Personal issues were never our best strengths and MasterThink helped us deal with both personal problems and partnership weaknesses. As a result, we were able to keep our staff small and use outside consultants when needed.
I would recommend MasterThink to anyone running a business. Jim can help in the areas of weakness and make the team more functional.
Terra Land Development
AHI Operations Manager
Jim helped take our $13 million company to now over $40 million in revenue in 8 years.
We had bad management organization. MasterThink came in and helped get everyone organized and on the same page, and put in accountability measures to reach our goals. We reorganized and brought in better employees to help grow the company.
The coaching that Master think brings to the table is second to none. They can work with office, operations, sales and executives to bring a team together.
One area of significant improvement has been the ability to hold our employees accountable and make them proud to work for AHI.
I have personally benefitted from Jim Brewer as he has taught me knowledge and expertise, and from listening to what he has done to help other companies be successful.
President, AHI
Jim Brewer’s approach to Strategic Planning is unique, and his personnel involvement with the leadership team and our managers was a very positive experience.
By clearly identifying our various customers and defining what each of them expected from our organization, and by identifying specific goals we wanted to achieve in our business, we were able to develop a business plan that would help us significantly improve customer service and grow our business.
While many organizations develop strategic plans that look good siting on the shelf, MasterThink helps put that plan into action, achieving buy-in at all levels of the company. The “Focused Discipline” approach works because your goals are constantly in front of your staff and your staff becomes accountable for the results.
My leadership team was still in charge of the implementation process while Jim worked closely with us and our managers on a regular basis. He provided us with the clarity and focus we needed to achieve the individual goals that would lead to our accomplishing our facility goals. This method created a clear understanding by the entire staff of how their actions contributed to the overall success of our organization.
My leadership team was so impressed with the results in the first year that we stayed with MasterThink for several years to follow. I would strongly recommended MasterThink to any business that is trying to grow—MasterThink can help.
Medical Center of Lewisville
Jim Brewer focuses his decades of experience with a proven process that results in improvement, not just change. Master think’s process is built on listening and developing a unique plan for every business. He commits his energy and wisdom to the process and comes up with something that employees and management can proudly implement, monitor, and use in a meaningful way.
Chief Executive Officer
Masterplan Consultants
ES2 – Tulsa
I believe that Jim and his organization played a major role in increasing the business acumen of the people at Interstate. He did this by getting to the root of issues and implementing written standards of how we were to do business. He is willing to get to the core of issues and remove waste from processes even when there is much stigmatism to continue the way things have always been done. This encouraged much needed change and opened the possibility for growth.
The results we saw were significant growth. During Jim’s tenure we went from an estimated 9 million units annually to over 15 million. I know this was due to a lot of hard work from many people, but it is interesting to note that Interstate’s fastest growth period was during Jim’s tenure with the organization.
The experience in going through the detailed processes helped me grow as a manager and impacted other areas of business where I have been since. I apply the same type of philosophy where ever I go, always utilizing documentation and getting with the people who actually perform the work. It is at this rudimentary level where the most impactful benefits are derived.
I would recommend MasterThink to any organization who is either in a growth mode or one who is stagnant and wants to get into a growth pattern and out of a rut. Jim and his organization know how to make this happen.
Masterplan Consultants
Highland Park UMC
Interstate Batteries of Fort Worth Alliance
This is what happened to us. We resisted hiring consultants, not understanding that consultants bring two values to your organization. 1) They have a methodology designed to achieve results in their areas of expertise because they have achieved results working for other firms, and 2) they have a storehouse of knowledge that comes from working with other firms that they can share
When we first met with MasterThink, we came to the realization that our annual planning was not our annual execution. It was more of a wish list that got set aside during the year because the business of our agency took up everyone’s time. Further, getting each department to buy into the vision and then translating that down to every employee, so that not only is the department accountable but so is each employee, was just not possible within the resources of our staffing.
We had to make a decision—either someone within the organization was going to have to drop some of their current work to take this on, or we would have to hire an outside firm to help us. We decided going outside was 1) cost effective because we would not have to waste time inventing a process, we could adopt one that was proven, and 2) we would have experienced help in executing and tracking.
After interviewing several of MasterThink’s current and previous clients we made the commitment to work with them. Within a few months they had interviewed and set goals throughout our organization. Then we started holding our scheduled meetings to review our successes and plan for our next steps. Each person had a part in this process, and the result was that everyone started working in sync to help the organization achieve its stated goals.
Working with an outside person allows employees to speak more freely about what they think and feel, and Jim is able to then guide them to where they need to be to become effective members of the team. (A side benefit is that those who cannot keep up are quickly identified and appropriate action can then be taken.) It is not only the organization of the plan and holding meetings that is valuable, it is the counseling and training that is held on an individual level and on a department level. We often forget that the success of our companies is actually the sum of the work performed by each person, not just the work done at the upper level. If all employees are engaged and want to achieve the same end result, your organization will move to the next level.
At the end of the first year we hit our annual plan goals in both revenue and profitability. MasterThink played an import role in this achievement. They also helped us to celebrate our successes. The reinforcement of what we do right is the catalyst for success in subsequent years. We are now closing in on the end of year two with MasterThink and are on track to hit our second year’s set of goals, which means we are also on track to hit our 5-year goals.
We recommend MasterThink to all those companies that want to get to the next level.
Independent Insurance Group
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