Case Studies

The Power Group Case Study

Impact of Training, Coaching, and Organizational Strategy on Small Business

Situation

The Power Group, owned by Amy Power, is a public relations and social media firm in Dallas, Texas with 9 full time employees. The company had grown steadily since 1999, but found itself facing tremendous challenges after 2011, due to a lack of clear vision, an undefined organizational strategy, which left employees with no clear idea of their role and daily mission, and a lack of clear accountability throughout the organization. Despite the operational challenges, the company had enjoyed dramatic growth and success, which contributed to the frenetic environment. Realizing the need for outside perspective, the company’s founder turned to People Biz, Inc. to provide an analysis of its situation, establish priorities and provide organizational strategy, leadership training, personal growth and development programming, and ongoing coaching for key leaders.

The Total Solution

People Biz, Inc. presented a custom solution to The Power Group, and began by surveying employees in order to identify a benchmark for ongoing feedback and company culture. Key employees were selected for the organizational training and were also placed into People Biz, Inc.’s Leading Change Program, as a means to supplement and reinforce the learning.

Outcome

Today, the Power Group is thriving on many fronts: operationally, financially, and of course culturally. First and foremost, employees are in the right roles, based on their natural talents and abilities, and hold the right titling and compensation for their position. They have a common language, values and practices that support a culture that will grow the business and create an environment that talented employees want to stay in.

Other key outcomes include:

• The company is gradually niching into two key areas of business, designed to increase expertise and enhance profitability.
• Ideal clients are being vetted and engaged as part of the sales process.
• Company culture is tighter than ever, with employees collaborating together to create the company they want.
• Employees are “clear” about policies and procedures, and when questions arise, the team is able to have mature, open conversations, which are rooted in reality vs. story.
• The company does not tolerate individuals or events, which negatively impact the company culture.
• The newly established leadership team created a new value-based pricing structure, which is a competitive advantage.
• The company leaders are now in a position to mentor a young, growing business, and will be launching a program to do so.
• The agency team worked together to create an unlimited vacation policy, and they were able to hold each other accountable by tying it to a key deliverable with metrics.
• The company has shifted from an entrepreneurial startup where “Whatever It Takes” drove the day-to-day culture, to a small business that functions on disciplined process and is driven by its key core value of “Do the Right Thing.”
• The company is on track to repeat, and possibly beat, 2015’s revenue numbers, but more importantly, the company has a clear budget, is focused on managing expenses, and recently was awarded a working capital loan to keep up the company’s growth.
• Additionally, its founder, Amy Power was named by the Dallas Business Journal as one of the Top 25 Women in Business for 2016.

Whitsell Innovations Case Study

Business Incubator Program Transforms Small Businesses

Robin Whitsell, Founder and President of Whitsell Innovations, transformed her small business , a full-service medical and scientific writing company into a million dollar business after participating in the People Biz, Inc. Business Incubator Program, a unique Leadership and training program utilizing both coaching and training skills with a curriculum that includes several classes each on personal development, knowing your numbers, marketing fundamentals, and building your organization.

Whitsell Innovations had been steadily increasing its revenue over the years, but it wasn’t until after participating in the Business Incubator Program that she saw the vast potential of her company.

The training and coaching enabled her to have these outcomes:

• She fully embraced the idea of “going big” versus staying small
• She has a sense of accountability and can create an environment of accountability
• Still enjoys an ongoing supportive peer network to share her struggles and challenges with
• She has worked on the infrastructure of the company and continues to build on it
• She created organizational strategy, additional job descriptions, and working employee practices

Since then, she has been able to confidently hire amazing new employees and watched her company have a global impact in the medical industry.

“The program taught me to think so much bigger and how to make time to be strategic about my company,” said Whitsell. “We all know that we need to spend more time working on the business and not in the business, but it’s easier said than done…the support of my business incubator group has been so invaluable. I feel tremendously lucky to be part of this group of business women.”