SmileSaver: A RoadMap from Growing Pains to Sustainably Successful Organization™

LOS ANGELES - Sept. 29, 2014 - PRLog -- What did the company do?

Our core business was providing patients to dentists who needed more patients and providing dental coverage to the public - unable to get insurance coverage anywhere else. We contracted with dentists providing benefits to the patients and charged annual or monthly premiums.

What challenges were you facing when you engaged Management Systems to work with you?

We became quite skilled at what we did - the company prospered and began to outgrow us. Our company was showing the classic Growing Pains of a small entrepreneurship.

I learned about the Growing Pains seminar at UCLA Anderson School of Management by Dr. Eric Flamholtz and Dr. Yvonne Randle. I realized our company had all the symptoms. I attended the course and read the Growing Pains book.

I convinced my partner to let me bring Management Systems into the company.

We had the following issues:

1. My partner and I were young and inexperienced and were really entrepreneurs, not professional managers.

2. The business was set up as a 50-50 partnership which lead to ego clashes and disagreements on virtually every issue.

3. We had a rudimentary organizational structure, and not based on our actual talents or skills.

4. There were no written procedures for important procedures (no employee manual, no formal organization chart) and little operational coordination between departments.

5. Employees began to rally around their "boss" and so there became a "camp" for each partner.  Employee morale was affected by this.

How did Management Systems help you and your team?

We learned that "Growing Pains" were a normal and predictable result of entrepreneurial growth, and that there were solutions for them.

Second, they met individually with my partner and myself and gained our full trust and commitment.

They were able to provide us with very blunt, very constructive, and much needed analysis of what the issues were in our relationship dynamic. To their credit, they did not pull any punches and each of us had to hear about areas of our own performance that we were lacking in some instances. It is always tough to hear that you are actually the root of the problem in some instances.

Third, they interviewed the other managers and employees extensively. This resulted in a very accurate picture of what was happening within the organization.  We saw what was working and what the most significant challenges were in the organization.

What impact did the work that Management Systems do have on your company and its performance?

In the end, Eric and Yvonne's analysis was spot on accurate, timely, and most importantly provided a "road map" to the future.

Eric, Yvonne and their team rolled up their sleeves, and worked with us side-by-side to develop organization skills in all the managers. They interviewed everybody, including the two partners and suggested an organizational structure that raised some eyebrows, which was "skill based". The new structure provided important insights into how we could organize responsibilities, reporting structures and departments.  It fostered a new team spirit, and helped enhance our personal skills as partners, and helped employees feel like they wanted to be on the "company team" and do a good job.

The entire company was re-structured. Procedures were put in place. Outside management talent was recruited and hired. A reporting structure was put in place that specifically dealt with the problem of employees trying to play one partner against the other to curry favor and it was strictly followed.

Most importantly, the two partners were allowed to manage the organizational areas best suited to their skill sets. We were required to relinquish other areas to the other partner if that partner was better able to perform in that capacity.
Within a short period of time employee morale improved, the partners were functional and had the operational structure and capacity to handle growth. Soon, a very large organization took notice of the growth, profits, and professional management style of the company and they initiated a business partnership with us.

Over the next year, they observed how we operated, and how we continued to grow and succeed.  Using what we learned from Management Systems, we prospered and grew with control systems and planning.

Eventually this company, a subsidiary of one of the largest financial organizations in the world, acquired our company allowing my partner and I to retire at the age of 43.

How did you continue using what you learned from Management Systems in other ventures?

The training, skills and information that we learned from working with Management Systems continues to be invaluable to everyone involved.

One of our managers became the VP of operations at a very large aerospace firm using skills she learned from Management Systems.

As for me, one of our competitors had observed the growth and results in applying what I learned from Management Systems, and they approached me with an offer to become CEO of their Dental Plan.

With the skills and experience from SmileSaver, and results that I can attribute to working with Management Systems, I was able to successfully resolve the "Growing Pains" that the new company was experiencing, manage the rancor in the Board of Directors and skillfully implement a growth strategy.  I was able to double the size and value of the company within a three year period, and concluded a very profitable acquisition by one of the largest health carriers in the nation the following year.

What would you tell someone who is considering engaging Management Systems about the work that we do and its impact?

The skills I learned from working with Management Systems gave me the insights and tools I needed to succeed.

Working with Management Systems requires the following things:

* As an Owner or Manager you need to be willing to listen
* As an Owner or Manager you need to be ready to learn new concepts
* Management Systems will teach you and your team new concepts and steps to take in your business to transition smoothly from an entrepreneurial company to a professionally managed organization
* As an Owner or Manager you need to be willing to set aside your own personal ego and accept honest, constructive criticism
* As an Owner or Manager you need to be able to accept guidance about your own role in the organization's future

Deciding to accept help and guidance from Management Systems could be the single most important business decision that you make in your entire career and one that can no doubt pay dividends far in excess of any investment you may make in Management Systems.  Working with Management Systems is an investment in developing the necessary skills and knowledge that can be utilized throughout your entire career no matter where you work.

To learn more about the Growing Pains Framework, Growing Pains Survey or to learn more about Management Systems and our network of global affiliates, please visit: www.mgtsystems.com