If we're lucky, we experience fleeting moments when praise shines like a diamond. If we don't hold those diamonds it can seem like the value of our work is lost before the day is ended.
If you have given us a testimonial, thank you for your gift. We now pass it on to help people understand the value of our work.
Father and Son Problems
The father son relationship between Ken and Graeme, (not his real name) had become so strained that a few months after I started working with the company, Graeme drew me aside and said, "I don't think you'll be able to help Ken, but if you can humour him along I'd be very grateful."
Considering one of the fundamentals of effective leadership is a belief in people, I was shocked, and inspired. I was shocked that Graeme had trusted me with what must be a father's greatest fear and I was inspired because by then I could see how Ken was magnificent.
For just over a year I worked with Ken and Graeme in their family business. I helped Graeme see how his son was a fine young man, very capable and keen. Working with Ken was a matter of teaching him sales strategies, holding him accountable and generally acting as a sales manager.
Most of my work was facilitating a weekly sales meeting for the whole team and one to one conversations with Ken and Graeme.
18 months later Graeme announced that they planned to sell the business. Sales had started to climb and everyone was working well together, so my mission was accomplished.
The last meeting was largely a discussion on what the business was worth. Graeme estimated around the $700,000 mark. I thought it would be nearer the $1,000,000.
Fast-forward now 6 months. I was passing and I hadn't heard from either Graeme or Ken so I dropped in. My timing was impeccable. They had sold to a competitor and settlement had been three months earlier. The price, more than double what Graeme had though the business was worth, 6 months earlier. When I asked Ken what his sales figures looked like I began to understand.
They had sold to a multi national company so the following week I contacted the division manager of the company. Paul explained that Ken was making such a hole in their customer base they not only bought them out, but that had also introduced several of his sales strategies to other divisions around the world.
By clicking on the yellow text in the box to the right you can view a video of Ken talking about the experience. Towards the end of it a sales lady from a second competitor reflects on how she saw Ken change over the space of a few months. (We apologise for the quality of this video. It was recorded with a domestic camera in 2005.)
This is a fabulous story of a common struggle in family businesses. That it ended well is a credit to Graeme for seeking help and trusting the process.
If you are a son or a father, working together, and struggling, feel free to drop me a line. donald@profitableteams.com
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Rex Sunde Wine maker
Rex Sunde was feeling stressed. The way he was managing his business was having a toll on his family and he was tempted to chuck it all in. The Profitable Teams program over just five months helped him establish a meeting structure and clearly define responsibilities. Expectations were communicated, a manager left, a new partner was integrated and 18 months later, the business was growing again. 2 min 55 sec video
Back to top ^North Harbour Ford and Mazda
The November sales of North Harbour Ford and Mazda were approximately 135% of the target set by head office, whereas other outlets typically achieved 60 - 80%.
In the final training session for 2009 the team explained why they thought they were succeeding. Mature, experienced, open, accepting and willing to change were words they used. They wouldn't have used words like these in response to the same question 3 months earlier.
The next day we took the camera and asked about Donald's contribution to the result.
Back to top ^Mark Walker, Traffic Operations Manager, NZTA
Managing a roading network requires a team of people with a wide variety of talent. We need skilled engineers in software, signals, maintenance, project management, and we need traffic controllers working in shifts and publicists to keep road users like you informed.
Although the Traffic Management Unit is a team of individuals who approach their work from very different perspectives, they have to work well together, or you don't get home from work as quickly as you'd like.
After working with Donald for 5 months, Mark Walker, the Northern Regional Operations Manager, for the New Zealand Transport Agency, explains what he does.
Back to top ^One day workshop
On first impressions they have a know-all manner, so expecting to tell these people what they should do just wasn't going to wash.
95 % of the The New Zealand Drug Detection Agency team have trained, worked and retired from the NZ Police, most of them in the drug squad, many as undercover agents. They have seen the other side of life, witnessed atrocities and learnt how to cope in the extreme. They've learnt to be self reliant and wary.
The only way to contribute to this team was to create a space where they wanted to learn, a true test of a facilitator, whose work starts many weeks prior to the workshop, preparing people for the day.
Back to top ^Gary Payne measuring Mentoring
Gary Payn eis the CEO for New Zealand of GHD. GHD is a multi national engineering company with staff of approximately 450. He explains how he measures the affect of mentoring on his team.
Back to top ^Akhil Gangoli - Seddon Medical, Practice Manager
We had a situation 3 weeks ago where two nurses weren’t communicating well. Both are respected and have many years of experience, but they contrast in style. One is precise and likes to do things by the ‘book’. The other works more intuitively on an emotional level. To have both in a practice is a real asset, but also a challenge on occasions.
Tension had developed and we felt some intervention was appropriate, so we had Donald facilitate a meeting. In that meeting he made it safe for the two nurses to speak their mind, become aware and express how they were feeling. He helped them see that the issues were easily overcome and asked what they planned to do differently. He had them committing to a change in attitude, without them realising it.
And the shift in attitude (which was immediate!) has been marked.
Donald uses simple process working with Ashok and myself, too. He helps us crystallise our thoughts and create a laser-sharp focus. He helps us bring priorities to the surface and helps us stay anchored to the vision. With his support this seems so easy and the results seem like magic.
Personally, I always look forward to sessions with Donald so I can highly recommend him.
Akhil Gangoli
Practice Manager
Seddon Medical Centre
www.seddonmedical.co.nz