In his poem, “To —-,” the peerless romantic poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley admonishes us about overusing and profaning the word “Love.”
One word is
too often profaned
For me to
profane it…
In the business world, we need a similar admonishment concerning the word, “VALUE.”
Numerous consulting companies andsolutions providers claim they deliver value to their clients. And while those listening may sagely nod their heads, it’s not always clear how the company claiming to deliver value fulfills its promise. Certainly not a desirable situation. Consequently, we at Partners International thought it appropriate to articulate and have a conversation on HOW we deliver and create VALUE for our clients. This article presents a sampling of three key approaches Partners International uses to deliver value to clients across its entire portfolio of offerings.
The first and most fundamental way in which we deliver value is through the mindset that we bring to client engagements. This mindset is stated right below our logo on our website – https://www.partners-international.com – “The Art of Alignment.” Here’s what it means.
We are not in the business of merely completing projects for our clients by using our executive minds. We are in the business of enabling the forward movement of our clients’ businesses by first investing in understanding their business – strategically, functionally, culturally – and next aligning our own operations and solutions with that understanding. Our goal is to benefit the client’s whole business, not just one part of it. Which is why we are committed to systems thinking, exemplified by both our contextual coaching and career transition frameworks. As an example, the value we deliver through our solutions in the executive coaching space must not create problems in the career transition space and vice-versa. If they did, we wouldn’t be delivering value, we’d be draining it. We approach client engagements with a business manager mindset, not a project manager mindset. Yes, we focus on individual projects, such as executive search, but throughout that process we keep our sights firmly focused on the client’s whole business. Because that’s what we see as our fundamental mission – helping our clients run their business, as if it were our own.
Next, we provide value to our clients and their businesses through our unwavering commitment to the maxim that Organizations are People. In today’s AI and technology-dominated world it’s easy to forget that. At Partners International we are in mood to make that mistake. People require the counsel and advice of other people to help them maximize the value of their professional decisions and leadership journeys. Which is why the cornerstone of “Art of Alignment” is “high-touch,” people helping other people manage and resolve their strategic, functional, and cultural challenges.”
We won’t have it any other way. If we can’t customize and personalize our solutions and advice, if we can’t deliver and help operationalize that advice in a human-centric way, if we can’t beat the drum for increasing the wellbeing and prosperity of both the people and the bottom line, we won’t be adding value, we’ll be draining it. Which is why “High-touch” is a critical and non-negotiable cornerstone of our value delivery strategy. The “High-touch” aspect of our value delivery strategy is especially evident throughout our contextual coaching model and in the “Encore Programs” of our career transition offering.
The third way we deliver value is through our desire for continuous improvement. If our clients’ organizations are people, so is Partners International. We are also people. And no matter how skilled and competent we are today, our ability to provide value to our clients will diminish if we don’t constantly sharpen the saw. Which is why we invest frequently and periodically in improving the asset value of our people through ongoing training and learning programs, because there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Yes, we are competent. We must have the self-confidence in our own skills if we are to provide value to our clients. But we can’t let that self-confidence bleed into arrogance. In today’s VUCA world – Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous – professionals who are not constantly learning, constantly updating their skills and abilities, will fall behind. At Partners International we are extremely mindful of that. Which is why we constantly invest in the asset value of our own people, so we can increase the asset value of our clients’ business.
The commitment to create and provide value to our clients at Partners International is part of our cultural DNA. Walking the extra mile for our clients is not something we do every other Monday, it’s something we do every single day. We treat this day-in day-out effort as the cost of doing business, not as a mere slogan to embellish our PR releases.
No doubt we try hard. But can we do better? Of course, we can. Which is why dear client, if you feel we can add and create more value to your operations, please bring it to our attention right away. We will listen and work with you to make it happen. Because at Partners International we believe immovably that our success is aligned with yours.
Gaurav Bhalla, Ph.D, is a globally acclaimed thinker-doer, Gaurav is a trusted expert in Leadership, Marketing, Innovation and Strategy. He has 40+ years of consulting, coaching and facilitation experience. He focuses on topics such as strategy formulation and facilitation, leadership and talent development, building high performance teams, fostering cognitive diversity, encouraging innovation and customer-first cultures and mindsets, and executive and life coaching. Gaurav has worked with and coached C-level executives, COOs, Presidents, Chief Marketing Officers, and Executive Vice Presidents of Sales, Marketing, Strategy, and Innovation. He has also worked with and coached next generation leaders and high potential executives picked for future senior positions.