Cases

“Daily choices become long-term decisions. Are you being deliberate or are you living by default?” Debra Kunz

 

Situations & Outcomes

Revenue had flattened and there are concerns about succession planning.

 

Outcome in the client’s words:

“We are an established law firm with a history of success. When revenue plateaued, we weren’t sure how to begin resolving that, and succession planning had also become a concern. We chose to work with Debra Kunz because of her multilayered approach to business, her professional experience spanning multiple industries, and her down-to-earth outlook on life. She has helped us break down into manageable bite size action steps our mountain of objectives, initiatives, and checklists. She has helped us identify issues (gaps), prioritize which ones to tackle first, and then create the next best action steps to take. With her help, we determined that calendar management (client workflow) and crucial work/personnel capacity issues were our first challenges.

We implemented three key personnel decisions that have opened up an increased capability and capacity to manage our #1 revenue generating service line. We also implemented new calendar management strategies that incorporate new client flow and service flow that have enabled us to schedule appointments with greater precision. As a result, we are consistently able to hit or exceed our new revenue goals, including record breaking months. Debra has a unique combination of knowledge, experience, intuition, and the ability to learn a business and distill issues into action steps from both a high & ground level perspective. We made so much progress in our first twelve month program that we renewed for a second.”

Greg Love | Operations & Marketing Director | Law Office of Aaron L. Love, PC

 

Experienced executive leader feels disconnected.

Outcome in the client’s words:

“I am an experienced leader, and more than 300 people report up through me. Debra guides me to have a better understanding of my specific strengths, and more effectively navigate difficult decisions. My confidence as a leader has increased by over 30%. I can see the ripple affect happening in my organization with one of my direct reports commenting to me about my new energy. Debra’s thought-provoking questions and team performance expertise challenges my thinking about how I view my role. As I learn to see myself differently, and apply my new viewpoint to how I lead, my span of influence has broadened to include involvement in strategic decisions across multiple labs. As a result, I provided a solution to a major business continuity issue that saved the company $750,000. Debra and I continue to work together.”

Dawn Hahn | Laboratory Operations Director | Quest Diagnostics

New leader wants to be effective faster than she would be on her own, for herself and her team.

Outcome in the client’s words:

“After a brief meeting, it was quickly apparent that Debra has tremendous insight and experience in improving business success methods, and a high aptitude for constructive problem solving. Through many ‘ah-ha’ moments, I’ve realized the impact her coaching has had as I think differently about how to problem-solve, lead others, and diffuse sometimes challenging situations. My company is so impressed with Debra’s guidance that she is still coaching my entire team and has received high praise from each one of them. We are all thankful for her dedication and support!”

Amy Tilley | Supervisor | TPP Retirement Plan Specialists

The constant dance of the business owner to create growth in the business, get results through people, and serve clients.

Outcome in the client’s words:

“Thank you so much for working with me and guiding me towards Deliberate Growth™ in my business. In my 29 years in the insurance industry I did not receive any information as on target as the day I spent with you. I am so pleased with the leadership plan you guided me through concerning my employee. It has worked beautifully.”

Marilyn Arnold | Owner and Leader | Marilyn Arnold Designs

 

A frequent issue in service businesses is giving away more services than they are charging for.

Outcome in the client’s words:

“I hired Debra to help me overcome my common practice of giving away more services than I charged for. Going through the Money Mindset Assessment Process really allowed me to evaluate past engagements and zero in on better ways to address those where I would be paid appropriately, plus determine boundaries to avoid “scope creep”. Debra gave great suggestions on how to handle discussions with potential clients to get to their root concerns. Her coaching has helped me stay focused, and as a result, my business is now moving forward!”

Laura Olvera | Managing Partner | Value Healthcare Consulting, LLC

 

Sales had stagnated and motivation was low.

Outcome in the client’s words:

“Thank you Debra Kunz: I can’t believe how much my business has turned around from just one consultation with you. With a refreshed outlook and mindset I am more organized, motivated, and productive, and keep my worksheets in front of me as reminders. The results are phenomenal. I am gladly setting appointments and have a steady flow of sales with a whole new perspective on the way I do business. I actually enjoy it again. You entered my life at the right time.

I highly recommend anyone who is struggling in business, low production, management, employee challenges, or business changes with large or small businesses to contact Debra Kunz for an insightful consultation. It was one of the BEST investments I have made for myself in several years. I feel like a whole new person back in business and loving it! Call Debra – you’ll be glad you did.”

Karen Roof | Dual Business Owner | Expressive Footwear and Health Insurance Broker

 

What to do to take the business to the next level.

Outcome in the client’s words:

“Our work with Debra Kunz has helped us become more focused and on track because she took the time to get to know our healthcare practice and see where our strengths and weaknesses were, and our goals. Then she helped us devise a plan to get to the goal. We have started seeking a nurse practitioner to help the physicians in our office and have also taken a different strategy to scheduling. If someone were interested in working with Debi, I would say she is very good at thinking outside of the box and can communicate with everyone in the group without making anyone feel less important. She knows how to keep on task and gently guides us back to what’s important for our practice.”

Brenda Haney | CPC, CMPE, Practice Administrator | Cornerstone Family Care

 

Uncertain about how to begin creating more revenue.

Outcome in the client’s words:

I attended one group class Debra was teaching, and then hired her for two private workshops. They were each well planned, structured and yet had enough flexibility for spontaneous learning to occur. At each workshop she was able to address my specific business pain points with relevant questions that got right to the heart of the matter. The lessons I learned helped me to immediately develop and put into action several new tools to help build more revenue for my business. If you are looking for a business leader, coach or personal mentor, I would recommend Debra Kunz.

Ann Yokley, CPCS | President | Credentialing Experts, Inc.

 

Industry changes created questions for how to engage the organization in new ways to grow the business.

Outcome in the client’s words:

“As a very busy business owner, I found Deb’s strategic method was instrumental in creating structure, empowerment and direction. She helped make sense of competing priorities, focused our effort on what we most need to accomplish, and could step in to facilitate and manage the resulting projects. Her guidance expanded the understanding of our customer, opened opportunities to improve the customer experience within the company, and improved the ways to measure the sales process. Deb’s inclusive and engaging leadership style brought together differing levels of expertise and skills to work toward our business goals.”

Matt McAvoy | Co-Founder and President | Target Insurance Services, Inc.

 

Complicated circumstances surrounding the prior leader’s exit left the staff, board and exec committee without direction or trust.

 

…..

Facilitated strategic planning retreats, effective leadership coaching for the director, developed staff retreats, and redefined the organization’s value and how it’s conveyed to members.

Year 1: New Director walking into a firestorm of mistrust from the Board and the community given the questionable circumstances of the prior director’s departure.

Year 2: We eliminated the ‘elephant in the room’ topic and got everyone talking, now they need to listen to each other.

Year 3: We got everyone talking, and listening, now we need to work on their message. Restructured how they convey the value of the Chamber to members and potential sponsors.

Outcome in the client’s words:

“I was impressed with Debra’s ideas about change management. She’s direct and uses humor in her presentation. One of the things I most appreciate about her is she is a great listener and really helped me identify the things we needed to deal with. To do that, many times she asked me a series of tough questions so we could get to the issue. I could see the symptom; she helped me identify the cause and how to fix it. She also made sure she was meeting the Chair’s expectations, not just mine. Debra was able to handle the strong personalities in our group as well as draw out members who were not communicating. After the retreat, I had many of the Board members tell me it was the best retreat they had ever been to. Several told me it was better than some of their company retreats. Rarely have I hired the same facilitator three years in a row, though the Board requested her to return. The second and third years were just as engaging and productive as the first, and Debra is a key part of creating that excitement.”

Lara Vermillion | President | Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce

 

Their Board is full of knowledgeable people, though the Director is frustrated by them sitting on the sidelines.

Outcome in the client’s words:

“Debi is incredibly bright and very personable, and she has the unique ability to see things from the client’s perspective. I had the great opportunity to work with her when we hired her to facilitate a board retreat to help our economic development organization develop a multi-year strategic plan. Debi came to us with great ideas that fit our needs and gave our sessions meaning that provoked all of us to be better listeners and to take action. She’s a lot of fun to be around, energetic, and she gets the best out of others. The two days that she spent with us was an awakening for many of our board members who were sitting on the sidelines. They are now in the game! I highly recommend Debi with no hesitation.”

Lisa Franklin | Chair | Blue Springs Missouri Economic Development Corporation and Manager of Economic Development for KCPL

 

Past the start-up phase and wondering what do we need to do to grow from here.

Outcome in the client’s words:

“Debra Kunz recently facilitated our Strategic Summit of 27 medical administrators, professionals, and community representatives. Ms. Kunz provided extensive work both before and after the summit to make certain that we had clearly defined goals and processes to make the most out of every moment at the meeting. Her leadership, insights, and clarity helped us think deeply about our organization, and where we wish to move it forward. I highly recommend Ms. Kunz. She is a visionary leader in both her actions and thoughts.”

Deliece Hofen | President | Braden’s Hope for Childhood Cancer

Wondering how to deepen the commitment of each board member to the organization and create an environment where they feel comfortable expressing ideas.

 

Outcome in the client’s words:

“We asked Debra to facilitate a board retreat that would help our Board better understand their commitment to the organization and to help us make them feel more comfortable expressing their opinions at monthly meetings. Debra really listened to what we hoped to get out of the retreat and came up with an agenda that met those expectations and more! Debra did her homework on our organization and thoroughly prepared ahead of time. During the retreat she engaged all the members in thoughtful discussion on all the topics we had hoped for and mapped out a plan for future Board development. And we had a little fun while we were at it! After the retreat, several board members commented that they thought the retreat was excellent and were so inspired by the entire experience they couldn’t wait for our next Board meeting!”

Sheri Lidtke | Board Chair | Sunflower House

Confused about how to proceed with her priorities and complicated working relationships.

Outcome in the client’s words:

“Deb provides an amazing service that is unmatched by other consultants I have worked with in the field. Not only did she act as my armchair counselor over the time we worked together, but she was able to identify problems that I didn’t even know existed. She knew what was wrong before I even had a clue. Instead of focusing on the problem however, she provided me with a viable solution that was successful in the long run.”

Katy Dodd | Kansas City

 

Business crossroads leaves the owner scratching her head on what's next.

Outcome in the client’s words:

“Debra breaks your business and you down to understand how you and the business work together and then build you back up. Without that self-evolution, I wouldn’t decide to pursue another career. Sometimes you need that truth teller to look you in the eye and help you see your true path. Thank you Debra for all that you have provided.”

Nita Mai | Customer Care Supervisor | CVS Health

Senior leader wants to reclaim her professional path.

Outcome in the client’s words:

“I can personally attest to Debra’s effectiveness, both one-to-one and with businesses. I would recommend her to anyone. I started working with Debra to explore my values around finances and career, and have experienced growth that I could not have done alone. She truly listens to her clients and helps them transform.”

Jana Meyers | Manager – Field Leadership Development | H&R Block

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