Recently, we were asked by a potential new client (a referral from another client) what our sustainability and growth trajectory looked like. While they seemingly liked what the referring company had to say about us, the principles behind The 9 Leader and Employee Expectations and The VIP Way, they wanted more information. Their goal was to create a long-term relationship / partnership with the company they chose to help train their leaders and employees.
We were intrigued by the question but thought, “Maybe other companies might be interested in this too?”
So with that, we are sharing a bit of insight into a few things that are “coming up” at Jon Harrison. You may have heard about one of them if you have visited our events page recently or been in a room or at a table, with a member of our team. But, in case you haven’t, we wanted to share our exchange with this potential new client and a few new things on our horizon.
Our email response to the potential new client:
Hi _________.
This is a great question and we value and respect that your owner is asking it. We love that your leadership team is looking long term and I hope that some of the following context helps to explain our position.
Company Background:
While we are a small company, Jon has been at this for many years - and with a great passion. It all started informally, while he was at Caterpillar (CAT). He learned a lot from his work there and revised his approach, as he went along. All of those learning opportunities contributed to and fed our proven process of The VIP Way and what is now the Jon Harrison company. The VIP Way is essentially what Jon personally followed while he worked at CAT for 25 years and he used to reform CAT plant cultures all over the world.
The Jon Harrison company is an LLC (VIP2, our previous company name) and is now a DBA (Doing Business As) as Jon Harrison. The LLC was formed in 2011. About 3.5 years ago, we worked with an Arkansas-based marketing company to help us rebrand and simplify to Jon Harrison.
Vision and Growth:
To answer the question about our growth, in the three years I have been with Jon Harrison, we have been blessed and pushed in a way that has recently led to the creation of a new curriculum and training possibilities.
Our two newest curriculums are:
The 7 Characteristics of a Star training is useful to all employees at any level of an organization. These are the top 7 characteristics we believe every employee should practice and embrace, to be a “Star” employee. These 7 characteristics could also be very useful to know and understand when entering the workforce for the first time, or re-entering the workforce after many years.
We are also in the thick of creating a Train the Facilitator version of our VIP Employee curriculum. This curriculum is approximately 8-hours of content and mirrors our VIP Leadership training (that is approximately 16 hours of content). We plan to release the Train the Facilitator version by March 2025 (see VIP Employee Roadmap linked here - 101 and 201 will be the main Train the Facilitator - VIP Employee content).
Relationship-Focused Approach:
It's important to note here, that creating the Train the Facilitator version of VIP Employee does not mean this is a hands-off approach. We are very much a relationship company. We do what we do because we are passionate about our mission and the companies we serve and will remain closely involved throughout the Train the Facilitator version/pathway. We don't knock on doors, and nearly all of our business is referral-based.
In short, we want to be "pulled" into companies that want our help to improve their culture, while also impacting the bottom line of their employees' personal lives. We believe that if work-life is positive, employees go home with more "water in their bottles," compared to working for an organization that does not have a positive and accountable work culture. This is the reason we do what we do. Each member of our team comes from a real-world perspective. We believe there is a better way and one that can residually impact or ripple into families, homes, and communities for the positive. Ultimately, this was the calling that Jon answered when he left (CAT), as he was too young to retire. He has carried this passion for better work culture, leadership, and employee experiences with him, since 2011 and to now, what is known as the Jon Harrison company.
How We Operate:
In short, we are not a typical consulting firm. We won't set up an office on the main campus of an organization. Instead, we work with you to provide the tools and training necessary to help companies create and sustain a positive work culture. Speaking from a client perspective here, as I was a client before joining the Jon Harrison team, all the tools and training we provide, help to ensure everyone plays a part in company transformation. We like to say that culture change is a "two-way street." Leadership can't change things alone, without the engagement and commitment from the front-line employees too. Something Jon implemented over and over at each plant, with Caterpillar.
For a company to begin to move the needle toward a more positive and engaged culture—it takes both leadership and employees. Hanging the "values" words on the wall is not enough. Values must be lived out consistently, in action and behavior from the top down. We believe this is critical. We also believe that if this is lived out authentically, it can help recruit and retain "Star" employees. "Stars want to work with Stars” -- - and living out one’s values intentionally and authentically everyday can help fuel your recruiting efforts to ensure the foundation is ready for a robust recruiting process.
Mission-Driven Focus:
As you may have noted, I have not provided a five- or ten-year growth or business plan here. That is by design. Our mission, "Building a Positive Work Environment. Driving Excellent Results. The VIP Way," is what drives our business. As long as companies continue to want to work with us, we are here to work with them. We are a bit selective, and that too is intentional. We don't believe in pushing our way into companies or charging fees for random consulting practices. The relationships mean more to us, and our hearts are in that. In the most humble way, I can say this—The VIP Way is proven, as by Jon's story and other companies that have implemented The VIP Way. Our team is committed and available and will do all that we can to help equip and support you, but culture change must be implemented consistently and measured in such a way that both leaders and employees have some skin in the game. An outside firm can't do that for you, so to speak.
Next Steps:
I hope this information & context has been helpful. Lastly, I would also love to arrange a call for your owners to meet with Jon, either in person or via a Zoom call. If this is something you all would be interested in, I'm happy to provide some dates that could work from our end.
Want to learn more about The VIP Way or Jon Harrison? Please visit Our Process Page linked here.
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