Case Studies | Organizational Solutions
Culture | A Leader in Manufacturing
Founder/CEO of a steel manufacturing company needed auditing and system certification to stimulate growth. Current production failures insured that performance standards would not be met unless operational management improved significantly and fast. Certification scheduling to funding time was running. Compliance errors were increasing, front-line employee morale was worsening, and company culture was the root issue.
WinThinking’s data driven, evidence-based assessments revealed a dysfunctional CEO with wrong people in key role. A Shop Manager was hired in second month. Role accountabilities and reporting lines were defined for management and front-line employees. Front-line skill training began. In third month, poor performers were replaced. In month 5, ISO qualification standards were tested and awarded certification.
The founder, now redirected to focus on new business, began increasing sales volume and higher profit margins. New manager, accelerated order delivery times, improved needed customer retention. Engaged and better compensated floor crews, decreased compliance errors and improved workflow.
This small under 100 employee private family business within 5 months started winning new business against larger, better branded, heritage companies, competing in the region.
Succession Planning | A Heritage Leader in Wine & Spirits
WinThinking was asked to validate middle managers targeted for succession by company’s President. All 7 considered for leadership were shown to be a poor fit when assessed and mapped against existing leader skills, acumens, behaviors, motivations and emotional intelligence profile composites.
Our proprietary, deep-data dive, report consisting of over 200 factors of critical intelligence. Our simplified executive summary reports showed lower than desired response scores in valued areas such as; self-starting ability, assertiveness, system thinking, problem solving capacity, organizing, understanding others, empathy, social skills, attention to detail, goal orientation and managing others.
The weakness revealed in their succession process stimulated a deeper commitment to establishing a more effective talent development program, from which only highly scoring graduates would be considered for a formalized succession program. We partner with the HR VP to bring that design about.
Succession Planning | A Leader in Commercial Real Estate
President/CEO was Board mandated to initiate a formal succession plan for its 7-member leadership team. CEO’s contract renewal terms were dependent upon this program’s approval, implementation and success. Needed hard and soft skill development, prediction for role success, accurate ramp time, participant engagement and progress reporting metrics were required KPI metrics.
WinThinking executed a comprehensive 6-month coaching and development program. Participants included a COO, 1 SVP’s, and 5 VPs, overseen by the President/CEO.
One frustrated VP, half out the door was re-engaged and on a fast track to a assume a SVP position. COO was advanced to role of President. The SVP role was restructured. Freed from extensive reporting she was closing more high target deals. VPs were allocated previously underutilized administrative support.
WinThinking’s program produced the leadership development sought by the Board. Program’s success shift President/CEO to a strategic role as CEO, while securing the contract renewal terms desired.
Candidate Selection | A Leader in Military, Police, and Fire Protective Gear
Desperate company owner, doubting the value of assessments, asked us “to fix” his Spanish sales executive. European field office revenues had been flat and now sinking. A non-producing sales funnel plus escalating European operating and marketing costs were draining US profits. Key distributors were moving to the competition.
Winthinking was commissioned to create the needed performance turn around. Our approach was more practical; determine if the right person was in the job and what the probability for improvement would look like. Our assessment showed person lacked critically needed negotiating and closing skills as well as appropriate the appropriate behavioral and motivational drive to win sales and make money.
We recommended immediate replacement. Owner embarrassingly confessed, he should have done this a year ago months ago but doubted his instincts. He admitted our process revealed more knowledge about his hire than he had. Owner calculated a 6-figure compensation and operating cost savings.
Candidate Selection | A Leader in Appliance Manufacturing
President/Owner wanted validation on her top favored choice of 5 sales candidates. Company’s manufacturing process was highly structured while their hiring process was not. Past hiring misfires drove sales rep churn rates up and sales profit margins down.
A first-time company job benchmark process was proposed and implemented across senior leaders.
Benchmark profiled key accountabilities, required acumens, behaviors and motivation needed to insure repeatable role success. Top sales candidates were assessed individually and collectively, then gapped to each other and back against job benchmark. Favored top choice failed across all factors but one, eliminating person as best choice.
Both the owner and HR director, another WinThinking candidate selection choice, reward us for avoiding more costly mistakes, by partnering with us to select Regional Sales Directors and National VP.