Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Known by our Consulting Customers' Clients and Partners



Our managing consultants have consulted for companies that work with some of the world’s finest organizations.

A partial list of our consulting customers’ clients and partners:

A.G. Ferrari, Bank of America, Bentall Corporation, BMW of America, Brunsonbuilt Construction, California State, Cascade Natural Gas, Chevron Corporation, Cinnabon, City of Black Diamond Fire Department, City of Bremerton, Convention Services Seattle, Costco Wholesale, Discovery Channel, Edmonton Oilers (NHL), Fairmont Hotel, FedEx, General Mills, G L M Construction, GSA, Hawaii State, Homecrafters, Hughes, Intracorp Properties, Kinko’s, Le Boulanger Restaurants, Marriott Corporation, Men’s Wearhouse, Microsoft, Peet’s Coffee, Picture People, Princess Tours, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Reynen & Bardis, Seagrave Fire Trucks, Seattle City, SeaTac International Airport, Shea Homes, Stanford Medical Center, Stanford University, Starbuck’s Coffee Company, Starwood Lodging & Hotels, Sundance Resort, Super Cuts, Tommy Bahama Compounds, United States Federal Government, US Filter, Vail Resorts, “W” Hotels, Waste Management, Williams-Sonoma, Zales Jewelers


Their knowledge and chemistry with our people was excellent and is very difficult to find in a world that sometimes is just about numbers and dates. Shamrock Landscaping – We have grown our company to a 10 million dollar mark and were having some problems with our business focus and direction. Bob and Doug came into our company and immediately went to work – this has been both eye opening and rewarding. They identified problems, reviewed the books, met with employees to get feedback and started to develop an idea of what we were about. Then the results started. To list a few, company policies and procedures were developed, programs revised, and job descriptions were refined. Plus a whole host of ideas and programs were implemented into our company; results were positive and accepted. A new era was being ushered in for us at Shamrock. There needs to be a special recognition included in this letter for both Doug and Bob. They have worked diligently and professionally with Shamrock. Their knowledge and chemistry with our people was excellent and is very difficult to find in a world that sometimes is just about numbers and dates. I found them both to be quality people and would recommend them whole-heartedly to any who would ask. They are both exceptional individuals.
Pat Hunsaker, President

We received a lot of incredible insightful and very specific management techniques for our particular business. Northwest Fire Service – Bob Phillips got down to business without beating around the bush. We received a lot of incredible insightful and very specific management techniques for our particular business. With the knowledge and skills you have provided us with, we can make this company the Cinderella story of the truck repair and fire engine sales industry.
Jack DeLisle, President and Jerry A. Lane, Operations Manager

You have done an excellent job in giving us the tools. M & M Tanks, Inc. – The objective in hiring Bob and Tom’s team was to move our company from a two owner, hands-on $4.6 million unprofitable construction firm to an employee-run, profitable company with monitoring control for the owners. You have evaluated the existing system and personnel and insight into the available employee pool has proved helpful. One of our concerns was how do you hire the right people? Another concern is the organization of the staff to achieve the required information flow to make the whole process work. Bob spent many hours with us setting up the internal network for proper information flow. You have done an excellent job in giving us the tools. Michael Weitzenhoff, President

Bob Phillips has been very professional in helping us achieve our goal of turning our business into a profitable one.
Two Rivers Window Company – Our consulting experience was a very beneficial and eye opening one. The information and analysis materials were presented in a manner that was easy to understand and implement into our organization. I am also very pleased with the organizational and incentive plan changes that have been implemented as well. I believe that all these changes will make our company stronger and enable us to achieve the levels of success we desire as an organization. We feel the systems he has helped us establish give us a better base on which to build our company for the future.
Kevin Sweeters, President and Steve Liebetrau, Chief Financial Officer



The work that your team did for our facility went way beyond anything that I had expected, or hoped for.
Backman Foundry –
At the beginning of our relationship I had very few expectations. I did have quite a few concerns about the health and stability of our company. We needed quite a bit of help sorting out fiscal information. To be frank we were in a lot worse trouble than I ever imagined. Your team went to work helping us understand what was possible. They helped us understand what we needed to do, and most importantly, where we could go. Bob was involved in things that I didn’t even think that were issues. Which probably explains why my company was in such deep trouble. Thank you for the work that you have done and will continue to do.
Alan Backman, President

Friday, December 09, 2005

Looking for a few good Management Consultants


Elkhart Bell is expanding and we are looking for professionals who have experience working with business owners.

Our areas of consulting focus are:

  • strategic and business planning
  • financial and managerial accounting
  • entrepreneurial finance
  • marketing and
  • project management.

You should have an MBA, an accounting or legal designation or other excellent educational background along with at least five years of senior management experience. You may be a manager now or work in a line position with senior reporting responsibilities. The key attributes that you bring to this career challenge is your desire to help managers learn how to manage, and the ability to instill confidence in your consulting ability.

We will provide you with the opportunity to travel the world and work in a variety of interesting industries. If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity - please call us at 403.680.5960 or send us your email address and we will contact you.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Set Your Goals Higher

Get ready for increased sales and profits. With a well managed company you will have more time to enjoy life.

Bob Phillips giving Breck Glassinger the "thumbs up" for a great year.



Caribou Construction - Always On The Move -


When Bob Phillips and the consulting team arrived, they immediately began seeing the "whole picture". They were able to provide direction for organizing our company, evaluating personnel, improving morale, and helping us move our business onto the next level. They helped us to refocus on what was truly important in the managing and running of our business. The project probably saved our company from a remature auction sale. We feel much better about our business now. Thank you, we enjoyed working with each of you. Breck Glassinger, President

Thursday, October 13, 2005

10 Management Rules based on Bob Phillips' Wilderness Whitewater Canoeing Trips


1) Ensure everyone on your team knows where they are going – have a defined destination and goal.

2) Prepare your team for hardships and challenges.

3) Encourage your team to work together.

4) Learn to go with the flow of the river and be flexible - sometimes you must make quick changes on a wilderness river and in management.

5) Create an environment that encourages innovation – reward new ways of doing things.

6) Help your team to identify obstacles and rapids – these are your challenges and opportunities.

7) Make tasks understandable and set timetables.

8) Ask for participation and encourage leadership.

9) Create moments of controlled excitement.

10) Celebrate successes with a defined incentive program – every day.

For more information on how to hire Bob Phillips to work with your team call us at 403.979.1962 or email us for a detailed speaker and consulting package. We have several options including a single day management seminar, an on-river management training experience, or a tailored consulting project. As a bonus we will send you the detailed paper on how to use these management rules with your team.

Friday, September 23, 2005

Make Your Own Luck


Elaine Shapiro has written a new book about leadership and making your own luck.

Leadership Test #1 is to Picture where you want to go.

Leadership Test #2 is my favourite, Organizing - Identify your starting point and begin to reorganize the assets you currently have toward the future you want to create. She says, "It's difficult to bet smart if you don't know how to organize your starting resources."

Leadership Test #3: Predicting - Figure out the bets you want to take that have the biggest potential to get you where you want to go with the least risk.

Leadership Test #4: Acting - Act well enough and fast enough to capture the opportunities while the opportunities are available.

Take a look at more of the book "Make Your Own Luck: 12 Practical Steps to Taking Smarter Risks in Business". Make Your Own Luck

Saturday, September 10, 2005

It's not your father's world - Tom Peters


Tom Peters has some interesting ideas for you:

Ed Michaels ran McKinsey's War for Talent project for a half-dozen years. He says that Jack Welch (GE) insisted that every business be "first or second in the marketplace or you're out" (all businesses must be 1st, 2nd, or closed out). Passe, per Michaels. Now it's "Best talent in each industry segment to build Best Proprietary Intangibles." (Or else.) I like it!

Bob Taylor founded Xerox's wildly inventive Palo Alto Research Center/PARC. A colleague spoke to Taylor's chief skill, called him a "Connoisseur of Talent." That Resonates with me: Connoisseur of Talent.


The Professional Service Firm is Everything

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

25 Ways to Distinguish Yourself


1. Care as if it's your own

2. Do your daily work with passion!

3. Build strong relationships

4. Dream big!

5. Set the right expectations

6. Ask for help

7. Celebrate small victories

For the rest of Rajesh Setty's 25 Ways to Distinguish Yourself click here, 25 Ways.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

How to be Creative - Sing in your own voice!

Did you know?: Picasso was a terrible colorist; T.S. Eliot had a full-time day job; and Bob Dylan can't sing or play guitar.

Creative Ideas

Monday, July 04, 2005

Managing with Aloha


During the winter of 2003 I spent a warm month in Hawaii consulting with a company that was trying to expand its engineering services throughout the Pacific. I had the opportunity to see how Hawaiians view their work and the values that they bring to the workplace. If you want to learn how to manage with Aloha take a look at Rosa Say's Managing with Aloha.

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Remember Childhood?


"Grownups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever to be explaining things to them." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Escape Adulthood

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

SHHH! - Society for HandHeld Hushing

And now for something different. If you have ever been annoyed by a loud cell phone talker, click on the SHHH!, copy the pages and cut them out to give to the next loud talker.
SHHH!

Sunday, April 10, 2005

The Personal MBA


One of the best investments I ever undertook was the earning of my Executive MBA from Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. That being said, there are those that believe that a lot of what you find in an MBA program can be learned by reading excellent books. Take a look at Josh Kaufman's list of books and periodicals.
Personal MBA list of books and periodicals

Sunday, March 20, 2005

The 10 Golden Rules for your business

Do you have a set of rules that you run your business by? One of our most successful tools is working with your team to come up with an agreed way of doing business. We start with a focus group of your employees that discuss what does and does not work at your company, and work with them to develop a list that highlights how you want all employees to work together as a team. At the end of the process your employees will realize that they are part of the change process and will welcome the new way of doing business. We developed one of these for a company that has since expanded two-fold and just had a lucrative buyout. Bob Phillips

10 Golden Work Rules

We the employees and owners will:

1. Have a Positive Attitude while interacting with fellow Employees and Customers

2. Be Punctual and strive to always be on time at work and with our Customers

3. Be Considerate of our fellow employees

4. Always Plan and Organize our Time efficiently and effectively

5. Seek Clarity of Direction and Explanation of Tasks when required

6. Ensure Expectations and Obligations are fulfilled as much as possible

7. Work with Safety in mind and Respect the use of personal and company Equipment

8. Always conduct ourselves in a Professional Manner and with a Strong Work Ethic

9. Continuously be Willing to Learn, to Teach and be Taught

10. Be the Best that We Can be

Developed by Mike, Bob and the Team – March, 2002

Thursday, February 10, 2005

Greenways and Blueways in Canada, the USA and Mexico

Bob Phillips is the Executive Director of the Greenway and Blueway Foundation, a non-governmental agency that has been involved in the development of Greenways and Blueways in Canada, and has received funding from the Government of BC. When he has a few extra minutes he provides free consulting to locally based community greenway projects. One of his long term goals is to continue to provide long term advise to similar organizations, and he has a special interest in promoting Blueways along the Pacific Coast from Canada down to Mexico.


One of the more interesting new organizations is Community Greens. Prior to directing Community Greens, Kate Herrod was the Deputy Director of Development for The Nature Conservancy and Vice President of commercial real estate at Citibank, Chemical Bank, and Security Pacific Bank. She now spends her time looking for partners in various cities to champion the creation of community greens. Take a look at her thoughts:
Community Greens - Green Infrastructure & Community Revitalization

Thursday, January 06, 2005

Tom Peters gives us Great Ideas for the New Year

See if you can find at least half a dozen great ideas for your company. I like "Dream...Big!", "Pursue Adventures in every task", and "A little (or more) boat burning would do many enterprises a world of good." Fortune calls Tom Peters the Ur-guru of management and compares him to Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman and H.L. Mencken. The Economist tags him the Uber-guru. His unconventional views led BusinessWeek to describe him as "business' best friend and worst nightmare." Tom describes himself as a prince of disorder, champion of bold failures, maestro of zest, and professional loudmouth. Tom Peters