet it comes from spouses, significant others, friends, and family who have been interrupted mid-sentence by a ringing cell phone, or a newly arrived instant message, and I certainly can’t say that I blame them,

So as a member of the perpetually connected contingent (sometimes known as the “Crackberry Addicts”) I would like to rally my compatriots to IM politely, to E-Mail appropriately, and talk tactfully on your cells. It is possible to stay connected to your network AND stay connected to the people in the room with you….

Randy Bancino
Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

How Are Your Soft Skills?

2007-03-20T10:34:00.000-04:00

Want to have a little fun? My daughter sent me a link the other day to a little test posted on the Monster.com web site. It is a self assessment of your soft skills. If you want to give it a try, click here.

Since we launched our Soft Skills for Hard Core Technical Professionals series, the response has been overwhelming. The genesis of the idea came a number of years ago when I was leading IT for a large company, and we found ourselves working more closely with a number of people from disciplines such as Marketing, Communications, etc. The VP of Marketing, now a Partner with our firm, and I started talking about the difficulties our teams were having in communicating and working as a team.

As we actively worked with our teams to improve their soft skills, we found the teams working more effectively together, and the solutions being delivered were better than ever. For talented professionals, especially in the technical fields, soft skills can make all the difference. So, how are your soft skills?

Randy Bancino

Grooming the 2010 CIO

2007-03-14T13:32:00.000-04:00

One of the more popular people development programs offered by Profitable Growth Partners is the Soft Skills for Hard Core Technical Professionals series. The genesis of the program was when the two founders of PGP were respectively leading Marketing and Information technology divisions during the launch of a new billion dollar E-Commerce business. Often we found our teams had difficulty communicating the issues and arriving at optimal solutions to problems. During those times, the idea for the Soft Skills program was born.

Developing and expanding personal productivity is a key driving force of the Soft Skills for Hard Core Technical Professionals series, however an additional reason that many companies invest in the soft skills training of their technical professionals is to groom key people for future leadership roles. In the information technology world, the top leadership position is typically the Chief Information Officer, or CIO. This week, “CIO Insight” magazine published the results of a report entitled “Grooming the 2010 CIO.” Respondents to the survey listed personal characteristics that they regarded as essential for a technology leader. They used terms such as “edge,” “energy,” “execution,” “passion,” “ability to take criticism,” “negotiating, influencing,” “selling and visioning skills” as the abilities and traits that were required.These are the skills that many technical professionals don’t receive formal training in as they prepare for their careers, or as they advance their careers. Yet, these are the skills that move technical professionals up the value chain within an organization, and the skills that are required of technology leaders.

Randy Bancino

Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

PROFITABLE GROWTH PARTNERS ANNOUNCES THE NATIONAL LAUNCH OF THE SOFT SKILLS FOR HARD CORE TECHNICAL PROFESSIONALS SERIES

2007-03-12T09:31:00.000-04:00

Grand Rapids, MI (PRWeb), MARCH 12, 2007: Profitable Growth Partners, LLC., a Grand Rapids-based business strategy and training firm, announced the national launch of its highly acclaimed Soft Skills for Hard Core Technical Professionals Series. The training series, which is intended for technical professions in such fields as information technology, engineering, research, etc., strengthens the skill-set of professionals in areas such as communication, interpersonal relationships, customer focus, leadership, and teamwork.

“Serving as the Chief Information Officer for a large global company, and then later as the V.P. of Sales and Marketing for a national firm, I was able to see first hand how these skills contributed to successful projects, and successful implementations of technology,” said Randy Bancino, Managing Partner with Profitable Growth Partners, LLC. “Rarely did projects fail because the technology didn’t work; because the staff didn’t understand the technology; or because we hired the wrong consultants. A lack of soft skills was almost always the culprit.”

Profitable Growth Partners worked with the Center for Organizational Design and other top organizations to put together a comprehensive program that measurably improves the skill sets of today’s technical professional. The end result is a team that implements more successful projects, improves customer focus, and elevates their contribution to the success of the organization.

About Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.
Profitable Growth Partners, LLC. works directly with the leadership of companies and organizations to help them harness their potential to accelerate growth and enhance profitability. Through their exclusive Business Acceleration Process and their Top Gun for Business People TM series, the experienced business growth experts with Profitable Growth Partners deliver improvements to a business’s strategy, processes, structure, systems, and culture, resulting in measurable improvements in both the top line and bottom line.

Contact Information
Claire Zevalkink, Managing Partner
Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.
info@profitablegrowthpartners.com
616.942.4769

Speed of Trust Radio Podcast Hits #77 on iTunes

2007-03-09T10:47:00.000-05:00

One of the resources we use in our workshops on the topic of "trust" is Stephen M.R. Covey's book Speed of Trust. The book continues to get rave reviews in the business world, and the publisher recently issued the following press release:

Los Angeles, February 21, 2007, SPEED OF TRUST Radio interviews by Stephen M. R. Covey rose to the top 100 downloads on Apple's iTunes podcasts this week. SPEED OF TRUST Radio is a joint venture between the Affiliate Nanocasting Network (ANN) and CoveyLink Worldwide. Of this success, Stephen M. R. Covey said, “I am thrilled that the Speed of Trust is striking such a chord in the digital world. Clearly, as Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief of Wired magazine, stated in my interview with him, ‘Money was the currency of the old economy; TRUST is the currency of the new global economy.’ I couldn’t agree more.”

Available on demand, the program will be streamed online at http://www.coveylink.com/, podcasted, and Nanocasted using Really Targeted Syndication™ (RTS). SPEED OF TRUST Radio features interviews between Stephen M. R. Covey and many of today’s thought leaders about the art and science of establishing, growing, and restoring trust. Initial guests include: Steve Rubel, PR Strategist at Edelman; Chris Anderson, Editor of Wired Magazine and author of The Long Tail; legendary marketer, Jack Trout; and Chris Murray, Editor-in-Chief of Soundview Executive Book Summaries.

“The one thing that changes everything in our personal and professional lives is TRUST,” asserts Stephen M. R. Covey, author of THE SPEED OF TRUST, which is already in its 5th printing less than three months after publication. THE SPEED OF TRUST was also recently chosen by BusinessWeek magazine as one of the top 5 career books of 2006.

“Errol Smith and his company, Jackstreet Media, are thought leading pioneers in the exploding specialty of Nanocasting. Their Emmy award-winning production quality clearly sets them apart from typical ‘stream of consciousness’ podcasts,” says Stephen M. R. Covey, who is also CEO and Co-founder of CoveyLink Worldwide. “Their world-class post production gives us a significant strategic advantage in this ‘attention starved’ marketplace and dramatically increases our influence.” The business model for SPEED OF TRUST Radio was developed by Jackstreet Media, and the segment was produced by Emmy winning broadcaster, Errol Smith. “The CoveyLink organization is an ‘A-List’ team of smart business people with exceptional integrity. We feel honored to work closely with Stephen M. R. Covey, Greg Link, and the CoveyLink team,” said Errol Smith, Founder of Jackstreet Media.   SPEED OF TRUST Radio is based on the ProAm™ production model developed by Jackstreet Media specifically for distribution online. Striking a strategic balance between the glossy production values of traditional broadcast programming and the wide-open conventions of new media, the ProAm™ model places an emphasis on substantive, value-added content efficiently delivered.

Business leaders agree with Covey’s assertions on the importance of trust. More than 10 Fortune 500 CEO’s endorse THE SPEED OF TRUST, including William G. Parrett, CEO, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, who said, “The Speed of Trust is red-hot relevant. In an age of heightened business regulation and oversight, it is important to focus on fundamentals. And trust is the intangible asset that can help assure the long-term sustainability of any person, organization, or enterprise. Thanks to Stephen M. R. Covey’s new book, you can be well on the way to enhancing your organization’s trust assets for years to come.”

G.R.O.W. - Getting The Word Out To Women Entrepreneurs

2007-03-02T09:16:00.000-05:00

Grand Rapids Opportunity for Women (G.R.O.W.), a non-profit Grand Rapids based organization supporting new entrepreneurs, has launched an initiative to increase G.R.O.W's penetration and awareness within the community, and has engaged Profitable Growth Partners, LLC. to lead the planning and implementation of the initiative.

Grand Rapids, MI (PRWeb) March 2, 2007 -- Grand Rapids Opportunity for Women, a non-profit Grand Rapids based organization supporting new entrepreneurs, has launched an initiative to increase G.R.O.W's penetration and awareness within the community, and has engaged Profitable Growth Partners, LLC. to lead the planning and implementation of the initiative.

"G.R.O.W. is a tremendous resource for aspiring entrepreneurs, especially those who have the vision and the drive to build their own business, but don't have the skills or training to make it happen. There are so many valuable support services offered at G.R.O.W. at little or no cost, and yet many entrepreneurs are unaware of G.R.O.W. We are taking steps to change that, because there is so much more we can do" says Rita VanderVen, Executive Director for G.R.O.W.

G.R.O.W. is the only non-profit organization in Grand Rapids whose specific mission it is to help women seeking financial independence through entrepreneurial opportunities. In 2005, G.R.O.W's clients reported $6.4 million in sales, launched 40 new businesses, and created 270 new jobs. G.R.O.W. provides extensive business training and counseling to new business start-ups, with a team of 7 employees and more than 100 volunteers, many of whom are experienced business leaders sharing their knowledge and expertise.

G.R.O.W. tapped Grand Rapids-based Profitable Growth Partners, LLC. to help plan and implement their new branding and marketing strategy. Managing Partner, Claire Zevalkink, is leading the project. With over 20 years experience in marketing and branding and an entrepreneur herself, Zevalkink will lead the team that develops a comprehensive marketing strategy for G.R.O.W., helping G.R.O.W. get it's entrepreneurial message and training services to more women in need.

"Women owned businesses have been growing at twice the rate of all businesses, and the growth continues," says Zevalkink. "Working with G.R.O.W. to reach more entrepreneurial women and help them succeed is an exciting opportunity. We are thrilled excited to help G.R.O.W. with this important mission."

Rita VanderVen expects that G.R.O.W.'s new marketing plan, once implemented, will help G.R.O.W. reach its vision of "being the go to place for prospective female business owners seeking business training and counseling."

About Grand Rapids Opportunity for Women (G.R.O.W.)

G.R.O.W., established in 1989, is a non-profit economic development organization that provides business training, counseling and support services for female-owned start-up businesses. G.R.O.W. services include training (business plan development, financial budgeting and planning, marketing, general management and people skills), networking opportunities, mentoring with local business leaders and free business counseling.

About Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

Profitable Growth Partners, LLC., a business strategy and people development company, works directly with the leadership of companies and organizations to help them harness their potential, improve effectiveness, and accelerate growth. Through their exclusive Business Acceleration Process and their Top Gun for Business People TM series, the experienced business growth experts with Profitable Growth Partners deliver improvements to a business's strategy, processes, structure, systems, and culture, resulting in measurable improvements in both the top line and bottom line.

###

Technology Planning

2007-03-01T09:54:00.000-05:00

A short dialog on Technology Planning from the BusinessWeek blog, including comments from Profitable Growth Partners Managing Partner, Randy Bancino:

As with other important aspects of your business, you need to create a master plan for your technology purchases just as you would draw up a business plan, a budget, or a marketing plan.
Start by determining your company's needs. Look at what problems need to be solved and how technology can help. Design a plan that supports your business strategy and goals. Use it to guide technology buying decisions.

Think of technology purchases as investments, not costs. And, remember, when you have an overall plan, your company avoids wasting money on unnecessary purchases or quick fixes.
Finally, get expert help to guide you. Check your Yellow Pages under "Computers-System Designers & Consultants," or ask your local chamber of commerce. As always, get references.

Ken Yancey

CEO

SCORE

Washington D.C.

Comments:

Mr. Yancey provides some excellent advice on investing in technology for a small business. My perspective is significantly different now as a small business owner than it was when I was the CIO for a multi-billion dollar, multi-national firm. As a small business owner, I generally attempt to limit my technology investments to only those items I truly need, and are when they are relatively simple to use and support. More sophisticated technology typically requires ongoing support that simply is not a wise investment for a small and growing firm.

Randy Bancino

Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

How to Effectively Hold People Accountable

2007-02-13T09:23:00.000-05:00

At Profitable Growth Partners, one of our most popular series of workshops is the Boot Camp for Managers program. The program teaches the core skills that everyone who supervises, or plans to supervise, people should know. Session #2 of Boot Camp is on the topic of "Creating High Performance Teams." A question that often comes up during the session, is "how do I hold other members of the team accountable to their commitments?"

Let’s frame this within the context of a team. What can you do to hold a team member accountable to commitments made to the team?

· Put commitments/assignments in writing. When someone makes a commitment to get something done or is asked to complete an assignment for the team, put it in writing! Every team meeting ought to be followed up with a summary of the team’s discussion, decisions, commitments, next steps. If there are assigned tasks, detail each members’ commitment, clearly and concisely in your summary. (If it’s an individual commitment made to you, not the team, still put it in writing).

· Make it relevant. When an individual commits to a task, make sure it’s clear why that particular task is important and how it’s relevant to the overall objectives/goals.

· Agree on deadlines. Make sure you ask for and get dates by which the agreed upon tasks will be completed. If a critical date must be mandated (rather than negotiated), look the individual in the eye and ask if he can commit to that date. Then be sure to include those dates in your written summary back to the team (or the individual).

· Conduct a “pre-deadline” check. A week or so before the due date for the committed task, check in with the team member: how are they coming on the work they committed to? Do they need help? Will they make the deadline? If they are having challenges and the original completion date is critical, find out what the problem is: do they need to offload other, less critical work? Is the task more complex and difficult than expected, requiring more time and resources? Etc.

· Send out a pre-meeting agenda. Remind team members of the next team meeting, outline the discussion agenda. If tasks are due for completion by this meeting, make it clear that you’ll expect a report out to the team.

· Ask team members to update on their progress by the due date. They can either do this verbally at a team meeting or via email to team members. Hold them accountable to doing so by the agreed upon completion date. If the report is lengthy or complex, tell the individual that their action report is the agenda for the next team meeting! This effectively puts the pressure on.

· Ask for explanation and commitment to new completion date if original date is not met. Once again, when the due date is not met, find out if the individual needs help in some way.

· Show appreciation and recognition when an individual delivers as promised. This is an often missed step, but a small one that pays big dividends!If an individual shows a pattern of missing commitments, despite all of the efforts above, it’s time to have a one-on-one, open and honest, conversation. Make the person aware of the impact that the lack of follow through has on others and on the company. If this individual reports to you and still does not improve, it may be time to take more drastic steps. If the individual does not report to you but is a member of a team you lead, then it’s time to excuse him from the team and replace with a more reliable individual.
.
Claire Zevalkink
Managing Partner
Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

Tech Professionals Need Soft Skills To!

2007-02-07T10:30:00.000-05:00

Daniel Schoonmaker
Published: February 5, 2007

GRAND RAPIDS — Profitable Growth Partners LLC founder Randy Bancino became painfully aware of the project implementation problems that plague corporate technology managers during his tenure as CIO of the multibillion-dollar Alticor Inc. Despite having the best talent and latest technology, a lack of soft skills at the ground level led projects to be over budget, late, ill equipped or to otherwise fail.

Statistically speaking, a successful software or information technology project is about as common as a base hit in professional baseball. Depending on the study, industry estimates of project failure range from 55 percent to 80 percent. The larger the project, the more likely it will fail to meet budget, deadline, user requirements or even be completed — with supply chain management, enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management programs failing more than 70 percent of the time.

"When we'd analyze why projects failed, it was almost never because the technology didn't work or because people didn't understand the technology or we didn't hire the right vendors," said Bancino. "It was almost always a lack of soft skills in some of our people."

For all technical people, whether it be in information technology, biomedical, structural engineering, legal or one of dozens of other fields, soft skills such as project management, time management, communication and conflict resolution tend to be overlooked competencies. In some roles — software integration, for instance — it can be a full-time job just keeping up to date with changing product specifications.

"Their concern is that they really need to know the technology, so it's easy to put the soft skills on the back burner," said Bancino, who also served as Quixtar's vice president of sales and marketing and as a longtime instructor in Western Michigan University's MBA program. "But if you back up and look more critically, it's those skills that will make you more successful."

Soft Core Skills for Hard Core Technical People is one of several customized training packages available through Profitable Growth Partners, the company Bancino launched last fall with fellow Alticor alum Claire Zevalkink. Many of the same concerns transfer to the firm's other offerings, including those aimed at new managers and leaders, woman managers, teambuilding, customer service and high-performance strategies.

"When you're working in teams, it's the soft skills that will make you effective," said Zevalkink, formerly Quixtar vice president of marketing and communications. She noted that the most common cause of technology project failures — some studies suggest as high as 95 percent — is the inability of a technical person to speak in terms that a non-technical person, such as a salesman or customer, can understand.

"That's a skill not a lot of technical people recognize that they need," she said, adding that the problem is common in all areas of specialty, particularly for attorneys, accountants and medical professionals.

This can be especially problematic for technical people as they move up the corporate ladder, Zevalkink said. "Now they have a staff of people, they're giving presentations to customers or upper management, and they just haven't learned a lot of the skills that they need." BJX

A Response to "Too Many CEOs Still Don't Get It"

2007-01-30T08:44:00.000-05:00

This was a recent post on CIO Magzine's web site, along with a response from Randy Bancino, Managing Partner with Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

Monday, January 22, 2007

by Paul Gillin

If you never spoke to anyone but your best friends, you'd probably come to have a pretty high opinion of yourself. Similarly, IT leaders must avoid the temptation to believe that everyone appreciates the strategic value of their role as much as they do.

That message came through is subtext of some work that Forrester Research is doing to define IT's place in the corporate value chain. A few weeks ago, I wrote about an interesting and elegantly simple model that the research company has developed to classify IT organizations into one of three basic roles, ranging from keep-the-lights-on utility to strategic partner. I noted that Forrester believes that only about one in five IT organizations fits the strategic profile.
Now the company is doing some research to validate where business executives stand on the value of IT. It is yielding some disturbing findings.

Preliminary results from interviews with 54 CEOs shows that IT organizations are, by and large, still expected to do what's asked of them and not much more. Asked about what role IT is expected to fulfill in the areas of innovation, process improvement and asset management, the executives overwhelmingly replied that it was to participate when asked.

"CEOs have low expectations of what the IT department should be doing and that sub-optimizes their use of IT," said Laurie Orlov, the Forrester vice president and research director who is spearheading the research. She noted that despite all of the technology revolution that has gone on around us, troubling stereotypes remain.

Orlov has been sharing the results of this ongoing research with attendees at the Microsoft IT Leadership Summit. The Summit is a series of regional conferences in major cities around the country that discuss key issues IT leaders are facing and preview Microsoft's technology roadmap. Attendees get to hear from thought leaders like Orlov and many others.

My own interpretation of these results is that attitudes change slowly, but they are changing. Many of today's CEOs are products of simpler times, when technology was unobtrusive and business skills were all that mattered. In those days, an executive was expected to know sales, marketing and finance cold, but took little or no interest in back-room operations. To them, data processing meant punch cards and greenbar reports. Computers were mysterious and data processing organizations were closed and isolated.

It's hard to imagine that any CEO could be ignorant of something that constitutes the largest capital expense on his income statement. But people like that are still around in positions of power, just as there are still people who print all their e-mail. They will be washed out of the system in time, though, and replaced by a new breed of executives who instinctively get the value of IT. That is when we will see the next great leap forward in productivity. Remember that anyone under the age of 30 today has grown up using a PC as fluidly as their parents used a telephone. In a decade, they will begin to make their mark in the boardroom.

If you are an IT manager stuck in an organization that sees no strategic value to your role, you have to ask yourself some questions. Do you want to wait it out in hopes that time will bring change? Do you want to take on the challenge of changing long-held stereotypes? Or would you be better off in a different place? There is no right or wrong answer, but it is clear that a generational shift is at hand. Those are usually times of great anxiety but also great opportunity.

Jan 22 2007 - 4:56pm Paul Gillin ( Permalink ) ( Email This Page )

Post by Randy Bancino, Profitable Growth Partners LLC.

IT needs to "get it" to!

Mr. Gillin raises some great issues with respect to the potential under-utilizations of IT in organizations where the leadership does not see a strategic role for technology. However, I would challenge Mr. Gillin, and other CIOs, to think about why that perception lingers in some organizations. Is it them? Or, is it us? If your IT team doesn’t understand the fundamental business model, or core competencies of the organization, what is the chance that they will be perceived as strategic partners in the business? Mr. Gillin is right that corporate leaders need to see IT in that potentially strategic role, but it is up to IT leaders (and their staff) to be ready, willing, and able to engage in the strategic imperatives of the organization.

Randy Bancino

Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

Assessing an Organization's Trust Environment

2007-01-25T09:34:00.000-05:00

In the Profitable Growth Partners Boot Camp for Managers program, we start with the topic of "Trust" because trust is one of the foundations of all high performance teams. A question that often comes up in our sessions is:

"How does one assess an organization’s trust environment?"

There are ten behavioral factors I’d look for when trying to determine an organization’s willingness to trust employees and it’s own trustworthiness. Think about rating the following on a scale from low to high:

1. Leaders who don’t vs. those who do “walk the talk.” Do the senior execs in your company do what they say? Do they model the behavior that they expect from you? (E.g. they expect you to work long hours or weekends to get your job done, but they wander in late and leave early; or they expect you to always be on time for meetings, but they are typically late or cancel at the last minute; they talk about the customer always being first and most important, but they are quick to criticize and complain about the customer).

2. Micro-management vs. Empowerment. Does your management team freely give responsibility to others and then let go, trusting that the work will get done as requested? Or do they micro-manage the people and the process, undermining a person’s sense of autonomy and authority?

3. Taking credit vs. giving credit. Do the managers in your organization give credit for a team’s or subordinate’s accomplishment rather than take all the credit themselves? Do they recognize and compliment a job well done or are they more often criticizing?

4. Redundant Work vs. streamlined, efficient work . Is there redundancy throughout the organization, as evidenced by unnecessary duplication or rework? If yes, this implies a level of distrust based on the belief that no one person can do the job right.

5. Unclear, overlapping roles vs. clear roles/responsibilities. Is there confusion about who does what within your organization and who is responsible for what on a team project? If yes, this readily leads to unproductive competition and mistrust amongst co-workers.

6. High level of bureaucracy vs. low level. Is there a seeming abundance of rules, regulations, procedures and approval processes that must be adhered to and that slow down the workflow or inhibit creativity? If yes, this is indicative of an organization which is overly controlling and reluctant to trust individual judgment.

7. Office Politics vs, Office Openness. Do employees spend more time worrying about how to influence a senior exec or gain more “power” within the company than they spend time worrying about doing their jobs well? If yes, people will tend to withhold information, operate with hidden agendas, “back-bite” others. This creates a high level of distrust of dysfunctionality.
8. Disengaged, unmotivated employees vs. Engaged and motivated. Do employees seem to be just going through the motions, working the minimum required hours with a low level of enthusiasm or commitment? If yes, this is a sign of serious dissatisfaction that can fester within a non-trusting environment.

9. High Turnover vs. low turnover. What’s the employee, the vendor, the customer turnover rate for your organization? Higher than industry averages? If yes, it’s a clear sign that trust in either the management or the organization is lacking.

10. Low Customer Satisfaction vs. High Customer Satisfaction? How satisfied are customers with your product and your customer service? If satisfaction is low, there’s obviously a problem here, which ultimately results in lower trust of the organization and could be caused by an organization which operates with low trust.

If you find yourself identifying more of the low-end, negative behaviors, then trust could be an issue within your organization. If you are the boss, think hard about how you can change your culture. If not the boss, be sure YOU are trustworthy and exhibit the behaviors we’ve previously discussed. Be an example!

Claire Zevalkink

Managing Partner

Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

Re-establishing Trust

2007-01-15T10:57:00.000-05:00

In the Profitable Growth Partners Boot Camp for Managers program we start with a session on "Building Trust" and one of the questions that often comes up is "Can trust be re-established once broken, and if so how?" The short answer is "yes," however the first thing to remember: Trust is established by one’s action not words. What you do has a far greater impact than what you say. As Stephen Covey says,

“You can’t talk yourself out of a problem you’ve behaved yourself into.”

So, when trust has been broken, it will take repeated, consistent and positive behavior to prove one’s trustworthiness. This takes time. The amount of time will depend on the nature and seriousness of the breach of trust and the risk-tolerance (willingness to be vulnerable and trust again) of the person with whom you are trying to re-establish trust. Obviously, the more serious the breach and the less risk-tolerant the parties, the longer it will take.

Consider this as you develop an action plan to repair trust:

a. Are the parties involved more or less risk-tolerant?
b. Was the trust broken by a breach of character or a breach of competence? A breach of character (lying, being disrespectful, intentionally withholding information, covering up mistakes, blaming or bad-mouthing others, breaking a commitment) is more difficult to repair than one of competence (failing to deliver, ignoring reality, not taking responsibility, creating vague expectations).

The next thing to consider: who has broken trust? You? Or someone important to you? Or both?

You as Trustee: You’ve inadvertently broken trust with someone that matters. How do you go about repairing it? Think about ways to put deposits back into that individual’s emotional bank account. Try to learn what’s important to that person, since everyone’s emotional bank account is different.

Every situation is indeed different, but here are some basic guidelines when you’ve broken trust:

Straight talk: try having an upfront, respectful and caring conversation with the individual. Admit your mistake and apologize, without blaming others or making excuses. Take responsibility for your own actions! (Don’t expect miracles from this conversation – it’s only the beginning).
Benevolent Caring/Listening: let the individual know that the relationship is indeed important to you. Ask them how they feel, and what they need from you to re-establish trust.
Make a commitment that you can and will keep and that has meaning for the individual. (don’t over-promise)
KEEP THE COMMITMENT (over-delivering on the commitment is even better).
Show loyalty in little ways: speak positively and supportively of the individual to others, never negatively. Let the individual hear from others how you respect him. Give him direct credit where it is due. Offer help and support when needed. (Make sure you mean it or it will ultimately backfire).
Make another commitment.
KEEP IT!
Always communicate openly and honestly.
Make another commitment.
KEEP IT!

By behaving in the above manner, you are carefully making deposits into the individual’s emotional bank account. Over time, your behavior/actions will demonstrate your sincerity and integrity, hopefully re-establishing trust.

You as Truster: Someone important to you has broken your trust. What can you do?Once again, the best action plan will vary depending on the nature of the breach of trust and the risk-tolerance of the individuals involved. One more variable comes into play in this scenario: does this person have the motivation, the integrity and the capabilities to regain your trust?

Scenario A. Yes, the Trustee has the motivation, integrity and capabilities to regain your trust. Here are some basic behavior guidelines for you to create an environment for re-establishing trust:

Straight Talk - have an open, honest conversation with the individual. Let him know the relationship is important to you. Tell him calmly and respectfully how his behavior made you feel (don’t get angry!). Ask if you did anything that might have triggered the behavior. This is a good way to take the individual off the defensive and show that you care. And you might find out you did do something.
Show Respect – display a caring attitude that is respectful.
Clarify Expectations – be clear about what it will take to re-establish your trust.
Accept Commitments – encourage the individual to make a commitment and then accept it.
Extend Trust – if re-trusting this individual is important to you, then be willing to take a risk and extend trust. Give the benefit of the doubt.
Provide feedback – show appreciation when commitments are kept; clarify expectations when they are not.

Scenario B. No, the Trustee does not have the motivation, integrity or capabilities to re-gain your trust. This is a trickier situation.

Apply Scenario "A" action plan above to “test” the individual. Your perceptions just might be wrong and a behavioral change on your part could create the right positive environment for this individual to change.
If Scenario "A" fails and your original perceptions are verified, consider the following action.- Continue to talk straight, show respect and clarify expectations. Never stoop to the other’s unethical, distrusting behavior. Maintain a high integrity profile around this individual.- Be cautious of extending trust or expecting commitments to be met. Manage your expectations regarding this person’s ability or willingness to help you meet your goals.- If you are in a position to do so, consider a restructure that removes this individual from your team or your organization. An individual who cannot be trusted can be like shattered glass in an organization, hurting everyone in small, unseen ways.

Claire Zevalkink

Managing Partner

Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

The Speed of Trust

2007-01-10T15:08:00.000-05:00

In a recent blog post, I talked about “The Decision to Trust” which is based on a Harvard Business Review article by Robert F. Hurley. Expanding on this topic is the latest book from Stephen M.R. Covey entitled The Speed of Trust. While Hurley lays out 10 factors in establishing trust, Covey talks in depth about the “4 Cores of Credibility:”

- Integrity: While integrity includes honesty, it’s much more, says Covey. It’s walking your talk. It’s being congruent, inside and out. It’s having the courage to act in accordance with your values and beliefs.

- Intent: This has to do with our motives, our agendas, and our resulting behavior.

- Capabilities: These are the abilities we have that inspire confidence – our talents, attitudes, skills, knowledge, and style.

- Results: This refers to our track record, our performance, our getting the right things done.

Notice that integrity and intent come from our character, while capabilities and results are a product of our competence. Without competence, even the most honest person will not be trusted. In his book, Covey uses the metaphor of a tree. Integrity is the root system below the surface. Intent, which is somewhat more visible, is trunk. Capabilities are the branches which enable the tree to produce. Finally, results are the fruits – the visible, tangible, measurable outcomes that are most easily seen and evaluated by others.

The combination of Covey’s book and Hurley’s article provide an excellent framework for understanding the issue of trust, and how trust, or the lack thereof, has a huge and lasting impact on the productivity and effectiveness of an organization.

Randy Bancino
Managing Partner
Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

Can a Business Plan Hold You Back?

2006-12-27T11:40:00.000-05:00

From the BusinessWeek Blog

When an industry is constantly evolving, successful entrepreneurs roll with the trends. Just ask Tony Zoccoli, founder of Nine O'Clock New Media, a Web-development and creative-services firm based in Fremont, Calif. When he founded the company in 1995, it was called ProGraphix, had a single employee and focused exclusively on design for print products.
When Zoccoli started his company, offering Web services wasn't even a consideration. "There was really no push for Web work," he says. "The Internet was too new." But as a growing number of his customers started requesting Web sites, Zoccoli reinvented his business to grow with the burgeoning industry. And he didn't bother with a business plan.
To read the full story on AllBusiness.com, click here.

Comments

If you think of a business plan simply as a document, it probably can’t hold you back, but it won’t likely have a big impact on your success. A good business plan is a mindset more that a document. An effective business plan could be thought of as the conscious choices the leaders of an organization make about how they will meet the demand and opportunities of the business environment. It allows a business owner to stay focused his value-add in the marketplace, and addresses the interface between the organization and its environment. A good business plan lays the foundation for tomorrow’s success while helping a business stay focused on competing today. My experience has been that most organizations that lack a well-defined, and well communicated, strategy lose their focus and eventually fail. However, a periodic re-assessment of the business plan will allow a business owner to make sure he/she is taking advantage of today’s opportunities as well as exploring new and future opportunities.

Randy Bancino
Managing Partner
Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

The Decision to Trust

2006-12-22T11:06:00.000-05:00

One of the very first sessions in the Profitable Growth Partners Boot Camp for Managers program is a workshop on building trust. In the session we help professionals understand the consequences of win-lose relationships and help them develop strategies for creating win-win relationships. A recent article on the topic of "trust" highlights the impacts on a business that is unable to build trusting relationships.

In his HBR article entitled “The Decision to Trust” author Robert Hurley reports that roughly half of all Managers don’t trust their leaders. We all know that a distrustful environment is an uncomfortable place to work, but a business with an un-trustful environment is also at a significant competitive disadvantage. Hurley lists 10 factors in establishing trust, and practical ways of managing trust. The first three factors apply to the decision maker himself (the “truster”) while the last seven apply to the person asking for trust (the “trustee”):

- Risk Tolerance: Spend more time explaining options and risks.
- Level of Adjustment: Be patient; it simply takes longer to build trust with some people.
- Relative Power: Provide choices when possible; avoid being coercive.
- Security: Find ways to temper the risk inherent in the situation.
- Number of Similarities: Use the word “we” more and the word “I” less.
- Alignment of Interests: Be clear yourself about whose interests you are serving.
- Benevolent Concern: Take actions that demonstrate a genuine concern for others.
- Capability: Find ways to demonstrate competence in carrying out the task at hand.
- Predictability and Integrity: Under-promise and over-deliver.
- Level of Communication: Increase the frequency and candor of your communications.

Trust is a measure of the quality of relationships. Leaders must provide clear reasons for people to trust them. When leaders are able to establish and environment of trust they are able to establish a more dynamic and sustainable foundation for productive relationships.

Randy Bancino
Managing Partner
Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

Claire Zevalkink Completes Certification in Strategy Development and Business Coaching

2006-12-18T09:35:00.000-05:00

GRAND RAPIDS, MI (PRWEB) December 18, 2006 -- Profitable Growth Partners, LLC., a Grand Rapids-based high performance business strategy and people development firm, announced that Managing Partner, Claire Zevalkink, completed certification in High Performance Strategy Development and Business Coaching with the Center for Organizational Design, Inc. of Littleton, Colorado.

Ms. Zevalkink's background includes numerous leadership and executive marketing positions in large, global organizations, as well as significant people development leadership at the corporate level. She has various degrees, including a degree in Education from the University of Colorado, an M.B.A from the University of Vermont, and extensive executive training from the University of Michigan. This latest certification expands the depth and level of expertise that Profitable Growth Partners, LLC. provides to their business clients.

"The program really helped to refine the strategic planning process that we bring to our clients," said Claire Zevalkink, Managing Partner with Profitable Growth Partners. "And, the business coaching is a great addition to our High Performance People Development offerings that allows us to work one-on-one with clients in between group sessions."

Certification training is provided by The Center for Organization Design, and is focused on organizational assessment, strategic business design, and executive business coaching. Participants gained in-depth knowledge of the principles of high performance and their real-world application through a series of lectures, exercises, and case studies.About Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

Profitable Growth Partners, LLC. works directly with the leadership of small and medium sized companies to help them harness their potential to accelerate growth and enhance profitability. Through their exclusive Business Acceleration Process and their Top Gun for Business People series, the experienced business growth experts with Profitable Growth Partners deliver improvements to a business's strategy, processes, structure, systems, and culture, resulting in measurable improvements in both the top line and bottom line.

Contact Information
Randy Bancino
Managing Partner
Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.
616.942.4769

Profitable Growth Partners ... What's in a name?

2006-12-12T09:31:00.000-05:00

At Profitable Growth Partners we sometimes get asked about our company name. Some people see the name and think financial services. In reality we provide high performance strategy development and high performance people development. So why Profitable Growth Partners? The main reason is that we come to both strategy and people development from a business results point of view. And what result is more important that profitable growth?

At Profitable Growth Partners, we have a well defined and scientific methodology for working with business leaders to develop impactful business strategy. But the impact is not designed to be theoretical. Rather, the impact should be business growth that is sustainable and profitable.

Our people development services reflect this same philosophy. While there are many benefits of investing in people, we always work to ensure that he personal growth we help create leads to increased productivity, and increased profitable growth for the business.

At Profitable Growth Partners, we partner with business leaders to create and accelerate business growth and profit. It is that simple…

Randy Bancino
Managing Partner
Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

Do you know what your organizational capabilities are?

2006-12-01T15:52:00.000-05:00

In an insightful article in the Harvard Business Review, authors Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood create a blue print for organizations to audit their intangible assets. Although managers tend to pay more close attention to the aspects of their business that they can easily measure, often it is the more intangible assets that create real and sustainable competitive advantage. The authors list 11 intangible assets that well-managed companies tend to have. These companies typically excel in only three of these capabilities, while maintaining industry parity in the rest:

Speed: making important changes rapidly.
Shared mind-set and coherent brand identity: ensuring positive, consistent perceptions of the company among employees and customers.
Accountability: demanding high performance from employees.
Collaboration: working effectively across organizational boundaries.
Learning: generating ideas with impact.
Leadership: embedding leaders throughout the organization.
Strategic unity: articulating and sharing a strategic viewpoint.
Customer connectivity: building enduring relationships of trust with targeted customers.
Innovation: developing breakthrough products and processes.
Efficiency: managing costs.

Just because intangible assets are harder to measure, few would argue that they are not important to the success of an organization. A powerful strategy recognizes the value of these organizational capabilities and capitalizes on them to gain sustainable competitive advantage.

Randy Bancino

Managing Partner

Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

Creating a Collaborative Workplace

2006-11-28T11:17:00.000-05:00

From the BusinessWeek Small Business Blog...

November 19, 2006
Creating a Collaborative Workplace

Creating a productive and collaborative workplace is not easy, but as a small-business owner, building such an environment starts with you. Here are some tips:

1. Make sure everyone on the team knows exactly what the mission and goals are.
2. Clearly articulate everyone's roles and responsibilities.
3. Cultivate a variety of work styles, talents, and skills to ensure a creative mix of perspective, experience, and thought.
4. Create a relaxed work climate with an emphasis on collaboration.
5. Take advantage of lessons learned to leverage what has worked in the past and what missteps to avoid.
6. Confront problems as soon as they arise to clear the air and allow the work and relationships to move forward.
7. Empower the team to carry out its work.

Mallary Tytel
President and Founder
Healthy WorkplacesSioux Falls, S.D.

Comments:

Mallary Tytel raises some excellent points with respect to creating a collaborative workplace. I would like to add, however, that it is nearly impossible to establish a collaborative workplace without establishing trust in the workplace. When trust is absent, relationships are characterized by an adversarial attitude: me vs. you; us vs. them. Rather than goodwill, there may be deep, often hidden animosities and resentments. We struggle against one another for what we want. The more you win, the more I lose and vice versa. Respect is lost and our performance is compromised as our energies go into manipulation, coercion, and protection rather than working towards our shared vision.

Organizations that create a collaborative workplace are those that know how to create a climate of trust among all of their employees. Doing so is not easy and requires the alignment of philosophy and organizational design. However, even more important than these elements is the quality of person-to-person interactions. Trust is a highly subjective experience that is strengthened or weakened each day through our interactions, the respect we demonstrate, the way we talk to people, and the way we go about working out our differences of opinion and competing needs.

Randy Bancino
Managing Partner
Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

Posted by: Randy Bancino at November 22, 2006 03:55 PM

What if we don't train them and they stay?

2006-11-22T15:31:00.000-05:00

At Profitable Growth Partners, we work with organizations to develop their strategy and develop their people. On occasion we have heard clients wonder “What if we train our employees and they leave?” We often respond “What if you don’t train them and they stay?” We believe that the real question is not “if” we should invest in our people, but “how” do we do it to insure increased productivity and profitability.

Many organizations have tried sending people out for “training.” Often they go to half day, one-off seminars designed to teach a new idea or skill. Unfortunately most people report little behavior change as a result. We have all experienced coming back from such a session “fired up and raring to go.” Unfortunately the day-to-day responsibilities of our jobs soon dominate our thoughts, and within a short period of time we have lost the passion to change the way we do things.

At Profitable Growth Partners, we believe that “spaced repetition” is one of the keys to developing new skills and new behaviors. For example, our Boot Camp for Managers program is a series of 12 half-day workshops that are designed not only to teach new skills, but to build in accountability, coaching, and practical application between sessions.

Spaced Repetition is just one of the ways people development at Profitable Growth Partners is different that traditional training classes.

RANDY BANCINO COMPLETES CERTIFICATION IN HIGH PERFORMANCE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

2006-11-20T14:19:00.000-05:00

Grand Rapids, MI, (PRWeb) NOVEMBER 20, 2006: Profitable Growth Partners, LLC., a Grand Rapids-based high performance business and people development firm, announced that Managing Partner, Randy Bancino, completed High Performance Business Development certification training provided by the Center for Organizational Design, Inc. of Littleton, Colorado.

Mr. Bancino’s background includes many leadership and executive positions in large, global companies, as well as people development at the corporate and University level. He has various degrees, including an M.B.A from Western Michigan University and extensive executive training from the University of Michigan. This latest training and certification continues to add breadth to his world-class business development expertise.

“The program was rigorous, but continuing to grow and add skills in the areas of high performance development was truly exciting,” said Randy Bancino, Managing Partner with Profitable Growth Partners. “Our clients continue to demand world class expertise, backed up by real world experience. This additional certification helps us continue to offer the best to our clients.”

The week-long certification training, lead by Dr. Roger Allen of the Center for Organization Design, focused on organizational assessment, strategic business design, and executive business coaching. Participants gained greater knowledge of the principles of high performance and their real-world application through a series of lectures, exercises, and case studies.

About Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.
Profitable Growth Partners, LLC. works directly with the leadership of small and medium sized companies to help them harness their potential to accelerate growth and enhance profitability. Through their exclusive Business Acceleration Process and their Top Gun for Business People TM series, the experienced business growth experts with Profitable Growth Partners deliver improvements to a business’s strategy, processes, structure, systems, and culture, resulting in measurable improvements in both the top line and bottom line.

Contact Information
Claire Zevalkink, Managing Partner
Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.
info@profitablegrowthpartners.com
616.942.4769

The Momentum of the Flywheel

2006-11-06T16:43:00.000-05:00

At Profitable Growth Partners, we work with a lot of businesses in different stages of their life cycles. Often we talk with our clients about the current momentum of their organization; positive, negative, or non-existent. In his best selling book, Good to Great, author Jim Collins talks about “the flywheel effect.” The illustration is that of an enormous flywheel mounted horizontally on an axle. Initially it takes great and sustained effort to just get the flywheel moving. However, over time it becomes easier and easier to keep the flywheel spinning as it is carried mostly by its own momentum. A company’s real breakthroughs come when the heavy weight of the flywheel does most of the work for them, with what the author calls an “unstoppable force.”

Building “unstoppable” momentum takes not only effort, but sustained, consistent effort. Strategy plays a key role in keeping your efforts sustained and consistent over time. Rather than push the flywheel clockwise this quarter, and then attempt to move it counter-clockwise next quarter, a company needs to stick to a well thought out strategy over the long haul. After all, a strategy is as much about what an organization is NOT going to do, as about what it WILL do.

Executing a well designed strategy builds momentum over time, infusing the organization with purpose and power.

Profitable Growth Partners Introduces the Top Gun for Business People Series

2006-10-30T10:01:00.000-05:00

Profitable Growth Partners, LLC., a Grand Rapids-based business management consulting firm, announced the new season of its acclaimed Top Gun for Business People Series. The Top Gun series is a comprehensive set of workshops designed for organizations that recognize the enormous capability of their employees and are willing to invest in their development.

Grand Rapids, MI (PRWEB) October 30, 2006 -- Profitable Growth Partners, LLC., a Grand Rapids-based business management consulting firm, announced the new season of its acclaimed Top Gun for Business People Series. The Top Gun series is a comprehensive set of workshops designed for organizations that recognize the enormous capability of their employees and are willing to invest in their development.

"We are excited to bring this program to the western Michigan area," said Randy Bancino, Managing Partner with Profitable Growth Partners. "The subject matter for this series was developed over a 20 year period, and has been successfully used to leverage human capital in large and small organizations throughout the world."

Profitable Growth Partners worked with the Center for Organizational Design and other top organizations to put together a comprehensive program that helps organizations generate sustainable competitive advantage by developing "high performance" people and teams. Boot Camp for Managers, the most popular program in the series, kicks off in January and will be hosted at the Western Michigan University Grand Rapids Campus. Additional information on the Top Gun for Business People Series can be found at http://www.pgpgrow.com.

About Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.
Profitable Growth Partners, LLC. works directly with the leadership of small and medium sized companies to help them harness their potential to accelerate growth and enhance profitability. Through their exclusive Business Acceleration Process and their Top Gun for Business People TM series, the experienced business growth experts with Profitable Growth Partners deliver improvements to a business's strategy, processes, structure, systems, and culture, resulting in measurable improvements in both the top line and bottom line.

Contact Information
Claire Zevalkink, Managing Partner
Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.
616.942.4769

Effective Meetings: The Power to Get Things Done

2006-10-24T10:02:00.000-04:00

A badly run meeting is not only a waste of time and money but it may also prevent your from accomplishing worthwhile goals for the day.

To avoid wasting time in meetings, consider these tips:

Call a meeting only if necessary.
Keep a meeting’s objective in mind at all times.
Invite people with diverse opinions so you can hear thoughts from both sides of an issue.
Distribute a memo detailing a meeting’s subject at least one day prior to the actual meeting so that attendees can be prepared.
Provide food only for longer, or more formal meetings.
Develop and write out a tightly focused agenda. Use the agenda to refer conversation back to the subject when the meeting goes off-track.
Ask all attendees to prepare for the meeting ahead of time. Request that each attendee bring at least one suggestion to share.
Open meetings with an interesting and starling fact about your organization.
Use visual aids whenever possible. Computer projection screens, slide shows, charts and handouts are excellent tools.
Set a time limit for the meeting and hold yourself to this time frame.
Start promptly at the scheduled time.
Discuss one subject at a time.
Be flexible. Adapt to the needs of the moment if your subject for the meeting is too broad or too focused.
Listen to each attendee’s opinion on each issue.
After the meeting, evaluate its effectiveness. Determine whether the meeting’s goals were achieved, how the next meeting can be improved and what can be done to avoid meeting on this subject again.

We've all been in bad meetings. They not only waste time and money, they waste our emotional energy and prevent us from being effective. A little discipline and a little preparation can make all the difference. At our Top Gun for Business People program, we teach people how to run an effective meeting, and use effective meetings as a tool in creating High Performance Teams.

The Anatomy of a Goal

2006-10-16T10:40:00.000-04:00

At Profitable Growth Partners, we believe setting goals is a key component to a sucessful business, so why do they seem so daunting? Often, the threat of failure is so intimidating that it’s easier to not make any at all.

Whatever the reason, a simple anatomy lesson in the basic parts of a goal can help make them more doable.

The following are characteristics to include when setting goals:

Specific. Clearly define the plan of action. If your goal is vague, you won’t know where to begin or what direction to go. For example, a goal such as “increase company profit” may be what you want, but it doesn’t prompt you to do anything because you don’t know what to do. Instead, try something like “increase sales by 15 percent in the next six months and reduce paper costs.”
Written. Writing clarifies thinking and makes things feel more permanent. By writing your intent you’re invested more into it and will be more committed.
Dated. Without a time deadline, there’s no sense of urgency to make your goal a priority among other present demands.
Measurable. When possible, your goal should be quantified in numbers so you can measure whether you’re making progress. “I want to retire early” isn’t measurable, but “I want to have X amount of dollars in the bank in 10 years” is.
Attainable. Set your goal at a level to which you’re willing and able to work. If it’s too high, you probably won’t try, but if it’s not high enough to challenge you, you won’t want it enough to do it. The goal is probably possible if it makes sense to you and feels right. Just make sure you don’t set too many goals for too short of a time frame.
Realistic. Consider the time, skills and resources you have available. The goal might be attainable yet still unrealistic if you don't take into account what you have to work with. For example, you may be able to finish a project in six months, but with present resources it might take a year. It would be unrealistic and even de-motivating to expect to achieve the goal in six months when the resources needed aren’t available.
Compatible. Your goal must be compatible with your other goals so that accomplishing one won't hinder the achievement of another. Otherwise, you will be uncertain of which goal to pursue and may end up not fulfilling any of them.
Personal. To be committed to a goal, it should be one that you set for yourself. You must own it and have a stake in it. You can accept a goal that someone else wants you to do, but only by making some part of it your own will you succeed.

In short, a good goal is one that motivates action and gives direction to that action. And that’s something that’s not too hard to make after all.

Are You Making Your Customers Wait on Themselves?

2006-10-09T15:58:00.000-04:00

Just the other day I was picking up a few things at the local grocery store. Of course the local grocery store is not the “mom and pop” kind of local grocery store that most of us grew up with. And even if it is, it has likely been acquired by one of the big guys, and they haven’t yet gotten around to changing the name. Anyway, I only had a few items and decided I would use the self-checkout that they recently put into place. Actually, all the self-check out stations were being used, so I was standing in line, waiting to use one. The person in line in front of me grumbled to no one in particular that she was not happy that she now had to “stand in line for the privilege of waiting on herself.”

This started me thinking about the overall phenomenon of “self service.” Generally we don’t grumble when we pump our own gas, or when we use an ATM. So what makes those experiences different? Is it that we simply got used to doing for ourselves? Is it because the experience is actually better than dealing with a bank teller or a gas station attendant? Is it because we have been rewarded to “wait on ourselves?” Maybe it is all over the above…

In any case, customers do often demand the option of self service. As a company providing goods and services to your customers, it is important to understand why and how to offer more “self serve.” Are you doing it to cut costs? Are you doing it because your customers have demanded it? Or, are you simply doing it because the competition is. It is the answers to these questions that will help a company deliver the right mix of personalized service and customer service.

At Profitable Growth Partners, we specialize in helping companies get their customer service strategy right. Getting the right blend of self-service and personalized service is critical for most every business today, and it starts with clearly defining a strategy, and then executing that strategy in a way the not only pleases customers, but actually exceeds their expectations.

Tips on Selling

2006-10-04T05:58:00.000-04:00

As an avid business reader, their are certain authors whose books and articles I tend to seek out because they are so good at delivering solid insights. Neil Rackham is known throughout the world as a speaker, writer and seminal thinker on sales and marketing issues. Three of his books have been on The New York Times best-seller list, including Spin Selling (TM), McGraw-Hill's all-time best-selling business title.

Following are 10 of his most valuable lessons:

Generate Trust - "Selling depends on trust. Customers only trust people that have 3 key attributes: candor, competence, and concern. Customers trust people that are honest and straight. They should know what they are talking about. And they should be concerned about the other person and their needs."

Don't TALK Too Much - "The most successful salespeople talk a lot less than their customers. Most of us take up more air space than we need to. Ration your talking time."

Ask Questions - A lot of questions. "We live in an age where understanding is more important than persuading. Asking the right kind of questions can help you understand the other person and where they are coming from."

Reasons Don't Always Persuade - "Less effective people feel like their argument is always right. Don't think that piling on the reasons and the logic will necessarily persuade someone." People buy from emotion and back it up with logic.

Be Persistent - " One thing I found over and over again was that the best salespeople are the ones who don't give up. If they don't get a call back, they'll try again. Most people just aren't persistent enough. Be persistent but don't become a pest."

Help People Answer Their Own Questions - " This may seem strange, but it's often the best way to solve a problem."

Focus on the Person, NOT the Product - "Enthusiasm is a double-edged sword. You'd think that the most enthusiastic salespeople are the most successful, but there is such a thing as being too involved in your product. Be customer-centered, not product-centered."

Prepare - "Studies show repeatedly that the top salespeople spend the most time preparing and planning. Planning is crucial. But the plan has to be flexible. Plan carefully, but be prepared to tear it all up. You have to have room to move if necessary."

Keep Learning - "Good salespeople are educated by every call, every interaction. Understand that to succeed in sales you have to become a life-long learner.

Be Creative - "Now, more than ever, creativity and problem solving are the most important elements in achieving success. You have to be able to alter the "standard answers" when necessary. Salespeople are selling more than just products or services; they are fulfilling customers' needs."

SOURCE: Success Magazine, October 2006

Profitable Growth Partners Launches New & Improved Web Site

2006-10-01T10:32:00.000-04:00

PGP launched their new web site today, and the following is the press release announcing it!

Grand Rapids, MI, October 1, 2006: Profitable Growth Partners, LLC., a Grand Rapids-based business management consulting firm, announced the launch of its new web site today. The site offers a simple and stream-lined resource for clients and prospective clients who are interested in accelerating the growth of their businesses.

“We worked hard to keep the site clean, yet dynamic and full featured,” said Randy Bancino, Managing Partner with Profitable Growth Partners. “Our clients are busy running and growing their businesses, and they demand a ‘no nonsense’ approach to quickly accessing the information that they need.”

Profitable Growth Partners relied on a talented team of web professionals to design and implement the new web site. In addition to basic information about their strategy consulting and people development services, the web site contains whitepapers, newsletters, business articles, a schedule of upcoming events, the business growth tip of the week, and a business growth blog. The site can be accessed via www.profitablegrowthpartners.com or www.pgpgrow.com.

About Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.
Profitable Growth Partners, LLC. works directly with the leadership of small and medium sized companies to help them harness their potential to accelerate growth and enhance profitability. Through their exclusive Business Acceleration Process and their Top Gun for Business People TM series, the experienced business growth experts with Profitable Growth Partners deliver improvements to a business’s strategy, processes, structure, systems, and culture, resulting in measurable improvements in both the top line and bottom line.

Contact Information
Claire Zevalkink, Managing Partner
Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.
info@profitablegrowthpartners.com
616.942.4769

Profitable Growth Partners, LLC.

2006-09-24T11:48:00.000-04:00

Who we are ….

At Profitable Growth Partners, we are experts at helping companies harness their potential to accelerate growth and enhance profitability. Our partners bring decades of executive business experience to the table. We help you focus your overall business strategy, your sales and marketing plan, your core business processes, and your people on achieving your business goals.

What we do …

We work directly with the leadership of small and medium size companies to help them focus on the three core disciplines that every company must master to drive profitability:

Getting and keeping good customers (Sales & Marketing Plan)
Efficiently delivering goods and services (Core Business Processes)
Effectively developing high performing people (Growth Culture)

Our exclusive “Business Acceleration Process” leads an organization through a process of self diagnosis and development of accelerated growth plans. Our partnership approach unlocks your company’s hidden potential, ensuring insights, action plans, and results that are owned by you and your team.

How you benefit …

Measurable improvements to your business strategy, processes, structure, systems, and culture improve both your top line and bottom lines results.

How we measure success …

At Profitable Growth Partners, we measure the performance of our services according to the impact they have in driving your business forward. We are committed to providing services that directly tie to improving your company’s bottom line.

Visit us at www.pgpgrow.com