Administrative Cohort Implementation Case Study 2021Lynn Walder
A current and relevant case study on the successful implementation of the Administrative Cohort Model by Senior Executive Assistant, Kimberly Cotton, at Jack Henry Associates.
Administrative Cohort Implementation Case Study 2021Lynn Walder
A current and relevant case study on the successful implementation of the Administrative Cohort Model by Senior Executive Assistant, Kimberly Cotton, at Jack Henry Associates.
Content from my books on employer branding: "Brand from the Inside", "Brand for Talent". Includes definitions and how to embark on an employer branding initiative.
We are a team of People and Behaviour Experts: Coaches, Leadership Champions, Change Creators, HR Specialists and Inspirational Trainers.
Our mission is to be the most trusted partner, helping people and businesses reach their aspirations for growth and development.
How to Build a World-Class High-Performance CulturePerformanceIN
Robert Glazer’s company, Acceleration Partners, has won numerous awards for their workplace culture and employee happiness, most recently #4 on Glassdoor’s Employees’ Choice Awards. Glazer attributes this success to the introduction of Company Core Values and a rigorous hiring process. Once employees are hired, care is taken to nurture staff both professionally and personally, while continuously evaluating their fit as the company grows. This 360⁰ approach has led employees to proclaim “I don’t know why I’d ever leave.” Glazer will share the evolution of these practices and his nontraditional approaches such as the Capacity/Experience Paradox, Mindful Transitions, and the Work-Life Paradigm.
As presented at PI LIVE 2018 - Europe's premier Performance Marketing Conference - https://performancein.live
PA Seminar - Hays and APA London March 2011paprofessional
This presentation was delivered to a group of around 100 PAs who attended a Roadshow staged by Hays (PA & Secretarial) and APA (The Association of Personal Assistants) in London on 2nd March 2011.
Speakers included: Geoff Sims, Managing Director, Hays PA & Secretarial, Laura Richardson FAPA DipPA, the current Hays and The Times UK PA of the Year and Dr. Gareth Osborne. Director General, APA.
At a seminar in March 2011 three key individuals in the PA profession spoke to an audience of PAs in Ipswich - here is the content.
The presenters are: Geoff Sims, Managing Director, Hays Pa & Secretarial, Laura Richardson FAPA DipPA, the Hays and The Times UK PA of the Year 2010/11 and Dr. Gareth Osborne, Director General APA.
Employee ambassadorship, or advocacy, goes beyond engagement to determine level of commitment to enterprise, value of products and services, and customers
Talent attraction for the modern recruiterSoraya Lavery
Learn some simple methods to develop a strong talent attraction brand that attracts the "right fit" candidates for your company. Also how to retain key staff and provide a positive return on investment for your organisation.
The Importance of Core Values: How to Captivate Customers & Compel Teams QuekelsBaro
In this Process Street article, we’ll explore why core values are important, how they align with mission and vision, and some examples of core values from other companies.
Content from my books on employer branding: "Brand from the Inside", "Brand for Talent". Includes definitions and how to embark on an employer branding initiative.
We are a team of People and Behaviour Experts: Coaches, Leadership Champions, Change Creators, HR Specialists and Inspirational Trainers.
Our mission is to be the most trusted partner, helping people and businesses reach their aspirations for growth and development.
How to Build a World-Class High-Performance CulturePerformanceIN
Robert Glazer’s company, Acceleration Partners, has won numerous awards for their workplace culture and employee happiness, most recently #4 on Glassdoor’s Employees’ Choice Awards. Glazer attributes this success to the introduction of Company Core Values and a rigorous hiring process. Once employees are hired, care is taken to nurture staff both professionally and personally, while continuously evaluating their fit as the company grows. This 360⁰ approach has led employees to proclaim “I don’t know why I’d ever leave.” Glazer will share the evolution of these practices and his nontraditional approaches such as the Capacity/Experience Paradox, Mindful Transitions, and the Work-Life Paradigm.
As presented at PI LIVE 2018 - Europe's premier Performance Marketing Conference - https://performancein.live
PA Seminar - Hays and APA London March 2011paprofessional
This presentation was delivered to a group of around 100 PAs who attended a Roadshow staged by Hays (PA & Secretarial) and APA (The Association of Personal Assistants) in London on 2nd March 2011.
Speakers included: Geoff Sims, Managing Director, Hays PA & Secretarial, Laura Richardson FAPA DipPA, the current Hays and The Times UK PA of the Year and Dr. Gareth Osborne. Director General, APA.
At a seminar in March 2011 three key individuals in the PA profession spoke to an audience of PAs in Ipswich - here is the content.
The presenters are: Geoff Sims, Managing Director, Hays Pa & Secretarial, Laura Richardson FAPA DipPA, the Hays and The Times UK PA of the Year 2010/11 and Dr. Gareth Osborne, Director General APA.
Employee ambassadorship, or advocacy, goes beyond engagement to determine level of commitment to enterprise, value of products and services, and customers
Talent attraction for the modern recruiterSoraya Lavery
Learn some simple methods to develop a strong talent attraction brand that attracts the "right fit" candidates for your company. Also how to retain key staff and provide a positive return on investment for your organisation.
The Importance of Core Values: How to Captivate Customers & Compel Teams QuekelsBaro
In this Process Street article, we’ll explore why core values are important, how they align with mission and vision, and some examples of core values from other companies.
Your Culture Shapes What Your Business BecomesBill Thomas
Your organization’s culture is not what your CEO or executive team believes it is or proclaims it to be. It’s what your employees, customers and investors believe it to be. This article discusses three keys to shaping a culture that aligns with the business, rather than letting one’s culture determine the business.
Presentation for ASAE-American Society for Association Executives, Marketing and Membership Conference by Panelists: Chris Bailey, Matt Baehr and Missy Blankenship
Time to Scrap Performance AppraisalsJosh BersinJosh BersinGTakishaPeck109
Time to Scrap Performance Appraisals?
Josh Bersin
Josh Bersin
Global Industry Analyst, I study all aspects of HR, business leadership, corporate L&D, recruiting, and HR technology. ✨
Published May 4, 2013
+ Follow
Something big is going on in business today. More and more companies have decided to radically change their performance appraisal process.
Last week at our research conference we spoke with Adobe, Juniper, Kelly Services, and a variety of other companies who have decided to do away with traditional performance ratings and completely change the annual appraisal process.
Our research shows that this is a strong and positive trend.
Why the process must change.
Why do companies have annual reviews in the first place? Primarily they are an artifact from traditional top-down companies where we had to "weed out" the bottom performers every year. By forcing managers to rate people once per year we can have annual talent reviews and decide who gets more money, who to promote, and who to let go.
Coupled with the performance rating is the "potential" rating, which tries to capture an individual's potential to move up two levels in the organization (the traditional definition).
This approach is based on a philosophy that "we cant totally trust managers" so we're going to force them to fit people into these rating scales. And in many companies (around 20%) there are forced distributions.
The well publicized problems with this process abound. These include:
· Employees need and want regular feedback (daily, weekly), so a once-a-year review is not only too late but it's often a surprise.
· Managers cannot typically "judge" an entire year of work from an individual, so the annual review is awkward and uncomfortable for both manager and employee.
· The manager-employee link is not 1:1 like it used to be - we usually have many peers and managers we work with during the year, so one person cannot adequately rate you without lots of peer input.
· While some employees are a poor fit and likely are poor performers, these issues should be addressed immediately, not once per year.
· People are inspired and motivated by positive, constructive feedback - and the "appraisal" process almost always works against this.
· The most important part of an appraisal is the "development planning" conversation - what can one do to improve performance and engagement - and this is often left to a small box on the review form.
Of course companies are very nervous about eliminating this process because:
· We need a fair and validated way to distribute compensation increases (don't we?)
· We need a record of low performance when we let someone go
· We need to capture performance data in an employee's profile for future promotion and other talent reviews, development plans, and career migration
· We need a way to make sure managers are doing their jobs well.
Well I've probably discussed these issues with 100+ companies over the last five years and our research shows more and ...
Objective I am seeking employment with a company where I can us.docxcherishwinsland
Objective: I am seeking employment with a company where I can use my talents and skills to grow and expand the company. Also, I want to succeed in a stimulating and challenging environment, building the success of the company while I experience advancement opportunities.
Education & Qualifications: BSc Administration Management, May 2017
Western Kentucky University
· Fluent Arabic and English
Work History: Admin clerk, Aug 2010 – Jan 2011
Saudi Airlines - Riyadh
Personal Skills Strengths & Profile:
· Quick learner, keen to learn and improve skills
· Self-motivation and ability to take the initiative.
· Problem solving skills
· Ability to work well under pressure
DEVELOPING YOUR
PERSONAL CAREER PLAN
Deliverables:
1. Complete the Personal Career Plan Tools in the Appendix at the end of the document. You should copy and paste the tools into a separate word document. Name the document YourlastnameCareerPlanTools.doc. You will upload this document to the Assignments area in Blackboard.
2. Create a personal resume. Name the document YourlastnameResume.doc. You will upload this document to the Assignments area in Blackboard.
3. Write a 3-5 page reflection paper (12 point font, double spaced) addressing your personal experience in Career Planning. Address each component from the Six-stage Career Development model included in this packet. (See page 2.) What did you learn from this exercise? You may need think about activities you would like to do for Steps 5 and 6 to include in this assignment. This paper is based on your thoughts and supportive documentation is not required.
Objectives of the Personal Career Strategy Assignment
1. Identify characteristics/attributes in support of your personal career brand.
2. Explore personal and University of Louisville institutional assets that will enhance your education and job search process.
3. Package past activity and build clear future goals.
Developing Your Personal Career Strategy
Successful organizations create strategic plans to provide a long-term vision of what they aim to become. They also specify goals and related objectives and then strategic plans that will take them incrementally toward the realization of the vision. This process parallels as a useful paradigm for successful career management. This document can help you develop a personal career management strategy and plan. It gives an overview of the career development process and brief description of each stage and introduces exercises culminating in your own plan.
The 6 Stages of Career Development
The model below depicts the six stages of the career development cycle. In progressing through the stages, you will develop goals and strategies for pursuing a satisfying career. Over time, you will cycle through the process again as you evolve. Career decisions are not one-time events, but steps in a life-long career development process. Research indicates that, on average, people change jobs seven times and careers.
Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer Succession Planningbeyondrewards
Over the past 5 years we have heard predictions of an impending worker shortage due to the retirement of the baby boomers. Predictions are that the retirement of baby boomers will create a drain in knowledge, experience and leadership in our workforce. With the recent downturn in the economy, most organizations did not focus on this trend. However, now that we appear to be in an economic recovery the discussion is back on the table with greater intensity. But did anyone actually speak to the boomers or is this just a prediction?
Get Em Keep Em Grow Em: a Texas BBQ of Integrated Talent ManagementDan Medlin
Originally presented to the Austin Human Resource Management Association for its Stepping Stones program, which prepares senior HR professionals for their next elevation into management or strategy, this program looks at the People, Processes and Tools required, in detail, for each stage of the Integrated Talent Management lifecycle.
Want to move your career forward? Looking to build your leadership skills while helping others learn, grow, and improve their skills? Seeking someone who can guide you in achieving these goals?
You can accomplish this through a mentoring partnership. Learn more about the PMISSC Mentoring Program, where you’ll discover the incredible benefits of becoming a mentor or mentee. This program is designed to foster professional growth, enhance skills, and build a strong network within the project management community. Whether you're looking to share your expertise or seeking guidance to advance your career, the PMI Mentoring Program offers valuable opportunities for personal and professional development.
Watch this to learn:
* Overview of the PMISSC Mentoring Program: Mission, vision, and objectives.
* Benefits for Volunteer Mentors: Professional development, networking, personal satisfaction, and recognition.
* Advantages for Mentees: Career advancement, skill development, networking, and confidence building.
* Program Structure and Expectations: Mentor-mentee matching process, program phases, and time commitment.
* Success Stories and Testimonials: Inspiring examples from past participants.
* How to Get Involved: Steps to participate and resources available for support throughout the program.
Learn how you can make a difference in the project management community and take the next step in your professional journey.
About Hector Del Castillo
Hector is VP of Professional Development at the PMI Silver Spring Chapter, and CEO of Bold PM. He's a mid-market growth product executive and changemaker. He works with mid-market product-driven software executives to solve their biggest growth problems. He scales product growth, optimizes ops and builds loyal customers. He has reduced customer churn 33%, and boosted sales 47% for clients. He makes a significant impact by building and launching world-changing AI-powered products. If you're looking for an engaging and inspiring speaker to spark creativity and innovation within your organization, set up an appointment to discuss your specific needs and identify a suitable topic to inspire your audience at your next corporate conference, symposium, executive summit, or planning retreat.
About PMI Silver Spring Chapter
We are a branch of the Project Management Institute. We offer a platform for project management professionals in Silver Spring, MD, and the DC/Baltimore metro area. Monthly meetings facilitate networking, knowledge sharing, and professional development. For event details, visit pmissc.org.
NIDM (National Institute Of Digital Marketing) Bangalore Is One Of The Leading & best Digital Marketing Institute In Bangalore, India And We Have Brand Value For The Quality Of Education Which We Provide.
www.nidmindia.com
New Explore Careers and College Majors 2024.pdfDr. Mary Askew
Explore Careers and College Majors is a new online, interactive, self-guided career, major and college planning system.
The career system works on all devices!
For more Information, go to https://bit.ly/3SW5w8W
2. 2
YOUR CHIEF CULTURE OFFICER CAN TRULY SUPERCHARGE YOUR
COMPANY
Cast properly, the role of the Chief Culture Officer bridges a company’s high-level visioneering
with the way the work is actually being done and the value actually being added. This is the
conduit by which the company’s recruiting, hiring, onboarding, training and management
processes are aligned with strategy and vision.
• Is there truly “meat on the bones” of our
lofty vision statement?
• Can we draw a straight line of logic from
“we tighten this bolt only so much and no
more” to our vision statement? Does the
guy who is tightening the bolt understand
it?
• Do we look first to ensure that a
candidate has the skills down to a “T” and
hope he or she is a good fit?
• Or, do we first look for cultural fit and a
baseline skills fit, knowing we can fine-
tune a candidate’s skills?
• Have we built our training program to
support that assertion?
• Is every job or position designed to
support our overall value delivery
system?
• Have we struck the ideal balance of
wages, training, and job design to support
our vision?
• Would the ones doing the work and
adding the value agree?
• Would our customers agree?
The Chief Culture Officer asks tough questions like:
3. 3
BUT ASKING QUESTIONS IS THE EASY PART
The Chief Culture Officer must ensure alignment of words, of deeds, of ideas, of processes,
and of organizational structures.
Any grouping of ideas or things, whether
visioneering documents, teams of teams,
procedure manuals, or marketing materials,
should be logically ordered such that they
visually represent a pyramid. The org chart
is a particularly apt example. The idea at
the top of any structure should summarize
the ideas below. Similarly, ideas below
should support the bigger idea above.
When the ideas, teams, or processes
described toward the bottom of the pyramid
support the ideas above, we say that the
lower-level ideas are in alignment with the
higher level idea.
A company’s “visioneering statements”
should follow this recipe. So many experts
out there recommend distilling the company
message down to a mantra, a tag line, a
catch-phrase, or a vision statement.
However, companies tend to sanitize their
statement and wash out all the meaning to
meet some recommended word target
(typically 3-7 words). This leaves the people
not involved in creating the statement
scratching their heads.
If your company falls into this trap, it should
seek to put real “meat on the bones” by
creating a hierarchy of statements such
”vision”, “mission”, and “core values”
statements to give more color commentary
and context to the overarching catch-phrase.
The lowest-level process steps documented
in your procedure manual should not only
support the higher-level process steps, but
they should also support the higher-level
vision statement and organization structure.
A company should also design its
management systems, measurement
systems, and reward systems with clear
hierarchical structures…they must be in
alignment with and support the higher-
level vision, organizations, and processes.
4. 4
I AM THAT IDEAL CHIEF CULTURE OFFICER
Continuum of Business
I have driven strategy across the literal
spectrum of types of organizations:
Size – Fortune 50, Fortune 500, medium
(75-employees), my own print shop with
seven employees, and my own consulting
practice
Industry – Computer manufacturing,
lighting fixture manufacturing, printing,
electrical contract manufacturing, non-profit,
consulting
Function – Sales, marketing, finance,
accounting, operations
Process-Oriented
I help businesses design and document
processes where the work actually happens,
always with an eye toward using such
documentation for training employees.
The Work
I have done the work, whether mixing ink on
the shop floor, on my hands and knees
painting floors for 5S Kaizen events,
developing spreadsheets for analysis,
developing presentations for investor
relations, writing and delivering performance
reviews, developing new service offerings,
creating strategy maps and balanced
scorecards, drawing value stream maps, and
making sales calls.
I have managed the employees on
manufacturing floors and in office settings.
I have mentored the managers who
manage the employees.
My Own Work
I develop and deliver my own workshops on
a range of business topics including vision-
casting, leadership for the shop-floor
manager, sales systems, and presentation
skills.
Speaking
Organizations frequently ask me to speak at
their meetings and facilitate their training
workshops.
5. 5
Most people have not
had training in
communications, logic,
and business problem-
solving. Sometimes,
coaching people in these
areas is all that’s needed.
I MENTOR MANAGERS TO BECOME THE LEADERS WE NEED
While at the YMCA
I was asked to facilitate a member-
engagement program called Listen First,
whereby I trained YMCA staff in listening
skills via two half-day workshop sessions
and periodic check-ins over a three-month
window.
I mentored YMCA managers, even my
own direct supervisor by introducing
some of the strategy frameworks I’ve
picked up over my career to assist them in
problem-solving.
I mentored many YMCA youth (teenage)
staff in getting along in an adult world
and what leadership means. I learned a
thing or two from them, as well.
In my own leadership coaching
practice (Highland Ross)
The core focus of my practice is coaching
small business owners in leadership,
functional disciplines (sales, marketing,
operations, finance, etc.), and personal
effectiveness.
I have created the curriculum and all
presentation materials for a twelve-
month, twelve-topic leadership
development workshop series. This
program is targeted at businesses with at
least 10 employees and a leadership
team.
I have launched a quarterly planning
workshop series which gives business
owners an operations review and
strategic planning retreat which is
largely absent in the world of small
business.
6. 6
OFTEN, MY COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT MIGRATES TOWARD
LEADERSHIP ROLES
Former Board Member
I served on the oversight board of Manos de
Cristo, an Austin TX United Way agency
serving low-income people with free dental
care, ESL classes, and a thrift shop. This
was my first true volunteer experience
working with people in need.
Youth Soccer Coach
I coached many youth soccer teams in
Conyers GA (Rockdale Youth Soccer), and
Winston-Salem NC (Optimist and Twin City).
I earned my F-level coaching certification
working with players up to age 12.
Neighborhood Swim Team Manager
I led a program of 120+ community pool
swimmers. I was responsible for hiring and
mentoring the coaching staff, coordinating
communication with the parents,
coordinating volunteers throughout the
season, and organizing the season-end
celebrations.
Summer Swim League President
I served as president of a 10-team summer
swim league. I led efforts to codify swim
meet rules, facilitated volunteer and coach
meetings, organized the annual
championship swim meet, ordered supplies
and led the merger between our 10-team
league and a cross-town 7-team league.
Youth Lacrosse Coach
I coached several lacrosse teams with
Winston-Salem Lacrosse, ages 10 – 15. I
earned the Coach Education Program Level
II certification from US Lacrosse.
Lacrosse Club Treasurer
I served on the board of directors and as
treasurer of the local youth lacrosse
organization.
Local Kiwanis Club President-Elect
I am currently a member of the Twin City
Kiwanis Club, where I sit on the board of
directors and head-up efforts to visit other
clubs in our district to share best practices.
I have been named president-elect, a term I
will fill for one year, whereupon I will take on
the role of president of the club.
7. The following pages
represent my work history
chronologically. I have
dedicated one page per
company, to provide much
more context than a
traditional résumé.
Work
History
8. 8
MY WORK HISTORY HAS PREPARED ME FOR THIS ROLE
Dell
Acuity Brands
Lighting
Int’l Minute
Press
Salem
Technologies
YMCA
Piedmont
Candy
Company
Highland
Ross
‘93-’01
’02-’05
’05-’10
Jan ‘11-Aug ‘11
’13-’16
Apr’16-‘Jun ‘16
‘Nov ’16-Present
Rapidly promoted through world’s #1 PC vendor, most
notably to Office of the Chairman Strategy Group and
Global Alliance Business Manager
Promoted from Sr. Analyst to
Operations Consultant
As Owner, improved lead times
from 15 to 3 days and A/R from 30
to 20 days; created operations
manual, employee recruitment and
retention system
Value Stream Manager
Sports Director, developed volunteer coach
recruiting and retention program, initiated volunteer
background check process and partnership with
Positive Coaching Alliance, led Listen First employee
workshops
Production Manager
Principal, Certified Professional Business Coach,
develop curriculum and all materials for leadership
workshops, develop all branding including website, all
sales, all admin, facilitate all coaching and workshops
9. 9
DELL COMPUTER CORPORATION: 1993 – 2001
Field Service Logistic Financial Analyst, 1993 - 1995. I created monthly journal
entries to adjust Dell’s warranty accrual and inventory reserves based on a forecasting
model I developed.
Services Marketing Manager, 1995 - 1996. Working with marketing, sales, and field
services teams, I developed service offerings to be bundled, or as upgrades to Dell’s
standard warranty.
Call Center Planning Manager, 1996 - 1998. I managed a team of analysts in
developing forecasts, budgets, and ad hoc analyses. I developed a capacity requirements
model for forecasting technical support call volume, service parts, and labor dispatches.
Office of the Chairman Strategy Consultant, 1999. Selected for a one-year
assignment, I provided analytical support to the top three executives with Dell on topics such
as competitive analyses, investor relations and services offerings.
Global Alliance Business Manager, 1999 – 2000. I built processes to ensure a
smooth outsourcing relationship between IBM’s Global Services unit and Dell’s regional
business units.
Worldwide Operations Strategy Consultant, 2000 – 2001. I developed business
case recommendations for worldwide supply chain optimization. I led cross-functional
teams in manufacturing site selection analyses and logistics process engineering. This
position was eliminated in 2001 due to the tech downturn.
Applied Learnings
How to create and present a compelling
business case, based on Barbara Minto’s
The Pyramid Principle and Bain &
Company’s approach
Project management, based on Project
Management Institute best practices
Six Sigma methodologies
The power and application of Operations
Research methodologies
Call center queuing theory based on
Erlang modeling
Product reliability engineering and
modeling based upon Weibull distributions
What “strategy” truly means in a corporate
context
Expert-level Excel and PowerPoint skills
Dell gave me amazing, varied experiences in field logistics, call centers, manufacturing,
administration, and corporate strategy during the exciting tech boom of the ’90s.
10. 10
ACUITY BRANDS (LITHONIA LIGHTING): 2002 – 2005
Strategic Enterprise Development Senior Analyst, 2002-
2004. In this role, I provided analytical support to Acuity’s Lighting
Group executive leadership team. I partnered with each business
unit to create their Strategy Maps and Balanced Scorecards. I
performed ad hoc financial and operations analyses. Through
developing and presenting one such business case, I identified $17
million in manufacturing cost reduction by moving an acquired
product line to a low-cost work center.
Director, Operations Strategy, Jan – Feb 2005. During this
short-lived tenure, I managed the portfolio of the manufacturing
organization’s Kaizen events and developed tools to assist the
Kaizen event teams. This office was disbanded shortly after its
inception due to cost pressures exacerbated by a commercial
construction downturn.
Applied Learnings
Lean Manufacturing principles
Six Sigma methodologies, which became more
structured since my time with Dell
How to create Strategy Maps and Balanced
Scorecards, based on tools, research, and workshops
developed by Robert Kaplan and David Norton
How to create a compelling Value Proposition and
Value Delivery System, based on engagements with
Michael Lanning of The DPV Group
Starting as an analyst supporting the Executive Leadership Team on a range of corporate
strategy and manufacturing initiatives, I was selected to join to the manufacturing
organization’s Lean Implementation Office.
11. 11
INTERNATIONAL MINUTE PRESS: 2005 – 2010
As owner of a franchise quick print shop, I led all aspects of our value delivery system, including
lead generation, order fulfillment, cash collection, and developing customer loyalty.
After I had been caught up in another
reduction-in-force, this time with Lithonia
Lighting, my wife and I decided to move
closer to my parents in North Carolina and
to purchase a business. I had previous
experience in a large commercial print shop
after college, and had fond memories of the
craft.
We bought an existing quick print shop,
which was branded International Minute
Press.
We quickly realized we bought a lot of
problems which were not uncovered in the
discovery process. While we learned much
about small business ownership, and had a
wonderful time serving our clients and
taking care of our employees, we just could
not overcome these initial problems.
In the meantime, and prior to the tough
decision to close the doors, I made
improvements spanning our entire value
delivery system.
Through working with our paper vendors, we
received paper orders daily instead of using
the previous owners’ system of placing
batched paper orders. This simple change
reduced our customer-experienced lead
time from fifteen to three days.
By re-designing the franchisor’s
recommended field sales system, I reduced
the volume of unsolicited quotes which, in
turn freed up considerable time for our quote
specialist. By so doing, our quote
conversion rate improved by a factor of
seven.
Our print shop had many customers on
credit terms (net 30, etc.), but did not have a
good way of managing its receivables. I
created a tiered credit terms policy, with only
the most credit-worthy customers getting net
30 terms, while many clients were extended
much less generous terms. I bolstered this
initiative with scripting for our employees
and signage for walk-in customers. Finally, I
tweaked our collections system and follow-
up system. All of these changes reduced
our receivables days outstanding from
thirty to twenty days.
12. 12
SALEM TECHNOLOGIES: Jan – Aug 2011
Salem Technologies is a small, privately-
held contract manufacturer mostly
supporting the automotive and defense
industries.
As Value Stream Manager, I developed
and implemented solutions to stabilize the
manufacturing operations. Many of the
problems stemmed from attempting to use
QuickBooks as its inventory management
system. Lacking true inventory visibility,
parts shortages were only discovered once
a job had been nearly completely set up on
the printed circuit board “pick-and-place”
machines. Thus began a vicious cycle
whereby the owner of the company himself
would make note of the shortage to place
the order later in the day. Inevitably, the
owner forgot to place the order in time to
meet the vendor’s shipping cutoff time.
Parts were then delayed by not one, but two
days.
Meanwhile, the shop floor technicians set
up another job using many of the same
parts from the previous job. The part in
question would be received a few days later,
the job would be set up (again) only to
discover they were out of yet another part.
This cycle repeated itself continuously. So,
my job was to essentially save the owner of
the company from himself.
In creating many of these shop floor
solutions, I drew heavily upon Lean
Manufacturing principles.
I implemented a work ticket system, a
Plan for Every Part database to govern
the inventory management (optimal
stocking levels, re-order points, reorder
quantities, etc.), a purchased parts
“supermarket” which worked with the Plan
for Every Part, and built a procedures
manual for recurring jobs.
Unfortunately but not surprisingly, I did not
get to see the true impact upon the
operations of these changes because the
company hit a financial crisis and terminated
all but the most senior employees, including
myself.
As Value Stream Manager, my role was to stabilize the manufacturing shop floor by
introducing Lean Manufacturing principles to the company.
Applied Learnings
Lean Manufacturing principles including
value stream mapping, mistake-proofing,
creating flow, standard work, 5S, kanban,
and quick changeovers
13. 13
THE YMCA OF NORTHWEST NC: 2012 - 2016
I was widely regarded as a thought leader, not just within youth sports, but across the
association.
In this role, I introduced the YMCA to
concepts I called the Practice Night
Experience and the Game Day
Experience. We implemented many simple
procedures and systems aimed at improving
these experiences for the players, their
parents, and the volunteer coaches.
I was responsible for coach recruiting,
player registrations, assigning players to
teams, assigning practice nights, creating
game schedules, and recruiting part-time
employees to manage practice nights and
officiate games.
I had spent evenings with the YMCA working
as a swim coach while maintaining a full-
time job search. In 2013, that experience
led me to join the YMCA full-time as the
Sports Director of their largest branch.
As Sports Director, I led the overall
management for youth sports programming
with 2,000+ youth participants, 250+
volunteer coaches, and 40+ part-time and
seasonal staff. I had full P&L responsibility
for these programs, and autonomously
managed toward key profitability, growth,
participant retention and other customer
satisfaction metrics.
Applied Learnings
Group facilitation and training in both
small and large group settings
Coaching and teaching employees
I was asked to lead branch initiatives
related to child safety and member
engagement. Regarding member
engagement, I was asked to lead an
initiative called Listen First, whereby I led
workshops to help YMCA employees with
active listening skills so that they can better
engage with the YMCA’s customers
(members).
I was ultimately recruited away from the
YMCA by a volunteer coach who was the
Human Resources manager with a
manufacturing company.
14. 14
PIEDMONT CANDY COMPANY: May – June, 2016
The move to Piedmont Candy Company was undoubtedly the worst mistake of my
professional career.
As mentioned in the previous slide, I was recruited away from my role with the YMCA to
become Piedmont Candy Company’s Production Manager.
On the surface, the move had everything I would have looked for; a chance to get back into
manufacturing in a meaningful role at nearly twice the salary.
As it turned out, I was completely mis-cast for the job the company really wanted me to do,
which was to serve as a second-level machine repair technician. If a machine operator
had an equipment failure or jam and could not solve the problem himself, I was expected
to be able to repair the machine. It was also made very clear to me that the management
of the company was not interested in my ideas.
I left the company of my own accord in good standing a short two months after quitting my
YMCA job.
15. 15
HIGHLAND ROSS: 2016 - PRESENT
I have launched my own leadership development practice, working with business owners
and managers to become the leaders their companies need.
I quickly regretted my decision to leave the
YMCA for Piedmont Candy and left the
company two months later with nothing
lined up.
I had been introduced to the concept of
Business Coaching more than ten years
prior, and had always been attracted to the
idea of helping small business owners who
are stuck in some aspect of their
businesses. I took this opportunity to
pursue this passion. I completed my
certification to become a professional
business coach in November, 2016, and
launched Highland Ross.
I have developed all aspects of the brand of
Highland Ross, starting with a logo design. I
have created, through paid graphic
designers, all brand literature including The
Highland Ross Way, flyers, and a website,
highlandross.com.
All business development activities rest
squarely on my shoulders. I attend select
networking and chamber events and am a
member of the Twin City Kiwanis Club.
I have developed the curriculum and all
training materials for a leadership workshop
series targeted at small business owners. I
have also developed the workshop
materials for a quarterly planning retreat.
I create, either from scratch, or drawing
heavily upon my work experience various
templates, tools, and “frameworks” for my
coaching clients. I have developed an
extensive library of such tools.
Highland Ross Brings
Substance To Leadership by:
§ Instilling fundamental leadership
principles into your first-level
management ranks (line managers, group
leaders, your people charged with leading
the people where the work is actually
being done, where the value is actually
being added.)
§ Teaching business fundamentals (creating
defensible value delivery systems,
developing solid business cases, creating
systems and structure)
§ Coaching leaders through their
opportunities and challenges
16. 16
EDUCATION AND CONTACT INFORMATION
MBA, Vanderbilt University, Owen Graduate School of
Management, 1993
BS, Auburn University, Business Administration, 1989
robtaross@gmail.com
www.highlandross.com
336-671-7640
linkedin.com/in/bob-ross/in
facebook.com/
BobRossNotTheDangPainter/f
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt trained, NC State, 2011
Certified Professional Business Coach, Professional
Business Coach Alliance, 2016