Impact Fab
Discovering the Hidden Treasures in Your Business
"Only StratOp covers all the bases."
Snapshot
- CLIENT: Impact Fab, Custom Fabrication Shop
- CHALLENGE: Slowed growth and repeated conversations without anything changing
- SOLUTION: The Barzel Group’s Strategic Planning Process (StratOp)
- RESULTS: A strategic plan with the freedom to pivot and the discipline of written goals
The Problem
Ross Haan brought Jay Hidalgo onboard as a one-on-one leadership coach. But the Holland-based business needed more—mainly, a comprehensive strategic and operational process that would propel them to greater growth and effectiveness.
Impact Fab was launched from the Haan family garage back in 1994. As a full-service metal fabrication shop with three decades of experience, their state-of-the-art operation allows Impact Fab to provide high-quality custom parts, on time, at a fair price.
But a few years ago, their success was stalling out. “Our growth had slowed,” said Ross, “and it felt like we kept having the same conversation over and over without anything changing. We needed a shot in the arm—a team-developed core plan that made unified action possible.”
The Turning Point
Ross and Jay already had a great relationship from their years of coaching. As their StratOp facilitator, Jay was quickly able to make connections and gain trust with the team at large.
“Jay is literally part of our team. He’s deeply involved, but never intrusive. With his holistic, long-term approach, we didn’t just get a one-and-done plan, we got the tools and techniques to keep reaching new goals. Most importantly, Jay makes sure no one is left out of the brainstorming and decision making. The people who ‘make it happen’ on a daily basis are all brought into the process.” —Ross Haan
The Barzel Group ensured that strategic planning wasn’t something happening to Impact Fab, but rather something happening with them—something the whole team did together.
No More Hit-and-Miss Planning
By using StratOp, Jay guided this established firm through creating a forward-thinking core plan that was not only measurable, but fully aligned with their objectives.
“We appreciated the 360-degree approach to planning that the StratOp process takes,” said Ross. “Basically, it’s stepping back and seeing the big picture, understanding the context we are operating in, and then finding the important things to help move the company forward. Only StratOp covers all the bases.”
StratOp helped the leaders of Impact Fab prioritize their time and find the bandwidth for proper evaluations. It allowed them to find and focus on the mission-critical areas they needed to work on for success. It then gave them a way to tackle them in a manageable form and cadence to ensure they happen.
“Jay helps with the process and the implementation—which means organizational alignment and team engagement don’t slip away,” Ross shared. “It’s also added a new level of accountability for myself and the team. Knowing that I’ll need to give a report on projects imparts an urgency and importance to them that was missing previously.”
A Roadmap to New Treasures
Some at Impact Fab were hesitant to embrace strategic planning at first. They feared a plan would “handcuff” them to a rigid structure. “Instead,” said Ross, “it’s given the team a roadmap to ensure we’re all traveling in the same direction.” The “roadmap” didn’t prevent creativity or flexibility—instead, it provided peace and confidence from always knowing where the company stood. StratOp provided comfort in the form of an accurate, updated perspective on all the moving parts of Impact Fab—both financial and operational. From there, the team could strike out to achieve their goals with confidence.
“[StratOp] has been the single best decision and investment we’ve made to lead the business well, care for our team members, and be good stewards of our God-given resources.” —Ross Haan
Strategic Planning for Manufacturers
Impact Fab is just one of many manufacturing companies that The Barzel Group has consulted with for strategic planning. No matter your size or specialty, manufacturers benefit from having an outside, third-party perspective guiding and advising them toward plans that are both sustainable and achievable.
“Around here, ‘meetings’ used to be a four-letter word. The last thing we wanted was more meetings. Initially the team was hesitant and even skeptical about investing the time into the process—especially taking two days away (some thought it was impossible). However, it didn’t take long for the team to change their minds, and now we look forward to our StratOp sessions every quarter.” —Ross Haan