Soon after I began working with Carol, she expressed concern that she and her minority partner were no longer on the same page. She wanted to improve the company with consistent HR policies, install sound process that would add value for their clients and create a new mid management level that would allow the partners to manage and pursue new client relationships. Her partner Diane who ran the northern office near Philadelphia felt things were just fine as they were. Together we analyzed the operation and discussed management changes and Carol modeled them prior to each coaching session. It was not long before she had a strong plan for making the changes. Implementing the plan would take ten to twelve months. Now she needed her partner on board with the plan to make it happen.
Carol used an entire coaching session to plan her strategy for getting Diane on board and headed to Philadelphia to meet with her. Diane asked a lot of questions made no commitments and asked that Carol implement the program in the Florida headquarters office first. If the changes worked as well as Carol believed they would then she would consider installing them in the Philadelphia operation as well. Carol returned disappointed but determined. She would install the HR policies system wide since they could not treat people differently in the two offices. The new procedures and the middle management level would wait. An HR manager was hired and the new policies for paid time off, working virtually, performance reviews went into place. Monica the new HR manager added fun events, company lunches and a recognition program to the mix. The company was a better place to work.
A training program went into place to bring all hands up to speed on the new value added processes. Within six weeks the changes were complete with all Florida office people on the new platform. It was complete with improved work time data and quality checkpoints. Results improved by the end of the second month. With one quarter of experience it was clear that the new processes were going to produce additional value for clients as planned and deliver more profit. Carol appointed a new Director of Operations in the Florida office. She would soon be free to work on the company’s future.
Diane however, was still a skeptic. She dragged her feet on performance reviews and worked through company fun events. She was not enthusiastic about the recognition program and did not follow the rules. Predictably the people in the Philadelphia office felt like second class citizens. They felt the company was not serious about process changes and not serious about recognizing outstanding performance. Carol was deeply concerned at our next coaching session. Diane had become adversarial with her. Worse they were in trouble with the primary client in the Philadelphia office. Diane threw people at the problem and demanded long hours. Much of the time was not billable and profit in Philadelphia dropped. Contrast between the Florida and Philadelphia office performance was dramatic. Carol went to Philadelphia and informed Diane that it was time to change. Diane refused indicating they needed to work through the client problem first.
It was clear that there were nearly insurmountable differences between the partners. At the next coaching session we examined core values exhibited by each partner. There was no match. The partnership had been formed originally because Carol had an effective database tool and Diane had an attractive client. Looking back they had never been on parallel tracks primarily because they did not share core values. Carol decided in the next session that she would act on her desire to buy out her partner. There was much to be done. The financial statements clearly defined equity value but there was no buy sell agreement an accord would need to be reached. For this Carol consulted her corporate lawyer who brought in a business valuation specialist. He estimated the business to be worth four times EBITDA if it was sold to an outside buyer. Carol calculated the price based on the four times factor and the percentage of Diane’s ownership. The attorney created a sale contract that called for the sale price to be paid in installments over three years. We rehearsed the meeting with Diane in a coaching session and Carol booked a flight to Philadelphia to present the deal.
It wasn’t an easy meeting but Carol stuck to the plan to be very matter of fact and not be pulled into an emotional exchange with Diane. She stayed centered on the objective and Diane accepted the reality that she would soon be leaving the company. Carol conceded to a bit larger initial payment but the total remained the same. The deal was done and Diane was to leave immediately. Now quick action would be required to inform clients of the Philadelphia office of the change. The staff had to be informed and stabilized now. Their help in insuring the company’s position with clients was vital.
Carol was ready with the staff reorganization plan. She called in the Project Manager she had chosen to be the new team leader. Jill was both challenged and excited about the chance to lead the Philadelphia team. She understood the plan for saving clients and agreed to make it the highest priority. Carol drew the staff together and announced the change in management and outlined the priorities. Everyone looked forward to their new status as full members of the headquarters team. Because of careful planning and immediate execution the company never missed a beat with clients and quickly escalated service performance with the installation of the now proven quality check points and the new work time database. Jill reports to the Director of Operations in the Florida office.
The company is ready for new growth and Carol has the time and energy to meet the challenge.
Business Coaching makes the hard parts of your job easier. As in Carol’s story, first we deal with the realities then we carefully plan to achieve the outcome you want, finally we execute the plan. Give me a call to discuss your situation. I am sure it has a solution. Les Deck
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