KeyneLink Case Study

Curran Contracting is one of the largest regional asphalt paving companies in Illinois. The company manages several plants in Northwest Illinois. The company employs over 250 staff members. Curran Contracting has been owned by the Curran Family for 4 generations with the 5th generation just starting to come on board.

Prior to using KeyneLink, Curran Contracting’s strategic planning process yielded good ideas and intent but lacked a way to implement the strategic plan. Rick Noe, CEO of Curran Contracting, needed a way for the senior leadership to communicate to the rest of the staff about tying together responsibility and performance to insure development and implementation of the plan.

In 2008, Bruce Hodes, President of CMI, introduced Curran Contracting to KeyneLink. Curran Contracting decided to use Keynelink as a tool to insure that employee performance was tied to our strategic goals and objectives. Some employees were skeptical of the process in the beginning but became loyal users over the years. The younger employees loved the process from the start and now feel more connected to company performance.

KeyneLink helped Curran Contracting link the strategic plan to individual performance through proper goals setting and measurements along with more regular discussions of performance. When asked what the best feature of KeyneLink was, Rick Noe, CEO of Curran contracting responded “KeyneLink has helped me schedule more regular, meaningful conversations with people about their performance on the most key aspects of their role in the company.”

Over the past 4 years, CMI has worked closely with Curran Contracting to insure understanding and use of the system. Noe says, “Bruce and his staff help make it a reality and not just a concept.” From working with individuals on basic concepts such as defining primary job responsibilities to working with upper management on complex system reports, CMI has been there to develop, train and assist with the use of the process.

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MBX Case Study Part 3

Time for a Change
The MBX family has had a positive reaction to Bruce and CMI. MBX’s Chief Operating Officer, Jill Bellak comments, “Sometimes everyone dreads the sessions because we all get so busy with what we’re doing that our schedules seem too full. However, once the meeting begins, we cover many issues and leave with a sense of accomplishment. Every time we meet with Bruce, we never fail to make a connection.” Formella adds, “Our Leadership Group reacts very positively. The huddles and planning sessions gets others engaged and fosters an ambiance of openness. Bruce has helped to boost morale and put together a structure.” Bruce challenges team members to talk to each other openly, directly and constructively. This type of work creates a connection between team members and causes them to improve their work relationships.

Since CMI began working with MBX in 1999, Crowley states that improvements have been made “everywhere” in the company. “There were things that were easier to fix in the beginning like goals and objectives. As we improved throughout the years, the struggles we faced were more difficult and complex.” MBX has made substantial changes in their planning process, discipline, goals, and overall focus. MBX has been pleased to recommend CMI to other companies. Crowley says, “I have recommended CMI to other companies many times…simply because it has worked for us!”

Today, MBX Systems meets with CMI 8-9 times a year to make continuous advancements. The company remains committed to operational excellence and superior customer service. While staying busy converting software, they persistently continue to convert themselves into being a high performance company.

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MBX Case Study Part 2

Crucial Issues at MBX

The three critical issues that hampered MBX’s progress were lack of goals, staffing and adequate communication. First, the company struggled to develop goals and objectives. The management style was based on experience and instinct. They operated without the aid of any useful instruments and had no real accountability and direction. Second, there were unsatisfactory staffing procedures. There were no values utilized in hiring and recruiting. This allowed for poor hiring practices, high rate of turnover and overall lack of teamwork. Lastly, the CEO lacked necessary leadership skills. This lack of leadership created challenges for the future and left the Leadership Team with an uncertainty about the direction the company was headed.

Getting Started
Bruce met with the Executive Management Team and Core Leadership Group to begin “Breakthrough Business Planning”, commonly referred to as “huddles.” The Leadership Team met to discuss every significant issue plaguing the company-goals, objectives, vision, values, hiring, management structure, employee development, team building and operational successes and failures. They also participated in what CMI calls, “stupid games.” These games are a simulation of the workplace and are designed to provide a learning experience. They show companies how things operate “back at the ranch” and guide employees on how to improve communication and teamwork. The Leadership Team took a firm grasp onto these issues. Justin Formella, Web & IT Director, certainly appreciated the intervention. “This approach has been instrumental in changing our thought process to everyday problems and issues. The collaboration helped to create a team atmosphere that was otherwise not present.”

In addition to the strategies, conversations and games, the deliberate and constant activities and follow up meetings all contributed to strengthening MBX. “These activities insure that we are paying attention and moving forward toward our strategic goals,” says Tom Crowley.

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MBX Case Study Part 1

In the Beginning
Once a small company, MBX Systems has come a long way. The company opened its doors in 1995 as “Drive Express.” The firm quickly expanded business, changed the name to “Drive and Motherboard Express,” then shortened it again a year later to “Motherboard Express.” After continued and steady growth, the company settled on the name MBX Systems. Located in Wauconda, Illinois, MBX Systems has established itself as the leader in software conversion for video on demand, firewall, spam filtering, network management and other applications to the appliance market.

Like many successful companies, MBX encountered roadblocks, mostly fueled by growth. The corporation had various issues including lack of teamwork, flat growth, little organizational structure, a lack of business values, and no formal planning process. These issues prompted the company to examine its condition. Thankfully, MBX was referred to CMI. Tom Crowley, the founder and CEO of MBX, learned about CMI through a friend and client of CMI. “My friend, Leo Sheridan and I were talking about our businesses and he asked me about my goals and objectives. When I gave him a blank stare, he gave me Bruce’s contact information and said that it was probably a good idea that I call him.” Tom accepted.

CMI stepped into the world of MBX in 1999. Tom spoke with Bruce Hodes, CEO and founder of CMI, and had an initial interview to determine needs. Tom recalls, “Bruce asked many hard questions to gauge where we were. As uncomfortable as it was, I knew that I needed this type of direction and coaching.” Though the early stages of the process were challenging, MBX was committed to their purpose, “to offer a buying experience for the customer and a work experience to employees that is engaging and fulfilling and to practice humility, generosity and service to others.” By working with Bruce Hodes and CMI, the team hoped to exhibit operational excellence, superior customer service and stand behind their name as a great company.

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Seven Rules of Strategic Guessing

Rule Number Seven

Rule number siete is by far the coolest. This reglo says: It is critical that the team show discipline and do the work. Remember the saying, “Garbage in, garbage out.” It is important that the leadership team does complete work. In this endeavor, it is better to do less with better quality than to do a lot with mediocrity.

Some companies have a heck of a time getting out of the firefighting mode. Others never do get out of that stage.

Sometimes members of the leadership team are addicted to firefighting. They are addicted to the way things are and not to dreaming up ways the company could improve. To participate in a good breakthrough planning/guessing process, the planning team must commit time to this endeavor. Real thinking and dialogue must exist.

Once you have created the plan, you need to make sure it is acted upon. Monthly meetings of one to three hours and spending time on objectives and action plans will ensure focus. Then, once a quarter, the planning team should meet offsite, preferably with a coaching resource like yours truly. (Bonus points if the coach is bald-headed. It makes the coach smarter and buffer—really.) At the session, the group will look at what happened in the quarter and then focus on what needs to happen in the next quarter. This will keep everyone aligned on what needs to take place to push the company forward.

Well, there you have it: seven rules that will support you in establishing a successful planning process. Put another way, it is the plan to producing and implementing good strategic planning/guessing. Using these rules will help you create a bright business future—and when you get there, let everyone know that the Brucie sent you.

This series of blog posts are excerpts from the chapter “Seven Rules of Strategic Guessing” from Bruce Hodes first book Front Line Heroes: Battling the Business Tsunami While Developing Performance Oriented Cultures.

Seven Rules of Strategic Guessing

Rule Number Four

By far, my favorite rule is el grandote numero quatro: start big by creating a vision of the future of the company. It is important that the breakthrough guessing/planning process allows for dreaming and looking at what is the organization needs for a bright future. This is critical. When you have a vision, you are creating a future for the company that employees can then fulfill.

Typically, I do this by asking the group to envision three to five years into the future and record their thoughts on a flip chart. I ask the following questions to arrive at a future vision. If you were already standing three to five years in the future, what would the world look like? What are the important trends affecting your industry at that point?

Once a futuristic scenario is developed, the group should look at what it would like the organization’s image to be in this future. What are customers saying about the organization? Why are customers loyal four years from today? What goods, services, and new products have been brought forth? How much revenue will the organization bring in, and how many employees will it have?

This part of planning can be used to run growth scenarios. Have at least one for aggressive, medium, sluggish, and no growth. Play with the numbers and have some fun with what could be. The planning team should get familiar with the possible territories and futures that could be facing the organization.

For more information about creating a company vision click here.

Seven Rules of Strategic Guessing

Rule Number Three

For the third amazing rule, it is important that you complete the previous year. A powerful completion process will allow you to put that year behind you as you welcome a new one. It’s important for the organization to distinguish the previous year and discuss what occurred during that time, good and bad.

At the very first session of the planning process, the past goes into the past. When I coach these sessions, the group lists the previous year’s information on flip charts. The past is broken down into a number of categories, such as BREAKDOWNS FOR THE YEAR, BREAKTHROUGHS, FIASCOS, DISAPPOINTMENTS, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, and the like.

One of the great aspects of this exercise is that the executives and key employees of the organization get to review all the work that was accomplished during the past 12 months. What aspects of this year are we taking into the next? What aspects are we leaving behind? It’s all included in the meeting minutes and brings completion to the year. One season completes and the next opens up. Excuse me while I get a little weepy. This exercise is worthwhile and useful; everyone is now ready to invent the organization’s future.

For more information about CMI's strategic planning process click here

Seven Rules of Strategic Guessing

Rule Number Two

The second golden rule of planning is to make sure the design of the planning is one that will yield a good result. I am not a believer in leadership teams locking themselves in a room at a resort for two or three days. This type of planning may be sprinkled with some golfing, gambling, or other “fun stuff.” From this design, a strategic plan is supposedly born and created.

The problem with this design is that it curtails critical thinking. This process begins to smell of Plan-In-Binder Syndrome, which is exactly what it sounds like: the leadership group ends up developing a “plan” that then ends up securely contained in a nice plastic binder that is then lost and forgotten. These binders tend to become nestled in the executive bookcases. After the year begins and the fires start raging, no one looks at the plan. Poke me in the eye with a hot stick; Plan-In-Binder Syndrome is such a waste of time and resources. In addition, if you do all your planning during one session, you risk just doing more of what you are currently doing. There is no opportunity for research or involving other employees within the organization who are not at the planning session. I find that these plans run the risk of superficiality and being UN-implementable. Is that a word?

Here is what to do. The process should take place over two to three months and take three to four days. It is predicated on white papers and dialogue. Listening and understanding are critical. Better research ensures better debate and thinking. “What is a white paper?” you ask hysterically. “Hang tough,” I say. That is covered in rule five.

For more information on designing your strategic planning process click here.

Seven Rules of Strategic Guessing

Rule Number One

The first rule is always pick the right team for planning. It is crucial that planning team members are people who are committed to and can add value to the conversation about the company’s growth. The only exception is if there are key employees or managers you want to train. If you want them to better understand the strategic issues facing the company, it might make sense for them to be a part of the process. In addition, you can have members of the planning team who are outside the leadership group. These could be sales-people and other key employees. It is important that you vet them and ensure that they are of the quality and stature required for being a part of the planning group.

A number of times over the years, I have seen the wrong leaders and key employees involved in planning. Their participation actually hurt the effort. Take Carla, an HR manager that was naturally included at a manufacturing plant’s planning sessions. After the planning sessions, she took employees into her office and gossiped about managers. Then she left. (Thank goodness.) After her departure, the plant’s CEO added Lucinda, the new HR manager, to the team. She was young, energetic, knowledgeable, and had a clear vision of what the company could be. Her role was completely different than the first HR manager’s was. Lucinda’s addition to the planning team was constructive and positive.
The message here is to pick wisely and selectively. Members of the planning team must be able to maintain complete confidentiality and be fully engaged in the growth and well-being of the company. Select employees who are passionate about growing the company, developing an extraordinary organization, and, essentially, being the CEO’s partner. Don’t accept mediocrity or include people in the planning process simply because of their positions.
For more information about picking the right team click here.

Seven Rules of Strategic Guessing

A few years ago I stood facing a group of well-heeled executives and CEOs at a conference to deliver a talk on strategic planning.

“Which of your companies plan on an annual basis?” I asked.

Only a quarter of my audience raised their hands. I opened my eyes in shock.  

“To those of you who don’t plan on an annual basis, why not?” I pressed.

In one way or another, they answered that they were too busy fighting fires to have time for that. This same group of executives then complained about low growth and no profits. They blamed the economy for their problems. With that, I suddenly understood: clearly, they were nincompoops. These CEOs did not make the connection that planning helps you deal with the economy and the issues that challenge your business.

Before we go further, let’s define what we mean by strategic guessing/planning. Rework, a book written by successful software entrepreneurs Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, declares that planning has been replaced by guessing. There is something to this. The past two years have presented a very uncertain climate for most businesses. If guessing has become “as good as it gets”, then you absolutely need a process by which to look at the future and make educated and measured calculations about creating a bright organizational future. However, while tactics are a part of this process, strategic guessing/planning focuses executives on the strategy and future moves that the company will take to achieve its health and growth.

The fact is that many small- to mid-sized companies do not have a structured process from which to conduct strategic planning. This is like many adults who do not exercise, despite knowing it’s good for them. Perfect health isn’t guaranteed by regular exercise, but the likelihood of attaining good health is dramatically increased. Strategic breakthrough business guessing/planning works for businesses in much the same way as exercise works for the individual.

Over the next few weeks I will present a streamlined list of my company’s most critical rules for strategic guessing/planning. There are only 120 of them. So, music please! What? Okay! Take it easy! (You get overwhelmed so easily.) We will go over just seven rules of planning. Is that better?

Raving Fan Customers: Creating Customer Focused Teams

Points to Remember

Customer-focused teams and victims (people who refuse responsibility and accountability for their behavior) don’t go together. Members have to want to make the team successful. You cannot create a team with a group of victims.

Enemies and customer-focused teams do not go together. Team members must have a basic regard for each other. They do not have to love each other, but at minimum they should have mutual professional respect.

Expect conflict. Because performance standards are high, team members will have differing points of view for how to achieve performance standards. Open dialogue and discussion are useful to moving things forward. Remember that it does not matter who is right, but that the customer is served in an extraordinary fashion.

Finally, do not be afraid to experiment. Customer service strategies need to be planned, but it helps to be flexible and try new ideas that will make your organization indispensable to the people it serves.

Let us know what you think.  Leave a comment below or email us.

Raving Fan Customers: Creating Customer Focused Teams

Developmental Stage Movement

In time, Stage 1 teams arrive at Stage 2. Stage 2 teams will either get stuck in Stage 2 or move on to Stage 3. Stage 3 teams can slip back into Stage 2 or move on to Stage 4. Progress or slippage depends on whether the team builds on its momentum or rests on its laurels. In Stage 4, the team can move on through consistent improvement or slip back by becoming arrogant and overconfident. Keep in mind that none of these stages are good or bad. They are necessary stepping-stones in the process that leads to high performance.

In the process of development, teams most often get stuck in Stage 2. In order to move to Stage 3, the team must hammer out the performance standards and commitment to achieving them. Also, team goals must become more important than personal agendas, which need to be congruent and in alignment with the group agenda.

 In Stage 3, the group starts to take on a life of its own and begins to aggressively move in the direction of its performance standards.

Stage 4 is where teams come into their own and truly create customer loyalty. If the team becomes relentless in providing superior products and anticipating the changing needs of the customer, it becomes possible to become indispensable to your customers. Equally important to customer focus is internal responsiveness for employees and shareholders who directly benefit from high performance with increased earnings. This is the win/win/win stage of development.

Stage 5 is a bit tricky because it can occur at any phase of development and can be triggered by any change that significantly alters the team. Examples include gaining or losing a member, altering the performance standards or receiving a new coach. Similarly, a major change in the internal or external environment will impact the team’s progress. Examples of this type of change include new products or services, new customers or a change in rules and regulations.
For more information about moving through team stages click here.

Raving Fan Customers: Creating Customer Focused Teams

A Normal Process for Team Development

Like people, teams go through different phases during their development. This is normal. A two-year old human is very different than a 16-year-old. Likewise, a team that has been together two months behaves very differently than a team that has been together 16 months.

There are five stages of development for customers focused teams, each with its own distinct characteristics:

Stage 1 - Getting to Know You

• Feeling that this customer service stuff could be fun combined with some anxiety about how to do it
• A degree of excitement about the concept of team
• Figuring out who is in charge
• Clarifying the rules and developing standards
• Dependence is on the coach/leader
• Coach/leader uses a directive approach

Stage 2 - Wish We Weren’t Here

• Feeling that this is not fun
• Leadership and/or members are all screwed up
• Feeling that “something is definitely wrong here”
• Feeling uncertain and incapable
• Performance standards not being met and a lot of finger pointing
• Little agreement among team members regarding standards
• Customer focus is rhetoric only
• A lot of internal strife and no sense of mutual accountability
• Task driven but a lot of individual agendas
• Performance standards are not agreed upon

Stage 3 - Getting Behind the Game

• Performance standards hammered out
• Increasing ownership of those standards
• Decreasing hostility as the team begins working out personal differences
• Focus on customers
• Starting to like and feel comfortable with mutual accountability
• Positive feedback from customers starting to come in
• More honesty among team members
• Failing forward -- learning and improving from trial and error, with rapid recovery from mistakes
• Enthusiasm and energy levels increasing
• Support for each other evident
• Small wins bring large smiles

Stage 4 - High Performance and Raving Fan Service

• Customers are consistently overwhelmed by the service and product
• Team standards are met and moved outwardly by the team
• Members feeling good about consistency
• Shared leadership
• Open and honest communication
• Meetings are full of straight talk
• Results are recognized by customers as high performance
• Members feel deep concern for each other’s personal growth and success
• The team outperforms all reasonable expectations
• Team members are having a lot of fun

Stage 5 - The Times They Are A-Changing

• A major change occurs, such as members joining or leaving, a new coach, new performance standards, etc.
• Confusion
• Uncertainty regarding the implications of change

 For more information about Team Stages click here.

Raving Fan Customers: Creating Customer Focused Teams

Why are Raving Fans a good thing?

Ask Zappos, ask Southwest Airlines, ask Apple, ask Jimmie Buffett and ask CMI (that is us). What companies do not have competition? When you earn raving fan customers you have a strategic advantage over your competition. You have customers that are going to buy from you no matter what. In essence your company becomes a monopoly. This is the ultimate positioning from a business perspective. One frequently sees this with Apple’s iPhones. Apple customers are disdainful of any other smartphone product and are absolutely loyal to Apple - no matter what - even when Chinese workers might be suffering. Apple Customers say “Heck, Apple might need to change some Chinese employment tactics, but no way am I giving up my iPhone!”

For more information about creating raving fans click here.

Raving Fan Customers: Creating Customer Focused Teams

What is a Raving Fan Customer?

I first saw this term used in the book Raving Fans by Ken Blanchard. A “raving fan customer” is a customer that is excited about the company’s service delivery and product way beyond normal. Raving fan customers remain loyal given price pressure from a given service’s competition. These customers would go through a lot to get the company’s service. Even a price increase would keep these raving fans loyal buyers. Raving fan customers would wait in long lines; pay extra shipping fee; all for the service or product that their favorite company offers.
For more information about creating raving fan customers click here.

Raving Fan Customers: Creating Customer Focused Teams

What is a Customer Focused Team?

The word “team” is overused in business; it gets applied to any group of humans in a work setting. However, when you define a team as everything, you end up with nothing.

The best and most concise definition for corporate teams I have found comes from The Wisdom of Teams by Jon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith. They define a team as “a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.” The crucial words are “common purpose” and “mutually accountable.” Without these, you don’t have a team.

In addition, for a team to exist there has to be adversity, challenge and tension between the team and attaining a common purpose. No adversity and challenge means no team. You do not need teams for easy tasks. Tough challenges and high performance standards, such as those associated with customer service, quality and profitability are essential for teams to come together and coalesce. Having customers consistently be raving fans of the company’s service is certainly a challenging and lofty goal.

For more information about customer focused teams click here.

Not the top, not the bottom: 3 strategies for middle management

Expanding My Middle Even Further
So there you have it: three strategies you can utilize to grow the middle deliciousness of your company. May you grow and develop it for long-lasting success! Writing this was a workout, and now I am hungry. Give me a chicken and cheese sandwich. Hold the bread. Here is to you and your business middle.
These blog posts are an excerpts from the chapter “It’s all about the middle” from Bruce Hodes' first book Front Line Heroes: Battling the Business Tsunami While Developing Performance Oriented Cultures. To learn more about the book and CMI's programs click here.

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