Communication: Foundation for Trust

Great communication is a key factor in the success of our clients. In our experience, not only is communication a core value for the PFD team, but we also found it to be a key factor in the success of our clients. We find many CEOs theoretically understand the importance of great communication both internally and externally, however, the execution can be difficult.

Equally, CEOs must communicate with their teams; over-communicating their vision, the core values, where they are focusing, where they are going. It is so important that this type of communication happens regularly. At PFD, we found two tools to be very effective in communicating and aligning our team.

Internal communication is a key factor for team alignment. The first tool that we recommend is a weekly CEO email. This is compiled by the senior leadership team, but edited and sent by the CEO to the entire company on a set schedule every week. Celebrating wins, reinforcing core values, and sharing KPIs can all be populated by the data in Metronome Growth Systems.

The second tool that we found to be very helpful is using growth system software to drive alignment and visibility. In our case, we have had success with Metronome Growth Systems that not only captures the company’s one-page growth plan but it also makes it easy for leaders to update their key initiatives and have awareness of what the rest of the team is working on.

We have found excellent communication to be a key success driver for high growth companies and nurturing the culture as the company grows. This is a core value for the PFD team.

Core Values: Client Value

Client value is all about our clients getting a great return on their investment. Not only financially, but with the time we spend together. Time is one of our most precious and limited resources, and one of the few things we can’t make more of. One of the great outcomes that we see with our clients, and our coaching work specifically, is it frees up time for them to work strategically on the business. It allows their teams to execute so much better, which ultimately gives them more time to be with customers, to be with family and the make time for the other areas of their life that are really important.

A Holistic Approach

As entrepreneurs, we naturally come from an abundance mindset where anything is possible. However, there are two exceptions to that; Time and Energy. Time is finite, and we must be good stewards of our time as well as the time of our team’s time. The second is energy levels, and we as leaders are all wired with different gifts and strengths. This is true of the things that give us energy as well as the things that rob us of our energy. We spend a lot of time helping CEOs build their senior teams, so their leaders are clear on their strengths and are in roles that really leverage their strengths.

What approaches have you found to best recognize your team?

Zingerman's Workshop

When you take time off from client work and attend workshops and invest in learning best practices, you always have to ask yourself what it is you walk away with. The ZingTrain workshop is one that I would attend over and over again. It was hosted by Zingerman's - a company that began as a deli, and has since grown into an incredible organization that spans into several industries. Why is Zingerman's so special? They have a world-class leadership and visioning strategies, and they generously share the secrets to their success. It was perfect for learning how to reinforce that all stakeholders should be engaged in all change, and how this change has to be communicated to the expanding team. Their creative approach to explaining their Vision Process helped me walk away with an amazing new approach to creating a Vision Plan. I had a great opportunity to attend a Coaches session with a room full of incredible power thinkers. The two-day session helped me gain valuable perspective, and I can’t wait to share it with my own clients. Zingerman's ideas on visioning and leadership are valuable in helping a company scale, and they are complimentary to our Scaling Up and 3HAG IP.

Zingerman’s offer a great series of books you can learn about and purchase here

The ZingTrain Workshops are perfect for your company and leadership teams. Learn how to attend their next session here.

Confidence & Clarity: Inside our May 14th Workshop

What an awesome experience we had on May 14th for our 3HAG Workshop with best-selling author of 3HAG WAY Shannon Susko. What is 3HAG? It stands for 3-year Highly Achievable Goal. It is the bridge between your Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) and your smaller goals. Shannon Susko’s 3HAG Framework will allow your company to connect your business's daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and year-of-execution goals and align them with your 3-year Highly Achievable Goal, so that you are always on track to achieve your BHAG. It is a tool for leaders to be able to create a strategy and execute it with confidence and clarity. Our workshop provided a day of training with Leaders who walked away with practical and simple tools to implement their company’s 3 year plan.

Ethan Martin is honored to become the 1st US based coach to be certified in the 3HAG Way, and we are excited to continue working with Shannon to help give more leaders the tools and gain the confidence, clarity to succeed.

Missed the workshop but want to learn more about 3HAG? Please reach out to us to learn more.

3HAG Way & PFD Group Strategic Thinking & Execution Planning Workshop May 14th

Have you ever struggled with confidently crafting a differentiated strategy? One that the whole company understands and aligned to deliver? One that puts your company in a unique and valuable position now and in the future? One that you can clearly make great decisions today and looking out 3 years –12 quarters?

These burning questions and more are answered in Shannon Susko’s & Ethan Martin’s 3HAG Workshop taking place on May 14th, 2019 in Denver, CO. You will learn how to ‘Gut Out’, develop, and implement your 3HAG (3 Year Highly Achievable Goal) and build a detailed 12 quarter-over-quarter plan (your Swim-lanes) to provide a confident execution plan designed to keep you on track to meet or exceed your stretch goal. This workshop is designed for business owners and CEOs looking to refine and focus their strategies. By learning and practicing the 3HAG 12-step process, you will dig into the key areas of your strategy to create the confidence you need to grow your business.

Learn More Here

Fortune / Gazelles International Scaling Up Summit – St. Louis 2017

This was my third Scaling Up Summit and well worth attending – for the great learning, community and inspiration of proven growth tools to share with my clients. It is exciting to be a part of the Gazelles International coaching community and bring additional resources to support high growth companies. Let me share some of the highlights from the Summit that captured my interest. 

There is a new breed of company coming to the forefront. The “Exponential Organization” uses the power of technology to scale up, and has the ability to capture much larger markets with new ways of thinking. Change is constant, but the rate of change is increasing, so how to you keep up? ”The answer is the Exponential Organization.”

Digital transformation has changed how a company evolves. No longer is human power the answer (more people, more productivity), but instead, accelerating technologies are what brings a company to it’s goal at a pace that will outperform others who continue to move on a linear course, rather than a hyper-accelerated course.

The second book that inspired me is titled "Everybody MATTERS - The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family."

Inside these pages, powerful data is provided on the strong financial results that can be had when you invest in your people and community. Bob Chapman sums it up: “Everyone wants to do better. Trust them. Leaders are everywhere. Find them. People achieve good things, big and small, every day. Celebrate them. Some people wish things were different. Listen to them. Everybody matters. Show them."