In Their Own Words: CFO, Solcom, Inc.
THE BUSINESS CHALLENGE
I ran my own boutique CPA firm when unforeseen circumstances thrust me into the role of CFO of Solcom, Inc. As a mom of two small children, and a caregiver for a loved one, I barely had time for such a demanding role.
My parents had founded the manufacturing equipment distributor three decades ago, and grown it into a thriving business with customers around the globe. Though the workforce was loyal, I discovered many employees were overworked and unhappy. Relentless conflict amongst management led to inefficient processes and widely mismatched expectations of who should do what when. This made it hard to continue the company’s growth. My stress level rose steadily.
WHY CHOOSE LIZ KISLIK?
My general manager started sending me a lot of YouTube business management videos to help us with some of our challenges. Liz’s TEDx talk stood out. She explained that when managers disagree, you can’t just resolve the immediate dispute. You need to raise and address the layers of underlying issues as well. I thought, “She gets it. That’s exactly what I’m seeing here.” She also was the only one with an actionable solution that laid out the steps to resolve our problems. It made so much sense to me.
WHAT HAPPENED?
CRAFTING A STRATEGY
Before Liz came on site we had several remote sessions so she could understand our situation. She identified the key issues. She decided the company was small enough that she could interview everybody and get everyone’s perspective—not just management.
Solcom has wide cultural diversity, including non-English speakers in upper management and other positions. She wanted to make sure nobody was misunderstood or unheard, so she asked us to hire a translator to make sure everyone could participate fully.
LISTENING AND LEARNING
Liz told me how to let people know that she was coming so they would understand her role and feel supported instead of threatened. She introduced herself and went straight to interviews over two days. At the end of each day, we met, talked about what was happening, and put our heads together. Her insight was invaluable.
It was easy for everyone to see how much Liz loves people. She really wanted to understand their wellbeing as well as their professional needs. Because of that, they felt comfortable speaking openly and fully.
GROUPING PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
Liz made things simple by grouping our challenges into three buckets. The first was harmony. How would we get people to work together again? One key problem here was clarity, particularly around each other’s expectations. She explained how to address this, stressing the need for accountability, respect, and fairness.
The second bucket was growth and sales. The sales force had only a little awareness of the broader market they operate in, as well as a deficit of technical knowledge. She suggested dedicating time to training and development, and offered guidance on how to create more effective sales infrastructure and procedures.
The third bucket was responsiveness to customers. Liz showed how we could process orders faster and accelerate response times by giving people more autonomy. She explained how to do that by creating procedures, structure, and accountability. She gave us criteria to decide how much additional product knowledge our CSRs should gain.
HOW LIZ WORKS – DIFFERENTLY
GETTING EVERYONE INVESTED IN RESULTS
A lot of business consultants are only focused on results that excite upper management. Liz wants everybody in the company to contribute and share in the excitement of positive change. It’s a core part of her method.
GOING BEYOND THE PROBLEM AT HAND
Liz began working with us just before the COVID shutdowns. She asked me, “Are you prepared for a shutdown if it happens?” I wasn’t. She made sure we had laptops ready and remote working procedures in place just in case. When the shutdown did happen, we didn’t miss a beat.
None of the issues Liz was brought in to address were related to our sparse IT systems. But Liz saw that building IT systems for functions such as inventory would be critical to our success, and encouraged us to invest in them.
ADDING A PERSONAL TOUCH
Liz doesn’t just help our company run better, she helps me run better. When I feel overwhelmed, she says, “Okay, take a breath. Here’s what you’re gonna do.” She’s also hilarious, which helps make things fun. I’m not living with the stress I was before, and I have plenty of time to spend with my loved ones.