When we penned our first Year in Review, we never could have imagined that 20 years would pass so quickly. We are grateful, honored and so happy to have achieved this milestone. And we are very thankful that our clients have trusted us as their partner year in and year out.

This year, we have seen more fragmented communication than ever…from politics to the pandemic. The need for strategic and crisp communication has never been more important. We have seen leaders step up with heads, hearts and souls to face the many challenges 2020 has produced. That steadfast leadership has driven through shifting customer demands, supply chain disruptions and daily changes due to the global pandemic. We feel honored to have played a role in supporting these leaders and frankly, feel inspired by their authentic leadership.

Like so many people in 2020, we continued our work in a new way as we said goodbye to our brick-and-mortar office. We’ve embraced various video technologies to meet our clients where they are…from Teams and Zoom to FaceTime and BlueJeans.

Even though we are all working through unprecedented change, we are proud to provide a few highlights:

Leadership Coaching and Strategic Communications

• Continued our work on a network-wide Leader as Communicator program to improve communication effectiveness in a manufacturing environment. We conducted leader and employee focus groups and are helping front-line supervisors improve their skills to increase employee engagement levels. We’re also providing support to senior-level leaders to ensure they are coaching and supporting their front-line supervisors as strong leader communicators.
• Provided intensive one-on-one support for a team of senior executives preparing to deliver a critical management presentation. Work included developing aligned key messages, designing PowerPoint slides, and coaching each leader one-on-one to deliver in their own genuine style and effectively manage Q/As.
• Completed individualized multi-month communication coaching programs for leaders in several global companies, helping them improve their communication competencies, executive presence and leadership abilities.

Managing Reputation

• Helped clients develop COVID communication plans and crisis materials for internal and external audiences.
• Supported a privately-owned company to continue integration and merging of two distinct regional businesses. Work included creating and launching a Vision, Mission, Values platform and designing a strategic employee communications plan for locations across the country. Another critical component of work included designing a communication strategy and supporting leaders in announcing a major global outsourcing project and employee downsizing.
• Partnered with a long-time privately-owned company to develop a strategic communication plan for all stakeholder audiences as they sold their family-owned company to a Fortune 500 publicly-traded company.

Customer Engagement, Marketing and Sales

• Launched a research project to assess the effectiveness of the global customer communication system as input to prioritizing communication changes to drive improved business processes and results.
• Worked with technical teams to research, write and deliver in-depth technical white papers on key products to help support sales efforts.
• Partnered with multiple leaders to develop presentations and scripts and to coach them in authentically delivering their leadership messages with impact.

Here’s a little feedback we received this year:

"You were both such bright lights for me during this difficult year. I can't thank you enough for all you've done to help me with my communication challenges."
–Academic Client

"I had employees in my audience crying. But thanks to you, I was at peace with my messages. We nailed what I needed to say – as hard as it was."
–CEO Client

"You guys are very good. I appreciate the authenticity you put into your questions drilling me for this important presentation. Every question was right on."
–High-Potential Coaching Client

Every day that we have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact through improved communication is a day we feel grateful to be consulting. Thanks to all of our clients for the great partnerships we are privileged to have. We look forward to working together in 2021.

Warmly,

Barbara and Janell

Please visit our testimonials page to read more about our partnerships.