Business Sandbox

The “business sandbox” should be where everyone plays better, together, as a team.

Who didn’t play in a sandbox as a child? And by your side were other children — some you got along with, and some simply just didn’t know how to play well with others. And what took place decades ago are some of the same behaviors today that are preventing everyone from playing better together in what we call the “business sandbox.”

Through proven methodologies of assessment, training, coaching, facilitating and mediation, Vivid Performance Group creates happy, trusting, get-it-done employees, teams and leaders. 

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Spoke Marketing, headed up by three partners, including Dan Klein, provides fully-integrated marketing grounded in strategy and aligned with a company’s sales process. Unprecedented growth has meant establishing an improved process for their team to work better, together.

Kim Baker: Spoke has a 13-year history of driving client sales.

Dan Klein: We don’t do creative for the sake
of creative. Everything has a purpose and, as
we say, to get you to “where you want to be.”
This has led to our clients’ incredible growth
rates. And because they are busier than ever,
so are we.

Kim Baker: What I saw with your company’s situation was the need to assess how people worked best as individuals, along with the level of trust in the two distinct teams, so I could then leverage those individual skills to help the team to enhance trust, all to help them become better communicators, collaborators, and work better as a Spoke Team.

Kim Baker: I know you wanted you team to find new ways to achieve improved work efficiency.

Dan Klein: We had the right people in place. But being busy often meant people going in different directions to complete their job. We lacked team communication to keep the work and ideas flowing, and I wondered how this might be affecting trust. And that’s where you fit in at Spoke.

Dan Klein: Exactly. You found our strengths, but
most importantly, you identified our weaknesses.
Key for us was understanding how good communication not only improves efficiency, it builds trust. Then you coached us on how to adjust and make adaptations to overcome our growth challenges

Dan Klein
Spoke Marketing
CEO, Managing Partner

Kim Baker: So for as long as I’ve known you, you’ve talked about the importance of trust in relationships.

Jeanet Wade: Absolutely, as an EOS Implementer® I know first hand how important trust is for leaders and teams, in fact in EOS® we encourage our leadership teams to create more trust within themselves and within the team. I have witnessed how a lack of trust and team health dynamics can even stall the implementation of EOS into client organizations.

Kim Baker: As an Expert EOS Implementer(R), I knew that a tool has to be the “real deal” for you to introduce it to your clients.

Jeanet Wade: I wanted to have first hand experience with the Reina(R) assessment, data, and feedback session so I could know when my clients might need you and this tool, and what it would be like to work with you in this endeavor. To accomplish that I completed the Leadership Trust Scale(R) by where I could attain data on the levels of Trust that I have created within my client, and peer groups, and take action on any behaviors that could improve trust in my relationships.

Kim Baker: Why do you think building trust is such a challenge? 

Jeanet Wade: Trust building is a challenge because it tends to feel like an abstract concept to most teams. They don’t fully understand the behaviors and actions that build trust. All of our teams have read The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lenncioni. However, they still issue solve the root cause of trust and many times can’t find the exact issue(s) to solve. Until you introduced me to the Reina Trust Building(r) framework, I didn’t have an actionable assessment to recommend that would enable them to define and measure themselves in concrete behaviors that are proven to build or break trust.

Kim Baker: What were your takeaways from your results and the experience?

Jeanet Wade: My peers and clients confirmed the sense that I had of other’s trust in my character, communication, and capability within 48 trust building and trust breaking behaviors. The report was easy to interpret and understand. This is the first time I’ve seen these behaviors actually identified, measured and reported in a way that is relatable and immediately actionable. I was really impressed that the assessment teased out a very nuanced behavior that I had an inkling my clients wanted to see even more of from me. There was something I was trying to put my finger on…a feeling…and the Reina Leadership Trust Scale(R) did that for me.

Jeanet Wade
Business Alchemist
Expert EOS Implementer®

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Business Alchemist, is led by Expert EOS Implementor® Jeanet Wade who wanted to obtain data on the levels of Trust she had created within her clients and peer groups. With this knowledge she knew she could effectively take actions on any behaviors that could improve trust in her client relationships.

As a highly placed senior leader of companies in the construction and engineering space, Mike is well versed in the challenges to culture, teams and leaders in times of merger or acquisition. In a previous role, he and his leaders faced an integration in which extreme cultural differences existed. What they required was the ability to motivate, focus, and align the staff of these differing companies into one united team.

Kim Baker: We met at a time when a lot was on the line for your previous employer.

Michael Hein: We had an extremely talented, newly hired company President reporting to me who joined our organization in a position leading two subsidiaries of a design and construction firm, who had responsibility for improving their performance while also participating in the post acquistion integration of two newly acquired firms. It was a difficult time for the company as we were under strict financial controls that were disrupting the full integration of the acquired firms.

Kim Baker: I knew time was of the essence, and that I had just the tools to bridge the scientific-minded coachee’s challenges to the human needs of his employees and team.

Michael Hein: We needed a quick response on this issue! You jumped in and led an analytical science-based approach which worked exceptionally well with our President’s engineering frame of mind. The 360 tool captured the perceptions of his peers and subordinates which along with your exceptional listening and critical thinking skills lead to quick action planning.

Kim Baker: As we discussed the situation there were a lot of factors to tease out.

Michael Hein: There were extreme cultural differences between the company and the acquired firms. Our President was unable to motivate, focus, and align the staff. His ideas were exhausted, and he was extraordinarily frustrated, which had lead to a stalemate in performance improvement and a downward trend on the human capital.

Kim Baker: What stands out to you most about our engagement?

Michael Hein: I would say how our President was able to work so well with you to quickly establish goals, and learn to use new tools and methods to engage his teams. Ultimately our President’s work with you lead to the company’s historical best financial performance. Without your coaching, our President says he would have become completely stalled by the integration challenges and lack of alignment issues and was at-risk of leaving before executing on the company’s performance initiatives.

Michael Hein AIA, PMP
The HFW Companies
CEO

Kim Baker: You coined the phrase we are “wicked smart, self-directed, problem solvers.”

Tara Kinney: Those are our core values. Even as an innovative company, we run into challenges with people who have great skills from corporate experience but lack the confidence to navigate a fast-paced, self-directed work environment

Kim Baker: How did my work with you and your team make a difference for Atomic Revenue?

Tara Kinney: Let me say it made a huge difference! All of this work afforded us the ability to weather a challenging year like 2020 as a unified team, handling all the unknowns with agility so that we can head into 2021 in the strongest position of our 6-year company history.

Kim Baker: It was such a phrenetic time when we first engaged, what was the impact to your people?

Tara Kinney: The 360 assessments and professional coaching you provided were incredibly valuable for advancing a highly qualified and capable Millennial Leader to an executive role in addition to improving confidence in other team members to apply their skillsets with less managerial oversight or direction. You were also instrumental in enabling our team members to have difficult conversations that paved the way for better outcomes. 

Tara Kinney
Atomic Revenue

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“We not only trust Kim with our team, but recommend her to clients without hesitation because her work with the people side of business allows companies to not just survive, but thrive.”

“Kim is the trailblazer that can help get everyone back on track. We will continue to use Kim in developing and coaching our most key players.”

Kim Baker: Sometimes one person’s issue in the sandbox is catching.

Alex Fechner: It is no secret there is a ripple effect when a team member is frustrated which affects clients and colleagues alike…and if left alone could result in scenario nobody is prepared for. It’s especially challenging when it affects some of your highest performing employees.

Kim Baker: You were looking for outside expertise, the usual tools and methods hadn’t been working.

Alex Fechner: You had tools, knowledge and methods we didn’t. You are a great communicator. Your warmth, honesty and natural instincts for reading people and behavior along with the emotional intelligence and personality assessments and coaching have been instrumental in helping some of our key talent.

Kim Baker: Your company’s issues had been going on for quite a while when you initially engaged me.

Alex Fechner: The problem is that we in leadership doesn’t always know how to fix these situations. Have you ever heard the term “can’t see the forest through the trees”? We really needed some of our highest performing team members to break through issues and get back on track.

Kim Baker: What’s working with me and VPG meant for your and your company?

Alex Fechner: You’ve helped a number of our highest performing team members to break through to the next level of success. These were folks with different kinds of coaching needs. One of our Team member sales grew by 16% after working with you! Regardless of that need, you process supports the individual and the company’s working relationship while holding everyone accountable…which results in happier and more successful individuals, colleagues, company and clients.

Alex Fechner                                      Advertisers Printing Co.                          Director of Business Development