Fall 2009 issue of Horizons

Raise Your Expectations CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS AND BUSINESS CONSULTANTS

Jack Smith, Co-owner, Principal, Collaborative Strategies Inc. Jack Smith is co-owner and principal of Collaborative Strategies Inc., the leading strategic planning

This caring comes out in the forms of respectfulness, selflessness, kindness and being genuine. How much a leader cares also shows itself in the ability to demonstrate tough love when necessary. Skilled servant leaders have ample ability to both “hug and spank” in a caring way. This kind of caring takes time and too many people in leadership positions today are not investing this time. Servant leadership cannot be done over e-mail. Relationships — Market advantage ultimately comes from the number of quality customer, supplier and influencer relationships you build based on the value given and received. Your business and career advantage is in direct proportion to growth in the number of these quality relationships. A favorite question of mine to young business people is: How many quality relationships do you have in your life (outside of family, coworkers, suppliers and long-time friends), with quality defined as “someone who will go out of his or her way to do you a favor?” The answer 95 percent of the time is less than five and usually is one or two. Again, your business and career advantage is in direct proportion to growth in the number of these quality relationships. Look at the people who have grown/earned 50 or more, and you’ll see a very successful person. A major shift is obviously occurring with the increased reliance on electronic communications, including business and social networking, e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. While these tools are outstanding for maintaining existing relationships and keeping others informed on your life, they are woefully inadequate when it comes to creating new relationships and deepening existing relationships. Gaining advantage today requires a combination of both face-to-face and electronic communications. Too little of one or the other will inhibit your success. Find a company with these three components (leadership, relationships and culture), and you’ll be certain to see a company with market advantage.

consulting firm serving for-profit and not-for- profit organizations in St. Louis, with an expanding presence in Kansas City. Striving to serve as a valued partner to its

entrepreneurial and not-for-profit clients, the team of highly skilled consultants (including Gina Hoagland, the firm’s president and co-owner) and strong support team are focused on bringing out the best thinking, decisions and action plans that allow clients to take better control of their destiny and achieve valuable competitive advantages. Smith attained the position of corporate president before age 40 after establishing a successful track record working in both large and small companies within four different industries. His business experience spans marketing, operations, sales management, finance, information systems and human resources. He moved to St. Louis in 1987 and served for nearly 10 years as an executive at two of St. Louis’ premier fast-growth companies – CyberTel Corp. and Bock Pharmacal Company/Highland Packaging Co. Since joining Collaborative Strategies as principal in 1996, Jack has helped clients grow the market value of their firms, develop outstanding management teams, achieve profitable revenue growth, and successfully expand the number and depth of customer relationships. His long-term focus on personal effectiveness equips him to be an effective coach to corporate leaders. Jack has established productive consulting relationships with more than 250 organizations engaged in more than 40 different industries spanning manufacturing, financial services, direct marketing, construction, etc. Jack credits most of his ongoing success to all that he learns from his clients and colleagues.

*People and Organizational Culture C.A. O’Reilly Academy of Management Journal

24 u fall 2009 issue