Culture

One of the most fascinating parts of a mountain is not just the view from the summit, or even from the base, but the micro-climates that are woven throughout its structure. A microclimate is a local set of conditions that differ from other surrounding sets. In other words, the base of a mountain has certain conditions that the peak does not. Each is its own micro-climate and has its own unique characteristics and unique perspectives. Businesses are very much the same, especially when it comes to company culture and the perspective of each unique individual.

Each department, individual, wing, or group within a business, or even the business itself, are micro-climates. Each has its own set of characteristics, perspectives, aspirations, and missions. The business owner, CEO, or entrepreneur has a responsibility to ensure each micro-climate works in tandem with the other. When you put operating a business in this perspective and consider each factor in each micro-climate on a mountain, it makes us realize how difficult running a business can be. The culture of each department, each business, and the perspective of each individual play a huge role in the shaping of a company although it may go unseen. For the entrepreneur and CEO, what are the steps you take to ensure that the culture and individual perspectives work together rather than in opposition?

From experience, we can tell you that the following number of steps have helped build a strong company culture, and make sure each perspective is valued:

Assume nothing.
Seek to understand first, then to be understood.
Start from the position you “don’t” know, vs. you “do” know.
Ask clarifying questions.
Restate what you heard, get confirmation, and then answer

Leading in this way provides your team a “voice” in the refinement of your culture.

His guidance, leadership, and friendship are PRICELESS

He has mentored me to achieve amazing professional goals without losing sight of the most important part of my life as a wife and mother. His guidance, leadership, and friendship are PRICELESS!!

Brian is a Full Service Mentor

Over the years, Brian has not only mentored the sales team, but also our Department Managers throughout the corporation developing personal goals, department goals, leadership skills, and execution.

A Great Motivator

He has been a great motivator for me, my team, and our organization’s management team. Outside of the impressive sales increase, there is an abundance of projects and initiatives that Brian has successfully led I would like to highlight some of them that ultimately changed my life both professionally and personally.

Learned How to Grow Territory

During the time I work with Brian, he challenged me, showed me how to sell and how to win in almost any circumstance. Brian helped me grow my sales territory (Chicago) from nothing to a $1,000,000+ book of business.

The Summit Solutions is not a one-fits-all process

Is the Summit Solutions a one-fits-all process that will lead to selling more? No, there are plenty of national programs with regional support that will sell you on that. I will tell you from my experience, they are outdated, not personalized, and don’t work. They typically also only focus on the sales department. Brian’s method is to work with the whole organization, while stressing the importance of creating a company culture that people want to be a part of.

As the VP Sales Manager, I was initially skeptical

As the VP Sales Manager, I was initially skeptical and guarded as to why we had to bring in an outside sales expert. I perceived this as an insult to my abilities and the performance of our team. Today I can honestly say that the association, teachings, and concepts Brian presented were the BEST thing to happen to our Company, myself, and our team.

When we started with Summit Learning Solutions we had 62 employees

When we started with Summit Learning Solutions we had 62 employees mostly serving the state of Michigan. Now, we have nearly 200 employees serving 17 states; and we’re still growing consistently. Moreover, when we started with Summit we sold about 3-5 Million a year in new business; now we sell 13 Million a year in new business.

They sourced and hired our first-ever sales team

They sourced and hired our first-ever sales team and created the sales and marketing plan to start the process. They designed our sales team’s compensation plans, trained them on appropriate sales methodology, and lead our overall strategy. Candidly, we thought they were way too optimistic in their sales projections. It turns out they undersold the possibilities. The program was very successful, very fast.

We are a better, healthier, and the more performance-driven company

We are a better, healthier, and the more performance-driven company now thanks to Brian’s training and support. Most importantly, it’s more profitable.