SUMMi7

Business Scaling Method Cohort: January 26, 2023

This immersive virtual program breaks down the fundamentals of running and growing your business so you can develop a playbook tailored for you. Throughout the process, you’ll navigate through six stages with a peer group and coach to implement as you go.

Key features of the program include:
• Baseline Business Assessment
• Monthly Live Learning Sessions
• Bi-Weekly Office Hours to Dive Deeper into Topics that Interest You
• Interaction with Peers from Across the Country Representing

Different Industries
• One-on-One Expert Guide Sessions with former Fortune 50 CEO
• Optional On-Site Implementation Workshop
• Custom Playbook You Can Continuously Build On
• Optional One-on-One Coaching Throughout the Program
• Hybrid Option Available

Led by Eric Strafel SUMMi7 CEO
Call us at (409) 588-6077 or email [email protected] for more info!

SUMMi7 Founder Eric Strafel shares on ALIGNMENT:

In any organization, be it big or small, aligning team members toward a shared mission and purpose is challenging. As time goes by, team members naturally drift into their own functional silos, leading to a lack of shared vision and focus across the team.

Most of us can relate to situations in which top executives become disconnected from the frontlines, leading to a breakdown in alignment of goals and objectives with middle management. Although this might seem more common in larger organizations, small to midsize companies are equally susceptible to these bottlenecks when the right systems aren’t in place.

Whenever embarking on a large project, setting a small, first-step goal that your team is able to quickly achieve can serve as a powerful method of ensuring alignment across your organization.

Early in my time at Honeywell, I saw this approach yield tremendous success. While working in a division that made pressure switches for thermostats, my boss at the time and our team set out to transform our division by focusing on improving productivity, performance to customers, and employee engagement.

The operation we oversaw was a perfect storm for potential misalignment – we had to coordinate bilingual teams across six different factories in two different countries with two sets of regulations in two different languages, all while producing 20,000 units per week in a highly competitive market.

In order to avoid misalignment as we embarked on the transformation of our division, we began working side by side with frontline leaders at each site, starting with a first event in which we outlined our objectives and how it would fit into the company’s wider purpose. Next, we began running weekly Kaizen events with each team, in which we taught them about the continuous improvement practices, how you move from identifying a process failure to planning a solution, implementing that solution, checking the results, and course correcting where necessary.

Moreover, we made sure to engage in dialogue with frontline employees to co-develop goals and metrics, which were consistent across all the departments. After establishing these goals, we posted them all on large boards at the entrance of each building and at the end of each assembly line – allowing leaders to track daily progress and reference them at stand-up meetings.

All of this created alignment and shared language among departments, which in turn gave team members a shared vision and sense of direction; increased motivation and engagement; and built a solid bedrock of trust in the company.

Discover how proper alignment can be the corner stone of your leadership practices in a webinar, illustrating how inclusive leadership can be catalyst to help grow your business.

To discover how proper alignment can impact your business growth, and to learn more about our Executive Leadership Workshop, contact Shelli Howlett at [email protected].

Pillars of Frontline Leadership: EQUALITY

Democratizing and creating greater equality within the decision-making processes of your company is one of the key foundations of frontline leadership.

Contrary to popular belief, the most efficient approach to making most decisions doesn’t come from the top – it comes from your employees on the frontlines who interact with customers and can see and respond to the shifting landscape before anyone else. Every day, team members make hundreds (or even thousands) of decisions that are minor course corrections to keep the business on track and moving forward.

The best people to make those decisions are the ones closest to the work, know how to best implement them, and will see the direct impact those decisions have on assisting the way in which they do their jobs. Only major decisions (e.g. shifts in direction for the company and significant investments) should be made by the top leaders with a broader perspective – and even then, it’s usually more effective to get input from the frontlines.

In the day-to-day chaos of running a company from the top, it’s easy to become disconnected from your team, causing bottlenecks, silos, and missed opportunities. As such, you should ensure that you’re always engaging with your team members on the frontline, taking their thoughts, comments, feedback, and concerns into account whenever you make any decisions for your company.

“People want to work, to contribute, to be able to leverage everything they have to offer, but their voice isn’t being heard.” — The Frontline CEO

One company that serves as a fantastic example of how the pillar of equality works in practice is Salesforce, which – under the guidance of Chief Equality Officer Lori Castillo Martinez – is driving a focus of: accelerating representation; taking employee experience into consideration; designing intentional systems; and engaging stakeholders.

If your team members feel that their voices are being heard by leadership, they are more likely to be engaged, empowered, and energized, leading to improved productivity and outcomes for your company.

Discover how you can make equality a corner stone of your leadership practices in a webinar, illustrating how inclusive leadership can be catalyst to help grow your business.

Register for the webinar at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/395248788767


For more information about our Executive Leadership Workshop, contact Shelli Howlett at [email protected].

Join Our Business Scaling Method™ Cohort

As a business leader, you never know what’s around the corner, but if you keep these growth breakthroughs as a guiding ‘North Star’, you can shore up your business for whatever comes your way and be positioned for continual company growth.

Prepare your company for barriers and challenges that can prevent your business from growth in the SUMMi7 signature Business Scaling Method™ Cohort Program with CEO and former Fortune 500 Executive, as well as award-winning author, Eric Strafel.

- Has your business reached a plateau?
- Are you experiencing challenges with team development?
- Does your business have 10 or more employees with more than $2 million in annual revenue?

If this sounds like you and your company, the Business Scaling Method™ Cohort Program is the program for you!

Our Business Scaling Method™ Cohort addresses the core challenges and barriers that that prevent businesses from achieving sustainable growth. For more information, contact Shelli Howlett at [email protected].

Visit our website to reserve your spot in the Sept. 9th cohort. https://summi7.com/business-scaling-method-cohort-august