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CONTACT: Randolph Pitzer
(Tuesday, June 15, 2021)
When It Comes to Change Management, Boost Midwest’s Marie Stacks Says Just “AIM”
But It Always Helps When Peers Help You to Hold Steady on the Target
Chicago, IL --- June 15, 2021 -- Often businesses know where the target for success is but just do not know what to do to hit it. Boost Midwest’s Marie Stacks understands all of that and so that is exactly what her firm sets out to do – help people figure out what it is that is keeping them from hitting the target. That is why you will find her talking a lot about “AIMing.” Or the AIM Methodology (analyze, innovate, and manage), an approach she uses often with her business clients looking to improve their operations and actively drive the business forward.
“Actually, we like to work with rapidly scaling businesses or companies coming out of an acquisition or growth phase that need assistance in trying to get everything in order,” Stacks said. “Usually, clients call us because they need actionable steps but don’t know what those are. Our AIM process helps them get the answers they need.”
So, when you are helping businesses improve operations and be more successful, where do you go to get the support you need to drive your own business-like Boost Midwest. Afterall, you do it for others why not do it for yourself. After a lot of searching, Stacks turned to the President’s Leadership Council for that third-party advice she might not have gotten elsewhere.
“It’s like a great golfer. When you are having trouble with your swing you turn to other golfers and coaches to help you – people from your world,” she said. “That’s what PLC offered me – a sounding board. It gave me relationships I could respect and believe in to provide sound business advice to help Boost Midwest.”
With clients all over the world, Stacks can work Boost Midwest from almost anywhere. She moved from Arkansas to the Naperville, IL area in 2020 for a number of reasons but mainly for better networking and to put Boost in a better position to be successful. Once she got to the Chicago area and was new to most everything, she knew she needed to start a network and wanted to be part of a local community network. She shadowed a couple of the PLC sessions and it just clicked.
“Business owners that aren’t surrounded by an immediate group of executives that have experience are in a tough position,” she said. “There are some conversations you just can’t have with employees. I needed people in similar situations and business phases I could learn from. I certainly get that from PLC.”
Boost Midwest often focuses on two things it does well for its clients – a business operations assessment and then a workshop to go through what has been learned and ways it can be applied to improve operations. That is where AIM comes in. Boost Midwest employees also sometimes act in interim roles for companies after this work is done to insure proper implementation. In fact, Stacks has been in interim operations roles just to help the client jumpstart activities on occasion.
One specific example where PLC helped Stacks address a challenge was in hiring. With growth being really strong for Boost Midwest, Stacks was faced with the question of who would be the next strategic hire. “It was a very tough decision to make,” she said. “I had hired two new employees and needed to hire a more senior position either in sales or marketing. I went with marketing based on feedback from PLC.”
Stacks was able to ping the PLC group and ask questions. She said she loved the honesty coming back from group members because it made her make a clearer decision. In fact, one person in PLC was in marketing and really hit on the right questions for her to ask candidates.
“The new employee has already proven her worth because of the questions Karen [PLC member who is in marketing] told me to ask,” Stacks said. “Her being here has already paid off because she has taken so much off my plate. And she brought with her the right industry experience that will allow us to expand the business in other areas.”
Boost Midwest is on track to double its revenue this year and Stacks gives some of the credit to PLC. “We are on track to do 200% in revenue compared to last year. I have to give the PLC team some of the credit for the growth. They helped me ground my thinking and validate a lot of things so I could make sound decisions.”
In the end, some might argue that PLC helped Boost Midwest steady its own “AIM.” And, hit the target of success.
About PLC: Presidents Leadership Council was created as an exclusive member organization for small business presidents, partners, and CEOs for participation in special councils with ability to tap into all members as a resource base. It acts as forum for small business presidents and partners to engage learn and grow through peer relationships, relevant presentations, and round table discussions. Businesses with three to 50 employees are eligible for membership. Learn more at www.myplc.club.
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