Discovering the hidden treasures in your business. Client Interview: Ross Haan

As a boy, I dreamed of finding buried treasure.

In my mind, a tattered treasure map could lead me to untold riches. You know the fantasy: Fifty paces from skull rock, turn left at monkey cave, walk until ‘X’ marks the spot. Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum, et cetera.

Just one problem. There’s no evidence that pirates actually buried their loot. Please don’t make me walk the plank for myth busting, but real buccaneers didn’t draw maps to stolen stashes. That mistaken notion came from Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous Treasure Island. Penned in 1883, it follows an adventurous young lad named Jim Hawkins who (you guessed it) finds a treasure map. Jim goes on a sea voyage to recover the treasure with Long John Silver, a one-legged pirate. The fictional storyline was immortalized in a Disney movie.

Fortunately, there is another kind of map—and the rewards of following it are even greater than finding gold doubloons.

Following a reliable map to success.

About five years ago, the owner of an innovative company brought me onboard as a one-on-one leadership coach. Later, as my role expanded, I was able to help develop a comprehensive strategic and operational process that would propel the Holland-based business into greater growth and effectiveness.

That company was Impact Fab, and the “map” I introduced them to was a unique form of strategic planning called StratOp. In a matter of months, owner Ross Haan saw his leadership team gain perspective and clarity on the strategic, operational, and financial aspects of their organization. Utilizing StratOp, I guided this established firm through creating a forward-thinking core plan that was not only measurable, but fully aligned with their objectives.

Today I count Ross Haan as a valued client and personal friend. As a favor to me, Ross agreed to share how the StratOp process benefited his business…

Ross, first give us an overview of your company.

We’re a full-service metal fabrication shop that offers water jet cutting, laser cutting, CNC machining, and CAD engineering. Our state-of-the-art operation provides high-quality custom parts, on time, at a fair price. We launched Impact Fab from the Haan family garage back in 1994 and have spent three decades making sure our demanding clients can rely on cutting-edge solutions.

What makes Impact Fab different?

We strive to be the “easy button” for engineers. Our one-stop, one-shop approach means being a partner that handles all aspects of their project. Our focus is on small batch and prototype fabrication for OE manufacturers. We ensure engineers get precision parts, without project delays or cost overruns.

How is your relationship with your StratOp facilitator?

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.

What were the effects of being inclusionary?

We’ve got a fairly large staff. And we believe each individual has potential to make meaningful contributions—but only if their voices are heard. With Jay, strategic planning isn’t something done to us, it’s something done with us, something we all do together. And since the process is adaptable, we wound up using it for all kinds of team problem-solving efforts. That’s a bonus.

Several years ago, you and your team decided to embark on a formal strategic planning process. What prompted that?

Our growth had slowed 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. Jay explained how to narrow our focus to the most essential issues and address them as a group.

Why did you select the StratOp process?

We appreciated the 360-degree approach to planning that the StratOp process takes. 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.

What difference has using StratOp made with your team?

No more hit-and-miss planning. StratOp is an effective framework and platform to find and focus on the mission-critical areas we need to work on for success. It then gives us a way to tackle them in a manageable form and cadence to be sure they happen. Jay helps with the process and the implementation—which means organizational alignment and team engagement don’t slip away.

How has engaging with StratOp affected your leadership?

As a small business owner, it’s easy to get stuck in the daily grind. I struggled to pick my head up long enough to see what the company and my team really needed to be successful long-term. StratOp helped us prioritize our time and find the bandwidth for proper evaluations. 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.

What is one benefit from using StratOp that you didn’t expect? I was surprised by the peace and confidence that come from always knowing where we stand. Admittedly, life seldom goes according to plan, but it is chaos if you have no plan at all. It’s comforting to have an accurate, updated perspective on all the moving parts of our company—financial and operational.

Be honest. Was implementing StratOp ever a challenge for you? 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.

After managing the company with StratOp for the past few years, what would you say is your number-one takeaway?

We love the combination of freedom to pivot with the discipline of written goals. Having a strategic plan has not been “handcuffs” like some feared. Instead, it’s given the team a roadmap to ensure we’re all traveling in the same direction.

What advice would you give small and mid-sized business owners with regard to strategic planning?

Don’t wait. Embrace the StratOp process. You’ll be glad you did. It 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.

Any final thoughts?

The best part of StratOp has been working with Jay. His experience and gifts have equipped him to help us dig deeper on difficult questions and challenge us when we need a push. All with kindness, grace, and a humble confidence that make him extremely effective. His talent is “helping clients help themselves.”

That’s perfect for anyone looking to take their group to the next level

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Thank you, Ross. Because you are a current, active user of the StratOp process, I think your comments will be especially helpful for many organizations.

If you’re running a business—manufacturing, research, service, whatever—I’d be happy to help you and your team develop a detailed strategic and operating plan that will move you from “where you are to where you can be.”

As Ross kindly mentioned, I have the privilege of facilitating the StratOp process with the leaders and teams at Impact Fab. If you’d like to discuss what charting a course for your organization would look like, click here to set up an informal conversation.

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Guess who wrote a book?

Based on 30 years of working with game-changing leaders like Ross Haan, I’ve written a new book called Would They Follow if They Didn’t Have To? 13 Ways Great Leaders Build Great Teams. I’m not big on self-promotion, but it’s been called “honest, fresh feedback to move you forward.” Check it out here.