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Testimonials
Dave Meyer - Managing Director - Finance, Continental Airlines I’ve known Tim for awhile, and I know he’s very good at understanding interdepartmental relationships ... how work moves from one group to the another. I knew he had the experience to step in and be beneficial from the start. Lots of consultants need more guidance to get up to speed; you have to spend a lot of time with them before they can even begin to work. Tim’s not like that ... he learns quickly and doesn’t waste time. Tim has a strong commitment to follow through. He is very proactive, and very thorough. He followed up with the process owners to make sure they were following the workflow structure we’d developed, and he also checked to make sure they were handling the ancillary tasks, too. Some people were hesitant to bring in an outsider ... they don’t necessarily want someone from the outside getting involved. They wonder who brought him in, and who will read his report when it’s done. But every one of them was converted when they saw Tim work. We had a quite a few ‘ah ha’ moments where they realized, ‘we don’t have the skill set to do what this guy did for us.’ In the end, they felt it was one of the smartest moves we could make. It was an eye-opener for a lot of people. It was beneficial to get an outsider’s view of a cross-functional process where everyone involved was being territorial ... no one wanted to take responsibility or accountability. Tim can process the whole picture ... he sees the big picture but he can also break it into pieces for people so they can understand it. He understands relationships and how they break down, and he can persuade people to do what they should be doing. In our case, we had a subgroup of people who were reluctant to offer assistance, but with Tim leading the way, they eventually volunteered to do more than their share to fix our issue. When you have a group of people sitting around a conference table, they can be territorial and unwilling to compromise. But Tim breaks down those barriers and helps people see the greater good....top David Linda - President, SpaceMan Home & Office www.SpaceManager.com I contacted Tim Smith because I knew that I needed to step up my marketing efforts, but I wasn't sure where to start. As I started to define a marketing strategy, I struggled with how to define responsibilities, frequency, tactics and follow-up measures. Tim provided me with a straight-forward, no-nonsense approach that was tailored for me and my company. His ideas were relatively easy to implement. Tim took the time to understand our basic organizational capabilities and then suggested ideas that were achievable. He went the extra mile by keeping me on task and following up to ensure we accomplished everything we set out to do. Tim is all about doing, not just talking.....top Debora Simmons - Former Vice President of Clinical Operations, Intelligent Diagnostics, Inc. At Intelligent Diagnostics, I was brought in to help bring a clinical software tool to market that had been in the research mode for three years. When Tim and I came into the company, there was no documentation of any of the work done since the company’s inception. Tim quickly helped me assess the problems and put us on the right pathway to get the product to market. Tim put the interventions in place (timelines, defined processes) that got us to the goal. But he did more than just put a strategy in place, he also successfully guided a team of highly intelligent physicians through the change process. He effectively dealt with frustration and resolved the conflicts that arose out of implementing structure into an environment that previously had none. Tim has an uncanny ability to be able to target in on the most critical issues and goals. This is because he is expert at truly listening to people, which gives him the ability to see the scope of things from many views. Tim sees a larger picture, but can still work on a smaller level. Tim is successful because of the brilliant way he can assess and apply the science of what he does. He has a genuine passion for making things work. When Tim comes in to address a problem, he brings his whole bag of tricks, plus additional resources. Unlike other consultants, Tim does not use a cookie-cutter approach to solving a company’s problem. He will give you several options to address the issues at hand. To Tim, getting to the goal is ultimately more important than the methods used to get there. One of the things I appreciate about Tim is his incredible honesty. He would never take on a client just because he needed the business or just because the business was there. When Tim takes on a project, you can rest assured that he will either reach the goal or die trying.....top [ case study ] Donn Lamoureux - President, Lamoureux Associates, Inc. The Plaid Group understands the dynamics of outside intervention. They know the consultant’s role – how to gain the confidence of employees without being threatening. It’s the art of gentle persuasion. Tim Smith lends a sincerely interested ear – he is non-judgmental, and people respond to that. So he’s able to learn what he needs to know and to quickly gain an appreciation of the situation from the perspective of the people who are directly involved, whether that’s an employee, management or even a customer. Tim is able to boil down random thoughts into a crystal clear picture of what needs to be done, with definitive goals, and communicate that effectively. I’ve been very satisfied with The Plaid Group’s work, and I’ve recommended The Plaid Group to my friends and colleagues who are looking for someone who can help them be more productive and effective.....top [ case study ] Jack Maley - Vice President, Operations, FW Murphy Inc. I first turned to The Plaid Group and Tim Smith to help us map our manufacturing processes, to find enhancements or areas where we could be more efficient. We had recently undergone a consolidation and reorganization and there was a real need to capture economies of scale and eliminate redundancies. The goal was to move toward a just-in-time, lean manufacturing enterprise. Tim came in and analyzed our entire product flow from start to finish – from the time an order comes in until the time it is shipped to the customer. It sounds simple but the truth was no one here had been able to devote the time to it, or to see our operations as a linked chain, versus individual tasks or departments. And Tim uncovered a number of issues that we were able to correct. In fact, we still use that map today. Since that first project, Tim has become like an extension of our staff here at FW Murphy. He’s played a major role in our ability to be more efficient, and to increase our volumes without the need to add staff. Plus, our people understand their roles better – and recognize the part they play in our profitability and success – because Tim has helped us define responsibilities with more detail and accountability. The real difference in Tim’s approach is the way that he listens to and involves our employees. Other consultants deliver a plan – Tim becomes part of your team. He sits down and talks in-depth with employees across the company, learning from them, and helping them understand the need for change, and how to prepare for it. Tim is great at getting people to see the “finished product” – in other words, what the end result will be when the work is finished, and how everyone will benefit from the change. And he gets involved in implementation, not just consulting, which is important to an organization like ours. Now, much of Tim’s work with us is driven by our managers, who know they can rely on The Plaid Group for quality analysis, recommendations and assistance. He has the trust and respect of our entire management team, because he helps us achieve positive results.....top [ case study ] Jocelyn Sears - Former Vice President for a Houston-based Fortune 500 Financial Services Corporation Tim Smith was brought in to address a number of processes needing improvement in the management and servicing of a $3.5 billion mortgage loan portfolio for a Houston-based financial services corporation. Tim evaluated the current flow of the various processes, sought input from others in various departments, and made recommendations for improvement. He also was instrumental in defining the divisional reorganization of jobs focused on the elimination of activity redundancy and associated costs. Tim operated as an objective observer who developed recommendations for improvement projects that saved time and money for the company. Because Tim had no agenda for the results and little background in the mortgage lending arena, he was extremely effective in asking questions designed to get the various parties to give their honest opinions about the current processes and improvement suggestions. His deliverables included a clear and concise report with work flow suggestions that incorporated the results of his interviews. He successfully interfaced with both management as well as workers with staff/line responsibilities. Despite the political environment that we all operated in, Tim was able to pull together the resources for the benefit of the whole. Tim has worked for a number of companies in which he has proven results. He has the ability to ask the tough questions with the appropriate level of professionalism to uncover problems that management may not have known existed. He is very results oriented and he is able to take the most complex issues, distill them, and formulate viable solutions. Because Tim has a proven process, he is effective in getting to the heart of the problem and designing a solution. He thinks outside the box, which is one of the positives in hiring a resource who can see the things that those inside a company may not see as problems. One of his main objectives is to design solutions that are aimed at improving bottom-line results.....top [ case study ] Michael Williams - Secretary/Treasurer, Total Safety, Inc. Tim has the ability to stay unbiased when discovering and diagnosing problems in a process. He doesn’t just identify problems; he finds solutions and creates a working process. After diagnosing the problem, Tim provides concrete solutions, not just big picture observations. Not only does he create effective solutions, he guides you through the entire implementation process.....top Mickey Blake - Owner, Marketability, Inc. I think of Tim as an invaluable asset to Marketability Inc., because he is someone I can count on to shoot straight with me, and tell me what I need to know in a way that has meaning and impact for me. As a marketing professional, I tended to manage the business by instinct rather than by hard numbers, the way an accountant would. I wanted to be able to make better sense of our financial reporting, and focus more on the metrics that truly made a difference in our profitability. Tim not only quickly identified the key indicators I needed, but he also recognized that I would respond better to visual reporting, rather than rows of numbers. So he created a series of customized charts and graphs that enable me to see in a glance how the company is performing, and respond accordingly. Now, my assistant updates the data each month and I can immediately understand the numbers behind our business. It sounds simple but the best solutions usually are. Those graphics now give me the facts I need to make timely management decisions. For example, I was able to see clearly that our receivables collection effort was not working, and we made a change in our process that has yielded very positive results. That’s the kind of dramatic impact that Tim can have on an organization. He can quickly cut through the clutter to diagnosis and fix the real problem, when most consultants focus only on the symptoms. That is a truly unique skill that can benefit any organization. I would heartily recommend Tim Smith and The Plaid Group to any company that wants to operate more efficiently, effectively and profitably.....top Dr. Norri J. Collier – President, The Center for Optimum Wellness, PA I wanted to grow my practice, but knew that my office was completely disorganized. Looking back on it now, I can clearly see that my office procedures had fallen apart beneath me. I had previously worked with a consultant who specialized in chiropractic offices. Their initiatives focused on my skills as a communicator and manager of patients. However attention to my office administration was the smallest percentage of their efforts. While I did see some short-term improvements, overall the results were not consistent. My financial consultant suggested that I contact Tim Smith for help. When I first met Tim, I was prepared to tell him “no way, no how can someone with no chiropractic industry knowledge help me grow my business.” What Tim said to me was, “true, you know your industry better than I do, but every business has to get customers (patients), has to successfully provide a service, and has to be effective in handling the company’s money. So in that sense, every business is the same.” I had been under the assumption that a chiropractic practice was something unique. What I realized that instant was that my practice was in fact a business. To be successful, I needed to treat it as such. I chose Tim because he was able to clarify that for me; I felt I could trust him; and his ideas made perfect sense to me. I think all doctors could benefit from working with Tim because most doctors are not taught business skills. Tim puts a plan together that is palatable as well as doable and he included me in the planning process. His was not a cookie cutter approach. With Tim, I was able to play a role in shaping my company, rather than being dictated to.....top [ case study ] Sally Matthews - Director - Finance and Administration, St. Luke's United Methodist Church In recent years, my department had grown significantly, adding a number of different people and responsibilities. And when I learned that my assistant director was leaving to become a full-time mom, I realized that we needed a better understanding of not only her day-to-day role, but also of how our department functioned together. I turned to The Plaid Group to help us map out the key elements of each position so that we would have detailed documentation that would assist us in hiring and training. But I also realized early on that The Plaid Group’s work was providing clarity to our roles, giving us a set of processes that we could all follow and a better recognition of the importance of each job and each other. The first step was a series of detailed interviews, in which Tim Smith sat down with everyone in the department to gain an understanding of their function and roles. That input enabled Tim to develop process maps of our key responsibilities as well as a structure chart for the entire department. Now I can see what skill sets we have and what we need whenever we have to fill an open position. The Plaid Group also helped us uncover some inefficiencies in our work, such as a payroll issue that cost us time, money and aggravation. The solution was simple – and Tim would laugh and say ‘it’s so simple anyone could do it.’ But there’s a big difference between ‘could’ and ‘would.’ The reality is that I would have never had the time to be able to step back and look at each of our roles the way Tim was able to, and to provide the level of detail and documentation that he did in mapping out our key processes and departmental structure. Tim’s ability to see difficult processes so clearly – and to identify efficiencies and improvements and communicate them so effectively – is unique. I’ve never worked with anyone like him, and I would definitely recommend The Plaid Group to anyone who wanted a better understanding of their department’s work flow and structure.....top |
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