Extraordinary Engineering
Extraordinary Engineering (name changed for privacy) was a 25 year-old manufacturing and engineering company, with two locations and making $28 million in annual revenue when we met them.
The company was owned by a father and son who were having difficulty agreeing on major decisions. The son was a brilliant man with a degree in engineering who had a great product to bring to market. He understood engineering and manufacturing but lacked business sense. The father was also a brilliant man who had been running the company for years, and to the company’s demise, was set in his ways of how he had always done things. Because they were struggling making decisions, they were always late getting their product to market and manufacturing was constantly behind schedule.
They realized that not only was their business at risk, but it was taking a toll on their relationship as well. In many ways, their business was paralyzed, and it was also causing problems with the employees. They knew they wanted somebody from the outside to help them make strategic decisions quickly.
When we first met, they didn’t think that Coaching was what they were looking for, because they didn’t fully understand what they needed. I convinced them that within 60 days they would be able to see the value that a Business Coach could bring to an organization like theirs. I also explained that if they didn't resolve the family issues, they would pay a heavy price now and in the future.
Once they agreed to get started, we went to work right away. As is often the case, I found hidden secrets inside of the business model that owners and leaders were blind to. After several meetings with the CFO, we discovered issues in their profit and loss statements and balance sheet. Once we dug in, we found that they had an inventory mistake on their balance that was impeding the business dramatically. We immediately corrected the financials, met with their bank, and increased their credit line by $250,000. This, in addition to weekly Coaching provided them the freedom to order product at a discount and increase their profit margins. In addition, they were able to increase production and get their product to market on time.
Once we earned the family’s trust, we were able to help them make decisions rapidly and make tremendous progress in all areas of their business. It didn't take long for the owners to understand how valuable it was for them to be proactive versus reactive in their business. They were so pleased with the progress we made in 12 months that they extended our agreement for another 12 months of Coaching.
By working together, we achieved incredible results with this client. Their profits increased by 26% and their new orders increased by 35% once we were able to get things turned around. We laid off 10 employees who were not being productive and replaced them with 10 high-performing individuals who were committed to the vision, mission and company commitments that we put together with the owners. The family was less stressed about working together and reduced the amount of time they spent in the business by over 21%. We are extremely proud of their results, and Extraordinary Engineering is now a leader in their industry, as well as a place where everyone enjoys coming to work each day.
