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The 5th Annual Commonwealth Conference: Strategies For Success On March 28, forty TCI members gathered at WilmerHale to listen to a panel of entrepreneurs of high-growth companies talk about their growth strategies. Moderated by TCI's Executive Director Aileen Gorman, panelists discussed the challenges they faced in growing their businesses; the risks they took to get their business to ‘the next level'; the opportunities that came from those risks; and the strategies they developed in order to deal with all of the ups and downs of growing a company. Following are notes from the conference, including a bulleted list of lessons learned as CEOs of fast growth companies. The panel featured four distinguished TCI members:
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The conference began with each speaker discussing the background of their companies and were asked to talk about one critical decision they made while growing their business that resulted in success. Diane Hessan. Diane is passionate about listening to customers and Communispace's current business model reflects how that has worked for them. She emphasized the critical importance of listening to your customers. A conversation with one of her clients ended up launching the one great idea that differentiated her company and was critical to its success. Critical Decision: In a conversation with one of my clients, he made a recommendation to me that ended up launching a great idea that differentiated our company and was ultimately critical to its success. ~~~ Kip Hollister. Kip found the staffing industry right out of college but didn't want to do it the way it was being done - as a transactional business. She founded Hollister, which she ensures operates by values. Hollister went through great turmoil during the recessions of 1992 and 2001, but by continuing to operate by the values she instilled in the company, they are a much better company because of it. Critical Decision: I went to an open book management approach as I was tired of the people's perceptions that we made more money than we did. I wanted to keep them informed of their financial targets, whether they were hitting the mark or coming up short. My managers then had greater accountability and felt more empowered to make an impact on the organization, and they were therefore more inspired to lead their teams to do great work. ~~~
Pam Reeve. Pam contributes connecting with others and problem solving as her ongoing theme in leading a business. She does her best to promote an ease in communication. In demonstrating her resolve to always hold on to her own values, Pam spoke about how many in her industry didn't think the wireless business would take off. However, she saw ways of how it could be sold and managed easily with the customer. She dismissed the doubters and went for it. Critical Decision: At $4 million, we decided to decline a huge account that would have really took the company to the next level. Our management team ultimately agreed we weren't ready; we just didn't have the resources and did not want to take any service away from our current customers who were very happy with their service. We were able to keep the focus on our customers and not lose site of our commitment to them. This decision bonded the management team and years later we would get the AT&T account which was much bigger and we were prepared. ~~~
Lois Silverman. Lois contributes much of her success to listening to others and being a strong leader. She learned how to balance managing with an iron fist and a velvet glove and knowing when to put them on and take them of. Critical Decision: I moved CRA Managed Care from a people-driven business to a technology-driven business. It was a difficult decision that ultimately saved money for the customer, built loyalty and locked them in. LESSONS LEARNED Growth and Sales
Leading vs. Managing Panelists concluded with giving their ideas on the difference between leadership and management. Pam Reeve. Management is knowing the plan and managing the organization to implement the plan. Leadership describes the vision and acknowledging its worthiness by communicating with the staff as to how to live it. Kip Hollister. Management is very tactical. Leadership is being able to see the big picture and give people a reason to come to work and have the passion. There is an art to leadership Diane Hessan. Leadership comes through communication. I encourage people to speak up and help me lead and help create energy; I leave a 5 minute voice mail every weekend with the staff giving them an update on the week and it has been the easiest leadership thing to do Lois Silverman. Put your feet up and just think about the changes and risks you may need to take to get growth. I am market and sales driven; as CEO, you need to keep yourself in the market. The keynote speaker for the Conference was Margaret Heffernan, author of How She Does It: How Women Entrepreneurs are Changing the Rules of Business Success . Heffernan was inspired to begin research for her book when she discovered several interesting facts:
Heffernan set out to discover two things: why women are starting their own companies, and how they are doing it so successfully . Heffernan spoke with hundreds of female entrepreneurs, and there seemed to be an underlying theme; when it came to beginning their companies, the women felt that they had reached their “boiling point” in the corporate world and that they were not being heard. Many of the female entrepreneurs that Heffernan met were successful and high on the “corporate ladder,” but they felt that their voice was not being acknowledged. So, what factors have contributed to these women's successes? Heffernan noticed these common themes:
Heffernan also cites female entrepreneurial success to the fact that women are great decision makers and often listen to their “heart” or their “intuition.” This point, she claims, is actually more scientific than we believe. Margaret's extensive research in “whole brain thinking” allows us to better understand the thinking patterns of females. Women generally collect data unconsciously and recognize patterns thorough innate observation skills. Generally, females then base decisions on the interpretation of this unconsciously collected information; while this may seem like a “gut feeling” or a decision made intuitively, there is actually hard science to track the thinking patterns of females. Heffernan has found that this use of the right brain can put women at an advantage to men who tend to used mostly the left, or “rational,” side of the brain. What were the conclusions of Heffernan's research? For one, she advises that a business' success usually relies on maintaining an organization's values. She therefore suggests that managers hire new employees for values, and not necessarily skills; an organization's employees should always exemplify what the founder and the company stand for. Finally,advises Heffernan, rely on your intuition to make decisions. Your “heart” may be more informed than you think. Thanks to all who participated in this year's Annual Commonwealth Conference! To purchase Heffernan's book, How She Does It: How Women Entrepreneurs are Changing the Rules of Business Success, click here . (From this link, 5% of proceeds are donated to The Commonwealth Institute!) Didn't make it? Click here for a schedule of upcoming TCI events and programs. 
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