Our Clients
Applegate Group
“We obtained the skills we needed to face the brutal facts, cut non-performing managers and staff, retained and repositioned our high performers, and increased our profits by 20 percent,” says Mike Applegate. “Our return on investment in Performance Consulting was easily 10 times the expense.”
Mike Applegate, The Applegate Group
Owner Mike Applegate was anxious to shift to the next generation of leaders so that he could transition out of the company, a 40-person, multiple-location firm that is considered one of the premier civil water engineering businesses in Colorado.
Before Sandy began working with the company, he Applegate Group had restructured their leader-manager team twice, yet failed to get the leadership that would take the company forward. The 2001-2003 recession complicated the firm’s challenges.
The project included assessment and identification of key people, and training of all in Crucial Conversations® skills. In close coordination with the company’s professional employer organization, Sandy assisted the organization in separating non-performing individuals.
Boulder Associates
"We attribute our growth to the foundation laid by our principals in partnership with Sandy,” says Tim Boers, managing partner. “Within 18 months, we moved from 17 people and fours hands-on principals in charge of projects to a staff of 65 (and growing) through the efforts of our newly empowered key personnel. Our average project size has increased from $10 million to $50 million."
Tim Boers, Managing Partner, Boulder Associates
In 1997, Boulder Associates was a 17- person architectural firm with four stockholders, specializing in hospital suite renovations. By 1999, the company had grown to 65 employees and eight stockholders, designing and building hospital campuses and assisted living campuses throughout the United States.
By assisting the owners in making the shift to leadership rather than project management, and by assessing and empowering key people in the firm, Boulder Associates accomplished its goals quickly and effectively.
Sandy’s work included: coaching of, and facilitating planning meetings for, the four-person owner team; an office-wide vision and strategy retreat; and development of career pathways and associated programs for advancement that broadened ownership.
BPA
"I would recommend – and have recommended – Sandy to most of my business associates who have gone through the same problems as we did: identifying what our firm is, who we serve, and how we grow."
Bill Poss, President, Poss Planning Architecture and Interior Design, Aspen, Colorado
In five years, BPA, a designer and builder of high-end luxury homes, went from 25-person firm to a 50-person firm doing e$8 million in business.
Sandy has been instrumental in the company’s growth through analyzing and developing key personnel, leadership training, team-building, executive coaching, and Development of the firm’s leadership transition guidelines. She has guided the selection and coordination of professional support services for business transition accounting and legal services, designed and coached the implementation of new human resource development systems, and facilitated company retreats and planning meetings.
CEI
“Sandy really met all my expectations – and then some. She is pleasant to deal with on the phone, and could quickly understand the situations I presented to her because of her training, background, and knowledge of the industry.”
Steve Bruflat, COO, CEI, Phoenix, Arizona
CEI is a 150-person transportation, civil, and environmental engineering firm with four divisions. The company is currently working with Sandy as it strives to meet its goal of doubling in size in the next five years.
CGRS
“Our company got on the path of good-to-great when I realized we could be as great as our best personnel. I learned my job is to be the pilot, not to turn the shovel. That’s when it all changed. Optimism and performance flourished. I began to focus on the right things. Sandy was my guide and support. I’m having more fun than ever and we are achieving our dreams.”
Erick Hick, President, CGRS, Fort Collins, Colorado
In the 18 months in which Sandy has worked with CGRS, the firm has grown from 30 employees to 50, moved into a new market area, and significantly expanded its product line.
H+L Architecture
“Sandy facilitates a dialogue among the leadership of an organization to resolve transition issues. She guides people through a process where she listens, mirrors, re-synthesizes, and puts things in context in front of people. She helps people listen to themselves in way that turns into action. She assists a company in confronting leadership issues.”
Jeff Ambrose, COB and COO, H+L Architecture, Denver
H+L has engaged Sandy Blaha Performance Consulting to advise and assist with their leadership transition program. This project has included: development of a talent assessment system, a top talent survey, interviews of key people, advised on advancement and structure, developed a leadership transition guideline and coached key individuals regarding their advancement when it was different than their expectations.