From Corporate Comfort to Entrepreneurial Grit: A Founder’s Guide to Building a Business with Impact

by Pamela Campagna | Business Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Life Lessons

What does it take to leave a secure corporate career and build something from scratch? For many, it’s a daunting thought, filled with risk and uncertainty. But for Hadeel, a Jordanian entrepreneur, it was a necessary step toward fulfilling her purpose. In 2006, she made the pivotal decision to trade her steady income for a chance to empower young people, a move that launched an incredible journey of growth, resilience, and impact.

This article explores the key lessons from Hadeel’s story, as shared on the Global Grit Conversations podcast. We will dive into her transition from the corporate world, her framework for building true grit, and her practical advice for entrepreneurs—especially women—on turning a passionate idea into a sustainable business. Her journey offers a powerful blueprint for anyone seeking to make a change and build a meaningful career.

The Leap: Trading Security for Purpose

Many professionals dream of starting their own venture, but the fear of losing a stable income is a powerful deterrent. Hadeel faced this exact challenge. When she told her family she was leaving a major company to start an educational business, she was met with concern. For a culture that values stability, her decision seemed reckless.

However, Hadeel was driven by a clear purpose: to address the skills gap she observed in the corporate world. She saw many well-educated graduates who lacked essential personal skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, and decision-making. Her vision was to create programs that would instill these life skills in children from a young age.

Her first venture, Ideas for Fun, focused on teaching science through hands-on experiments and drama. This evolved into The Alchemist Lab, which offered STEM education through camps, school trips, and teacher training. The mission was always to make learning engaging and to equip the next generation with the tools for success. This unwavering focus on her “why” gave her the conviction to push past the initial fear and skepticism.

Takeaway: Anchor Yourself in Purpose

When faced with a difficult career decision, your purpose becomes your anchor. Hadeel’s passion wasn’t just a fleeting interest; it was a solution to a problem she deeply cared about.

Actionable Tip: Before making a major leap, clearly define the problem you want to solve. Who do you want to help, and why does it matter to you? Writing a personal mission statement can provide the clarity and motivation needed to navigate the uncertainty ahead.

The Three Pillars of Grit

The word “grit” is often used to describe simple persistence, but Hadeel defines it as a set of actionable skills. Her experience building her business through challenges, including readjusting during the COVID-19 pandemic, taught her that grit is something you cultivate, not something you’re just born with. She breaks it down into three pillars.

Master Your Relationship with Failure

Every entrepreneurial journey is filled with mistakes and setbacks. The key is not to avoid them but to change how you react to them. Hadeel emphasizes the importance of learning from failures without letting their emotional weight undermine your confidence.

This means letting go of ego and being open to feedback. When you tie your identity to a specific solution, any failure can feel personal. Instead, Hadeel advises becoming attached to the problem you are solving. This shift in perspective allows you to see setbacks as opportunities to iterate and improve your approach, rather than as personal defeats.

Take Action, Even Without Motivation

Many people believe they need to be “in the mood” or feel “ready” to work on their goals. Hadeel argues that waiting for the right feeling is a trap. True grit is the discipline to show up and do the work, even on days when you feel uninspired or overwhelmed.

She frames readiness as a decision, not an emotion. Motivation is fickle, but commitment is a choice you make every day. By creating systems and habits, you can ensure progress continues regardless of your emotional state. This is what separates successful entrepreneurs from those who get stuck waiting for the perfect moment.

Stay Committed to the Long-Term Vision

Building something meaningful takes time. Whether it’s growing a business, mastering a new skill, or getting in shape, the results are rarely immediate. A major component of grit is the ability to stay motivated on a long journey where rewards are far in the future.

This involves breaking down large goals into smaller, manageable milestones. Celebrating these small wins helps maintain momentum and provides a sense of accomplishment along the way. It’s about trusting the process and understanding that consistent, daily effort is what ultimately leads to significant achievements.

Takeaway: Build Your Grit Muscle

Resilience is not a passive trait; it’s active practice.

Actionable Tip: Pick one of Hadeel’s pillars to focus on this week. If you struggle with failure, identify a past mistake and write down three lessons it taught you. If you struggle with motivation, commit to working on a key task for just 25 minutes, even if you don’t feel like it. Practice builds strength.

Practical Advice for Women in Business

Throughout her journey, Hadeel has coached many entrepreneurs and noticed specific patterns, particularly among women. She offers sharp, practical advice for overcoming common hurdles that can stifle growth.

Don’t Wait for Perfection

Hadeel highlights a frequently cited statistic, that women often wait until they meet 100% of the qualifications before applying for a role, while men will apply with far less. This tendency toward perfectionism also appears in entrepreneurship, where women may spend too much time developing a product or service before taking it to market.

Her advice is blunt: launch before you feel ready. Your initial product is not your final one. Get it into the hands of customers, collect feedback, and iterate. The market will provide more valuable lessons than you could ever learn in isolation.

Ask for Help Directly

Another tendency Hadeel observes is the belief that you must build a relationship before asking for help. Women may feel the need to “warm up” a contact with coffee meetings and interactions before making a request.

She urges entrepreneurs to be more direct. People are often happy to give feedback or offer support if you simply ask. Build a trusted circle of advisors and mentors, and don’t hesitate to reach out to them. Respect their time by being clear and concise about what you need. A direct, well-formulated request is often more effective than a roundabout approach.

Build a Sustainable Financial Model

Passion is the fuel for any impact-driven business, but it cannot sustain it on its own. Hadeel warns against the “social enterprise trap” where founders give away too much for free in the name of impact and end up bankrupt.

If you are creating value, you must build a business model that reflects that. This doesn’t mean you can’t serve less fortunate communities. It means you need to be creative. Hadeel’s company, The Alchemist Lab, used a hybrid model: it charged fees for services to the private sector and used those revenues to subsidize programs for refugees and other communities. Sustainability means having cash on the balance sheet, which ensures your company can continue to operate and achieve its goals.

Conclusion: Embrace the Journey

Hadeel’s story is a powerful reminder that the path to a meaningful career is rarely a straight trajectory. It requires courage to start, grit to persevere, and a willingness to learn from every setback. Her journey from a secure corporate job to an impactful entrepreneur was fueled by a clear purpose: to equip the next generation with the skills to succeed.

By embracing failure, acting with discipline, and building a sustainable model, she turned her vision into a reality that has impacted thousands. Her new project, Mothabira (“gritty woman”), continues this mission by providing young women with tools to turn self-doubt into grit.

Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur or a professional seeking more purpose, her lessons are universal. Define your “why,” cultivate your resilience, and don’t be afraid to ask for what you’re worth. The journey may be challenging, but as Hadeel demonstrates, the reward of building something with impact is worth every ounce of effort

Tune in to Global Grit Conversations.

The Inner Work of Leadership: A Conversation with Areej Khataybeh

by Pamela Campagna | Business Strategy, Leadership, Life Lessons

When I launched Global Grit Conversations, I knew I wanted to create something different—a space for reflective, cross-cultural dialogue about resilience, leadership, and meaning. My first guest, Areej Khataybeh, delivered exactly that and more.

Areej is a psychologist who has turned executive coach and entrepreneur, building something truly unique: a methodology that combines business development, psychology, and strategic thinking. Over 11 years of studying psychology and another 12 in the corporate world, she’s worked with more than 200 high-achieving individuals across 20+ countries. But what struck me most wasn’t just her impressive track record—it was her journey from the therapy room to the boardroom and what she discovered along the way.

From Mental Health Hospitals to Executive Suites

Areej’s career path wasn’t traditional. She started work in mental health hospitals, moved to schools, and then into corporate work as an HR manager. But she describes HR as “the suit that gives me access”—a business card that opened doors to CEOs, leaders, and entrepreneurs with big dreams.

“What drove me was being eager to explore and asking myself the tough questions,” she told me. “Where are you really, really, really happy? With whom are you working? What are you working on, and where will that take you?”

That relentless self-inquiry led her from Jordan to the US, where she studied coaching and met leaders across industries. She interviewed celebrities, high-achieving CEOs, politicians, and even royalty. And in those conversations, she began to see patterns that would eventually become the foundation of her methodology.

The Survivors vs. The Thrivers

Areej’s description of her breakthrough moment was unforgettable. She was on a flight from Chicago to New York, writing furiously, when it hit her: there was a link between all the people she was interviewing.

“I saw two basic elements,” she explained. “First, the achievements they do, and their track record of success. Second, their heart—the passion, how excited they are about what they do.”

But here’s what fascinated her: many of these successful people had lost something along the way. They started their businesses with fire in their hearts, but as they achieved more, that spark began to dim.

“They are achieving, doing amazing stuff in the world, and people are celebrating them,” Areej said. “But what about their heart? What about their inner world?”

She calls these people “survivors”—those who have achieved a lot, but whose hearts are no longer beating at the same rhythm as when they started. The question that drives her work became: How do we help survivors become thrivers again?

The Four-Step Journey: Reveal, Heal, Create, Transform

What emerged from Areej’s research is what she calls the Spark Back methodology—a four-step process that starts not with strategy, but with something much deeper.

Reveal: This first step requires courage. It’s about opening up about the most difficult thing in your life—the thing you’ve pushed away because you thought it wasn’t “the right time” or because you needed to focus on solutions. High achievers are masters at suppression, at pushing forward. But Areej has learned that you can’t move forward until you’re willing to go backward.

Heal: You can’t dream if you’re in pain. You can’t create a compelling vision while carrying emotional luggage that drains you. This step is about healing the heart from past wounds, lifting the emotional burden that weighs leaders down even as they appear successful to the outside world.

Create: Only after the first two steps can leaders develop a new vision—one that comes from their authentic self, not from fear, guilt, or someone else’s expectations. This is about creating something that’s purely them, alone.

Transform: Finally, this is where traditional business consulting usually starts—taking the vision into action, making it a reality, building the right team, executing the plan.

“Every business challenge starts from yourself,” Areej told me. And she applies this framework everywhere—from high-achieving women scaling international businesses to her own children navigating school conflicts.

The Missing Piece in the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

As someone who has consulted with global organizations and now focuses on women-owned businesses, I was particularly struck by Areej’s observations about what’s missing in the current ecosystem.

“We focus heavily on how to become an entrepreneur, how to open your business—99%, if not more, focusing on strategy, execution, planning, action steps,” she said. “But no one considers the inner world. No one focuses on the woman herself, the one who is behind the business.”

The ecosystem teaches women how to pitch, how to analyze market gaps, and how to raise numbers. But when a high-achieving woman is sitting in a strategic meeting thinking about her family, her kids, and her loved ones? The system tells her she should leave that behind and come with a clear mind.

“No one tells you: you are a human,” Areej said. “How can you be aligned as a whole person in order to achieve and push your dreams?”

This resonates deeply with my own work at the intersection of academia and consulting. We’re quick to prescribe more training, another MBA, another certificate. But we rarely ask: How do you feel? What are you carrying that we can’t see?

Cross-Cultural Insights

Having worked across the US, Europe, and MENA regions, Areej sees both universal struggles and cultural differences in how women experience achievement.

In Western cultures focused on individuality, women often grow up feeling that whatever they’re doing isn’t enough—they need to do more, think more about the future, have backup plans for their backup plans. “The inner place is not clearly peaceful and settled,” she observed.

In the GCC and MENA regions, where there’s a greater emphasis on group identity and family, women feel guilty when they focus on themselves. They struggle to find harmony between caring for everyone they’re supposed to support and pursuing their own dreams.

“It sounds different,” Areej said, “but it’s from the same place—you are with yourself, looking at yourself, how you define your identity.”

The weight is the same. Only the source is different.

When Success Doesn’t Look Like You

One of the most powerful moments in our conversation came when Areej shared her own inflection point—deciding to end her first marriage, leaving a prestigious hospital position, and making choices that looked unwise to others but felt essential to her.

“Especially when it’s nice, especially when it’s appealing, especially when people look at it and tell you you’re lucky for having this in your life,” she said. “But you feel: it’s not for me. It doesn’t look like me.”

She described reading an article titled “Why Women Fear Success” that spoke to how she’d been shrinking herself, trying to fit in. The realization changed everything.

“Although it might not seem the most wise decision for people at one point in time, if you feel this is the right thing for you—go and do it.”

This is the kind of courage she now helps other women find. Not the courage to be louder or more aggressive, but the courage to be honest with themselves about what alignment actually feels like.

Advice for the Inflection Points

When I asked Areej what advice she’d give to someone at a major career crossroads—whether just starting out, mid-career, or thinking about legacy—her answer was beautifully simple and profoundly challenging.

“Pause. Stop and think. Ask: how am I considering where I am today, and how does it feel to move forward? What are my biggest fears, and why are they fears?”

Then she offered this thought experiment: “If I removed everyone’s advice and recommendations aside, if there were no one on earth but me and myself living in this world, and there were no fears whatsoever—what would I choose?”

She also suggested imagining yourself at 90, looking back at this moment. How would you want to have honored yourself? How would you want to be remembered?

“Sometimes it’s hard for us to think of what’s happening today,” she said. “We need to go out of ourselves, out in time and perspective. We need to see ourselves as a third party. And then the answers will amaze you.”

The Smart Woman in Hijab

There was one moment in our conversation that I found particularly moving. When Areej went to New York for her coaching certification, someone called her “the smart woman in hijab.” It was the first time she’d heard this, and she took it as an answer from God—a message telling her to honor what she believes in, move forward, and trust that people will appreciate her work and contributions.

“That gave me a huge push and responsibility at the same time,” she said. “To honor what I have and at the same time help others and be open and have conversations that really come from the heart.”

This is authenticity in action—not despite who you are, but because of who you are.

What This Conversation Taught Me

As an educator and consultant who has spent decades helping organizations and individuals navigate transformation, I found Areej’s approach refreshingly human. We spend so much time on best practices, on benchmarks, on what the market demands. But transformation doesn’t start with a strategy deck. It starts with a person willing to be honest about what they’re carrying, what they’re avoiding, and what they truly want.

The Spark Back methodology—reveal, heal, create, transform—isn’t just a framework for entrepreneurs. It’s a framework for anyone who has achieved something and wonders why it doesn’t feel the way they thought it would. It’s for anyone who has lost the spark they started with and wants to find their way back.

This is the kind of conversation I want Global Grit Conversations to be known for—not superficial success stories, but real discussions about the inner work that makes outer achievement sustainable and meaningful.

I’m grateful to Areej for her vulnerability, her wisdom, and her willingness to share not just what she’s learned from 200+ interviews with high achievers, but what she’s learned from her own inflection points, her own moments of choosing authenticity over approval.

Listen to the full conversation with Areej Khataybeh on Global Grit Conversations, Season 1, Episode 1: “The Inner Work of Leadership” here.

To learn more about Areej’s work, visit Spark Back or connect with her on LinkedIn.

Innovative AI Strategies For Consulting: Your Comprehensive Roadmap

by Pamela Campagna | Artificial Intelligence (AI), Business Strategy, Consulting, Managing Change, Managing Resources

Imagine walking into a client meeting armed with robust insights you hadn’t seen before. This isn’t happenstance—it’s the power of using AI in your consulting practice.

As the business world rapidly evolves, consultants who harness AI’s potential position themselves at the forefront of providing value to their clients.

The surge in AI investment underscores its growing importance: venture capital funding in Generative AI skyrocketed by 425% from 2020 to 2022 [EY India], with continued growth expected. This explosive increase signals a transformative shift in how businesses operate and compete.

But how do you bridge the gap between AI’s promise and practical implementation?

This guide walks you through the process of integrating AI into your consulting practice to evolve how you deliver value to clients and stay ahead in a competitive landscape.

Assess Your AI Readiness for Consulting

Before diving into AI integration, assessing your consulting practice’s readiness is crucial.

Start by evaluating your current technology infrastructure and personal readiness. Do you have the necessary hardware and software to support AI tools? Are your data storage and processing capabilities sufficient? Are you and your team ready to learn and adopt new technology?

Next, identify the key areas where AI can make the most significant impact in your practice.

The EY whitepaper mentioned above suggests focusing on areas such as data analysis, client communication, project management, or predictive modeling. Prioritize these areas based on potential ROI and ease of implementation.

Practical Tip:

Conduct a SWOT analysis for you and your consulting organization focusing on AI integration. This will help you understand your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in AI adoption.

Selecting the Right AI Tools for Your Consulting Practice

A futuristic digital workspace illustration. A person sits centrally, facing multiple screens and devices. The main screen shows various app icons and interfaces. The background is filled with colorful, glowing orbs representing different digital tools and concepts. The overall color scheme is vibrant with purples, blues, and oranges, creating a high-tech, immersive atmosphere.

With a clear understanding of your needs, it’s time to choose the right AI tools for your practice. Research AI platforms designed explicitly for consulting or that can be adapted to your needs. There are hundreds of popular generative and no-code AI tools alone, so start your research by asking the AI what tools are available for your consulting area. This can be done with a simple prompt in ChatGPT, such as “Which AI tools are designed explicitly for healthcare consultants?”

Look for solutions that offer:

Data analysis and visualization
Natural language processing for document review
Predictive modeling capabilities
Client interaction management

Consider the scalability of these tools. Can the AI solution grow with your practice? Also, evaluate how well these tools can integrate with systems you may currently use for research, client data analysis, visualization, or content creation.

Actionable Advice:

Start small with a pilot project. Choose one area of your practice to implement AI and test its effectiveness before scaling or repeating with other projects.

Key considerations when selecting AI tools for consulting:

Ease of use and learning curve
Cost and ROI potential
Data security and compliance features
Vendor support and update frequency
Customization options for consulting needs

Developing an AI Implementation Strategy in Consulting

Futuristic office space with three businessmen working on advanced computer systems. The room is bathed in a purple and blue glow, with holographic displays showing data and charts on the walls. Desks are equipped with multiple monitors and cutting-edge technology. The ceiling features illuminated geometric patterns, creating a high-tech atmosphere.

After assessing your AI readiness and selecting the right tools, the next step is implementation.

Let’s explore a real-world example of how a consulting firm successfully integrated AI into a client’s business processes, demonstrating a phased approach that you can adapt to your practice.

A 2024 case study by Green Urbaczewski and Urbaczewski illustrates how RevOppAI, a consulting firm, helped a specialty construction firm (SCF) implement AI solutions to enhance its customer journey and marketing efforts.

Their three-phase approach offers valuable insights for consultants looking to integrate AI into their practices:

Phase 1: Customer Segment Assessment

RevOppAI conducted an in-depth analysis of SCF’s marketing channels and CRM data in this initial phase. They leveraged AI tools like DeepNote, which cut the time required for exploratory data analysis by 60%. This phase demonstrated how AI can quickly provide insights into:

Lead sources and volumes
Sales cycle duration
Customer segment distinctions

Key Takeaway: AI-powered data analysis can rapidly uncover insights that inform strategy shifts and resource allocation.

Phase 2: AI Use Case Identification

RevOppAI systematically identified AI use cases through:

Data assessment
Onsite customer journey development
Team interviews

They prioritized repetitive, rule-based, or time-consuming tasks and evaluated them based on potential ROI. This process led to the selection of 12 narrow use cases for a year-long implementation, with four chosen for the initial 90-day period.

Key Takeaway: Prioritize AI implementations that drive operational efficiency and productivity, build trust in automation, and demonstrate early ROI.

Phase 3: Implementation and Results

The consulting firm adopted an ecosystem approach, leveraging existing software tools and adding minimal costs. Within 60 days of deployment, measurable results included:

21% year-over-year increase in website visits
10% increase in traffic-to-lead conversion
Tenfold increase in social interactions
480% increase in email and text volume to the target segment, with higher deliverability

Key Takeaway: Start with AI solutions that integrate with existing systems to minimize disruption and maximize adoption.

Challenges and Insights

The case study also highlighted essential considerations for AI implementation:

Allocate adequate time for AI work groups (at least 90 minutes weekly).
Overcome skepticism by demonstrating early wins and measuring time savings.
Provide replicable training tools and process guides to facilitate ongoing adoption.
Establish clear ROI measures from the outset.
Prioritize simplicity over complexity where possible.

By following a structured, phased approach to AI implementation, consulting firms can effectively integrate AI into their practices, enhancing efficiency, productivity, and client value.

This real-world example demonstrates that with careful planning and execution, AI can significantly impact a consulting firm’s operations and client outcomes.

Leveraging AI to Enhance Client Value in Consulting

A woman in a futuristic office environment views a holographic world map display. She wears sleek glasses and a high-tech headset with a glowing blue light. The room is bathed in vibrant pink and blue neon lighting, creating a cyberpunk aesthetic. Multiple screens in the background show various data visualizations. The image conveys a sense of global connectivity and advanced technology in the workplace.

With AI integrated into your practice, focus on leveraging its capabilities to enhance the value you deliver to clients. Use AI for deeper insights and predictive analysis beyond traditional consulting methods.

Employ machine learning algorithms to analyze vast amounts of industry data, identifying trends and potential disruptions that might not be apparent through conventional analysis. This approach lets you provide clients with more accurate forecasts and strategic recommendations.

Implement AI-driven personalization in your client interactions. Use natural language processing to analyze client communications and tailor your approach based on their preferences and needs.

Key Takeaway

AI should augment, not replace, your consulting expertise. Use it to enhance your decision-making and provide more value to clients, but always combine it with your professional judgment, experience, and ethical standards.

Conclusion

Integrating AI into your consulting practice is no longer a futuristic concept—it’s a present-day necessity. You can revolutionize your practice by assessing your readiness, choosing the right tools, developing a strategic implementation plan, and focusing on enhanced client value.

Remember, the goal is to use AI and improve your consulting services and client outcomes. As you embark on this AI journey, stay curious, adaptable, and focused on the unique value you bring to the market.

The future of consulting is here—are you ready to lead the way?

Resources

“The future of consulting in the age of Generative AI” – EY [link]
“The AI Advantage: How to Put the Artificial Intelligence Revolution to Work” by Thomas H. Davenport
“Competing in the Age of AI: Strategy and Leadership When Algorithms and Networks Run the World” by Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani

Your Purpose-Driven Marketing Strategy: How to Integrate Volunteerism into Your Brand

by Pamela Campagna | Business Marketing, Business Strategy, Business Trends, Global Marketing, Leadership

As a business strategy and marketing consultant, I’ve always found the intricate interaction between organizational culture and strategy to be fascinating. Today, I’m excited to delve into a topic at the intersection of these domains: how businesses can authentically build purpose-driven brands by integrating volunteerism into their marketing strategy.

Volunteerism, often associated with acts of altruism and community service, is an unlikely candidate for inclusion in a company’s marketing efforts. However, the reality is quite different.

In today’s socially conscious landscape, consumers are increasingly drawn to brands that align with their values and contribute positively to society. Incorporating volunteerism into your marketing strategy enhances your brand’s image and deepens customer loyalty and engagement.

So, how can businesses effectively integrate volunteerism into their marketing strategy? Let’s explore some key considerations and strategies.

Authenticity Is Paramount

In an era characterized by skepticism and discerning consumers, any attempt to capitalize on volunteerism for purely self-serving purposes will likely backfire. Your company’s actions and messaging must underpin a genuine commitment to social responsibility. Authenticity breeds trust, and trust is the cornerstone of solid customer relationships.

One way to demonstrate authenticity is by aligning your volunteer efforts with your brand’s mission and values. Consider what causes resonate most deeply with your company’s ethos and how you can leverage your resources and expertise to make a meaningful impact. For example, a sustainable fashion brand might partner with environmental organizations to clean up local parks or beaches, aligning with its commitment to eco-conscious practices.

Transparency Is Essential

Be transparent about your motivations for volunteering and the tangible outcomes of your efforts. Share stories and testimonials that illustrate the real-world impact of your initiatives.

Transparency fosters accountability and strengthens your brand’s credibility.

Engage Your Employees`

Another critical aspect of integrating volunteerism into your marketing strategy is employee engagement. Your employees are your most valuable asset; their enthusiasm and passion can be a powerful catalyst for change. Empower your employees to participate in volunteer activities that resonate with them by giving them time and space to do so and providing opportunities for them to contribute their skills and expertise to meaningful causes. Engaged employees are more productive and loyal and also serve as brand ambassadors, which amplifies your message both internally and externally.

Stay Tech Savvy

Consider the role of technology in facilitating volunteerism and amplifying its reach. Leverage social media, crowdfunding platforms, and volunteer management software to connect with volunteers, raise awareness about your initiatives, and mobilize support.

You can harness the power of storytelling through multimedia content—videos, photos, and blog posts—to showcase the impact of your volunteer efforts and inspire others to get involved.

Collaborate For Maximum Impact

By partnering with other businesses, nonprofit organizations, and community groups, you can amplify the impact of your volunteer initiatives and extend your reach. Collaboration fosters innovation and creativity while strengthening relationships with stakeholders to enhance your brand’s visibility and reputation.

By authentically aligning your volunteer efforts with your brand’s mission, engaging your employees, leveraging technology, and fostering collaboration, you can build a purpose-driven brand that resonates with consumers and leaves a lasting legacy of social impact.

Remember: the true measure of success lies not just in profits and market share but in the positive contribution you make to the lives of others and the world.

The Challenge and Opportunity of Effective Strategy Execution

by Pamela Campagna | Business Strategy, Leadership

According to a recent study by the Harvard Business Review, only 8% of leaders manage strategy execution effectively. Furthermore, leaders who can strategize well are most likely to be able to put the strategy into place, but only because they happen to make the right choices at crucial points in executing their strategies.

As most leaders know, strategies are simply roadmaps, and there are extenuating circumstances that can change the plan in a blink of an eye. This is what separates a strategy from a plan: a plan may not necessarily consider extenuating circumstances. In contrast, a strategy can fail if it is too complex and demanding for those who have to execute it. For example, if a manager assigns a project to a team of two employees when it usually requires at least five people to execute it, the project may be doomed to fail. Similarly, a complex strategy usually leads to complicated execution.

What Makes Strategy Executable and Effective?

Sir Lawrence Freedman, renowned author, and professor of War Studies at the prestigious King’s College in London, penned a book in 2013 entitled “Strategy: A History” in which he demonstrates how strategy must have a working definition in order to evolve and be relevant. He makes a strong argument about using all available resources to enable one to react to unanticipated events and stay on course. He terms it “the art of creating power” because it entails a delicate balance of power, authority, and resources.

As a historian, Sir Lawrence has studied military strategy, which he says dates back to Greek mythology when gods employed either raw strength or guile in their battles. This is evident when you look at two great warriors, Achilles, and Odysseus, who both fought on the side of the Greeks during the Trojan War. Achilles used his strength to fight while Odysseus used his craftiness and the Trojan wooden horse to end the war.

Studies have shown that top executives are often frustrated with achieving success with only 65% of their financial strategies. What does this mean? “The strategies are outstanding, so why aren’t we reaching our goals?” is what troubles most managers because they simply don’t comprehend why they cannot bridge the underperformance gap between strategy and execution. As a result, the organization ends up wasting energy, time, and missed opportunities.

In a nutshell, strategy is an ongoing process that takes you from one level of success to the next. A strategy should have a beginning without an end, in the sense that running an organization is an ongoing battle. And every stage will bring new challenges that a leader must face and add to the strategic plan. Sir Freedman sums it up best: “The world of strategy is full of disappointment and frustration, of means not working and ends not reached.”

How to Meet Strategy and Execution Consistently: Best Practices

For strategies to stay relevant and operative, best practices in strategy development can be employed, including:

Plan your strategy based on realistic data: your finances, resources, and market data that identify top priorities.
Ensure that your strategy has quick and corrective action.
Track performance and compare it with long-term goals.
Review and analyze people, processes, and products on a frequent basis.
Create accountabilities and establish clear communications.
Review performance bottlenecks.

Keep the strategy simple but complete and concrete, and make it a point to reward the people who are helping you achieve your goals.

Finally, avoid the common pitfall of trying to create the perfect strategy because it doesn’t exist – at least not by planning ahead. The perfect strategy is one that adapts to situations while staying true to its course.

Need help with your business strategy? Contact us for a complimentary consultation call.

Q&A with Pamela Campagna, BLUE SAGE Consulting

by Pamela Campagna | Business Strategy, Business Trends, Consulting, Managing Resources

An Interview with Pamela Campagna | President, BLUE SAGE Consulting, Inc.

What do you most like about your job?

Because I work with many companies and organizations, I’m able to carry what I learn from one situation to another. The variety and the constant challenge of solving client problems are really intriguing. As a Certified Management Consultant (CMC®), I am bound by the requirements of a global organization to deliver quality results in an ethical manner.

Why does your work stand out from others that do what you do?

My clients can speak to that: “I had the pleasure of working with Pam at a few firms, one where I hired her as a consultant to help launch new marketing and sales initiatives under an extraordinarily tight timeline. Pam is a strategic thinker who cuts through the noise and identifies the high impact issues and opportunities. She maps out clear plans and then tirelessly executes. Pam just jumps in and does what it takes to achieve the desired targets and immediately earns the respect of the teams she works with. I would highly recommend Pam! “

What questions are you commonly asked, and how do you answer?

Many clients aren’t sure how to work with a consultant. One common question is: “I’m not sure where to get started.” Once the client begins to describe the issue in their business (and with my prodding and probing and discussion), I can get a general sense of where we need to start and how I can help them. Sometimes we “don’t know what we don’t know”. That’s where I come in!

If I were a client, what should I know about your business?

There’s no magic in consulting. Just like many other professions, there are methodologies and processes and best practices that can be followed. Being able to solve problems, think strategically and act with urgency to improve the client’s situation should be the most important role that a consultant can play. Consultants who are committed to the business of consulting and have a lot of successes under their belt can save companies a lot of time and money.

What is the most memorable client engagement that you’ve had?

Several years ago, I was contacted by a company that was looking for help to reorganize their sales organization. Once I started to ask what product they sold (and to whom), what the plans were for products and services in the future (they weren’t sure), how profitable each product was (less sure) and what the business strategy was for the company….we realized that what was missing was a strategy for the company and specific plans to implement it. The sales force wasn’t broken. The company’s strategy was. We started what turned out to be a 4-year engagement, by working on their strategy, then on their product line offerings and go-to-market plan. The engagement was especially worthwhile for the client as it moved their business into a direction much quicker than they had imagined.

Are most of your engagements that long and complex?

By its very nature, the work that I do involves many elements of the client’s business. Whether it’s creating a marketing strategy or developing a program for customer retention, the consulting work tends to be more complex. However, there have been many instances where the project was straightforward and the goals were clear so the work that we did was mostly to execute the project.

What are the most common types of work that you do for your clients?

Our clients in B2B, manufacturing, technology, healthcare, and non-profit organizations look to us for:

short-term help on a business issue
long-term advice on operational improvements
growth strategies for a lagging product line
skills development for teams and individuals
guidance on how to develop marketing initiatives
leadership for change and transformation initiatives
operating model and process improvement development
special, unstaffed projects

The projects and engagements span a wide range: we’ve gone to Capitol Hill with a client to support their lobbying efforts as part of their business development strategy. We’ve developed distribution plans and processes with Amazon for another client. We’ve worked with a large pharma to understand the impact of their investment in medical education. Dozens of engagements have included product launches, services implementation, press and analyst relationship development and staff development. And every single engagement is unique.

How do you stay up to date on tools and happenings in your industry?

In addition to my consulting practice, I am an Adjunct Professor at Boston College and a Professor of Practice at Hult International Business School where I teach Leadership, Strategy, and Marketing. The combination of in-the-field experience with my clients, and teaching and collaborating with students and faculty in higher education are a great source of information and inspiration. In addition, we invest our resources in continuing education and ongoing personal development.

Can you name a few trends that you think will have an impact on the consulting industry?

The landscape of the workplace is changing. The concept of a “job for life” doesn’t really exist anymore. The distinction between a contractor (someone who is between jobs or who is a person-for-hire) and a consultant (someone who follows a specific competency framework and builds a business) is confusing to companies that are looking to hire a competent supplement in their organization. Often, the alternative of a large agency or a big consulting firm is too cumbersome for companies that want to get a job done quickly without a lot of overhead.

The trend of “talented resources on demand” will continue and offers an opportunity for consultants like me and the BLUE SAGE team to provide value to clients who are looking for proven results from a team of experts who have years of experience in a number of businesses and challenging situations.

Does this mean that you work alone?

Actually, it really depends on the needs of the client and the requirement of the engagement. In some cases, I work alone on a particular project or as a retainer-based outsourced consultant. Other times, the project may require subject matter expertise or additional bandwidth to be completed. In that situation, I call on BLUE SAGE Associates with whom I’ve worked over the years. They work for the client as part of my team. In addition, I often work with internal teams in the client organization to get the job done.

What are some of the pitfalls of the business?

I’ve spent thousands of hours on 100s of projects helping my clients to navigate through change, build their strategy and run their businesses. I can typically get a sense of how the working relationship with the client will be, based on how discussions go as we figure out how to work together. I can also get a sense of how challenging an engagement will be based on early interactions with potential clients.

Sometimes, the early interactions are an indication that the working relationship is not a good fit. Take, for example, the company in New York that was looking for help to get their marketing activities and infrastructure in shape as they were preparing to seek another round of funding from an investor. I was introduced to the company through one of the key stakeholders and had several conversations and meetings with their leadership. After that first meeting, it became very clear that the President of the company didn’t understand how a “solid” company might run – as they themselves had very little business experience. That’s not unusual, and it allows a consultant to be a “teacher” as well as a consultant. It also became clear during that first meeting that the President was more comfortable doing the work that he had always done instead of taking on more of a leadership role. He spent his days writing copy for the website and code for the product instead of building a team to take that product to market and sell it.

I’m a firm believer in studying best practices and learning by them. I believe in having a sense of urgency and driving toward a goal in an organized fashion. In this case, indecision and “business as usual” were the way that this company runs, and they were not prepared to take action to change. So for them, the timing wasn’t right and it was clear to me that the client was not a good fit for BLUE SAGE as I could not serve them well. In this case, I respectfully pulled out of discussions and I continue to stay in touch with the stakeholder if I can help them in the future.

What is the best way to determine if working with a consultant is the right thing for a business leader?

I rarely come across a leader who thinks that they “need a consultant” in their business. Typically, there is a business need – a pain, a challenge, an opportunity – that needs some attention. Sometimes an objective perspective from an outside third party is what’s required. In any of these scenarios, a qualified consultant should be able to get a sense of the business need and outline areas that might be explored. There are different methodologies that we use depending on the nature of the business problem and the level of complexity. In some cases, it may be as simple as defining a plan and then moving to implement and manage the plan. Either way, the best way to understand whether or not a consultant is a good solution for a business leader is to start a conversation.

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