by Dan Oswald
Last month, BLR was involved in a merger that resulted in a new company with four business units being established. The combined company, Simplify Compliance, serves HR, safety, and environmental professionals as well as the healthcare, telecommunications, and financial services industries.
As we start 2017 with a newly constituted executive team, I asked each executive for his or her leadership resolutions for 2017. So here’s what our leaders say their focus will be on for the new year. There are some good ideas for all of us here.
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James Beecher, President, Argosy
What are your leadership resolutions for 2017?
Keep my team focused and motivated. Inevitably, like in any merger, bringing Argosy together with our sister companies will cause change. And change can be hard—or at least distracting. New systems, new workflows, new folks within the company to interact with. All of these elements can cause employees to become distracted. While we will embrace these changes, we’ll make sure our folks stay focused on achieving our 2017 goals.
Empower my managers. As our company continues to see fast growth, it’s critical that we develop a line of managers who can take on more responsibility and act appropriately for the fast-paced environment in which we live today. I’ll be working diligently with the team to develop the skills they need to make independent judgments that are in line with the company’s goals and strategies.
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Rafael Cardoso, President, BLR
What are your leadership resolutions for 2017?
To focus on the right people in the right role. We are a people business. As we grow in today’s fast-paced business environment, it’s key to our success as a staff that we have the right players in the right positions so that each handoff improves our products and services—and ultimately our customers’ experiences.
To provide more communication on how the business is doing and what is going on in the industries we serve and to provide more recognition of employees more regularly. With a staff that is spread across the country, it’s important to keep people engaged and feeling like they are part of something big. The larger we get, the harder it becomes to have conversations and for employees to feel the momentum. I really see it as my job to carry that torch and let people know they are part of something important and everyone matters.
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Steve Greenberg, President, DecisionHealth/HealthLeaders Media/HCPro
What are your leadership resolutions for 2017?
Listen more, talk less. At a time of impending change in the healthcare sector, it will be more important than ever to listen to customers to understand their true needs and how our newly combined healthcare business can successfully address knowledge gaps in the market. Promotion is important, but listening to customers will be even more valuable. Similarly, as leaders within this newly formed business, listening to each legacy business owner and their staff to understand their plans, goals, and approaches will be critical to successfully aligning and assimilating these companies.
Say “yes” sooner. Through the years, I have come to recognize that when faced with a decision, leaders often have an initial instinct as to whether or not to proceed with any given initiative. What follows is typically a series of validating sessions to either confirm or refute this initial perspective. More often than not, the initial judgment is the one followed. Those validating steps frequently put the organization through a number of time-consuming activities that ultimately prove to be non-value-added loops. In 2017, I will look for opportunities to shortcut decision making, saving the organization valuable time and resources, and say “yes” sooner.
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Lawton Miller, CFO
What are your leadership resolutions for 2017?
To lead with respect, honesty, integrity, humility, and trustworthiness while treating all, regardless of position or title, the way I would want to be treated.
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Elizabeth Petersen, Executive Vice President, Revenue and Strategy
What are your leadership resolutions for 2017?
To be a catalyst for collaboration and evolution. Innovation is at the heart of what we do, and I believe the best products and services are born out of leveraging the opinions, thoughts, and ideas from our entire staff and our customers. I’ll look to help our staff feel empowered and be creative while ensuring that the “customer voice” is woven into everything we do. Finally, I’ll be an evangelist for the power of “grit” and scrappiness in the corporate world (and in life, really!).
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Mike Yokay, President, CCMI
What are your leadership resolutions for 2017?
Investment. For 2017, my leadership strategy and division goal is investment. CCMI offers very niche products to the telecommunications industry, and we will be working to expand our product line and look to new industries for growth. Each employee will need to help identify opportunities they run across in their daily routines to help CCMI reach new prospects and revenue targets.
Performance. Each year at CCMI, I start the year off with a theme. In the past, some themes were Accountability, Smarter Faster Better, Preparedness, and Perception. I ask employees to apply these themes to their daily tasks, and I truly believe these themes have helped employees step back and evaluate their positions. In 2017, our theme will be Performance, as we will be looking to expand each employee’s role and our product offerings and identify new opportunities.
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So I ask you the same question asked of each of these executives, “What are your leadership resolutions for 2017?” Each member of our team put forward different resolutions, but there are ideas for all of us. If you haven’t made your 2017 leadership resolutions, I encourage you to do so now. Resolve to be more innovative. Resolve to listen more. Resolve to lead with integrity. Resolve to empower your managers. Resolve to improve communication. Resolve to perform.
For 2017 my leadership resolution is to transform my team into a well oiled sales machine by providing them with the tools they need to be successful, empowering them to make quick and business focused decisions that will result in winning more customers and reaching our goals.