The Community Outreach Mentorship Program at Brainard Strategy is a learning opportunity for bright and motivated individuals interested in entering the workforce in fields related to Business Strategy and Organizational Development. We recognize that it can be difficult at times for people just entering the workforce to gain the professional experience needed to land careers in their chosen fields. This program is designed to offer experience, training, and professional development in the form of on-the-job, hands-on learning in partnership with our consultants.

Successful candidates of the Community Outreach Mentorship Program will be considered Jr. Associates of Brainard Strategy and will partner with a consultant on the design and delivery of client. Jr. Associates will be invited by a consultant to participate in one client-facing project at a time and spend the rest of their time on internal projects designed to strategically develop the firm. Client-facing projects will vary in their focus from assessing executives for succession planning, to developing business strategy and can include any of the content areas from the full line of services provided by Brainard Strategy.  Click here for details about the Jr. Associate role at Brainard Strategy

Business Administrative Liaison

Brainard Strategy is looking for an administrative liaison and office support specialist who can work with limited supervision and has excellent communication skills to take active roles in partnering with our consultants and sales team. The right candidate will be detail oriented and have skill in logistics, monitoring progress of projects according to negotiated contracts, and project management.  Click here for details about the Business Administrative Liaison role at Brainard Strategy

“As President of the National Human Resources Association in Orange County, California I couldn’t be more delighted with the results of our most recent Professional Development Workshop. We partnered with Michael Brainard of Brainard Strategy. The feedback from the almost 30 participants was stellar. The overwhelming consensus was that Michael knew the content cold; presented it an interactive, engaging and thought provoking way, and that people got great value and actionable content that they could immediately take back to their companies.

NHRA-Orange County has worked with Michael and Brainard Strategy before and from those experiences has come to know that this is the high level of performance, delivery and value at which he consistently works. We give a strong recommendation to him and Brainard Strategy.”

The team at Brainard Strategy adheres to core values that include the pursuit of knowledge, flexibility, responsiveness, partnership and  candor.  We actively seek and evaluate feedback to make improvements that really matter.  Our objective is to provide our clients with the  highest quality Business Strategy and Organizational Development services possible.

Thank you to everyone who provided valuable feedback during our 2011 Customer Satisfaction Survey.  Click here to view a copy of the Survey.

The HR Leadership Summit is designed for rich discussions about the challenges and emerging issues we all face in business today. The support and participation of the Southern California region’s Fortune 1000 HR executives, along with the top government and academic HR executives, ensures that each of the conference sessions, speakers and best practice vendor sponsors are relevant, timely and structured to deliver maximum value. Brainard Strategy is a Sponsor of this must attend event. Click here to see the agenda

“As President of the National Human Resources Association in Orange County, California I couldn’t be more delighted  with the results of our most recent Professional Development Workshop. We partnered with Michael Brainard of Brainard Strategy. The feedback from the  almost 30 participants was stellar. The overwhelming consensus was that Michael  knew the content cold; presented it an interactive, engaging and thought  provoking way, and that people got great value and actionable content that they  could immediately take back to their companies.

NHRA-Orange County has worked with Michael and Brainard Strategy before and  from those experiences has come to know that this is the high level of  performance, delivery and value at which he consistently works. We give a  strong recommendation to him and Brainard Strategy.”

So, your company has a talent management system in place, but you’re not happy with it?  Are you finding it costly, cumbersome, or outdated?  You are not alone.  Click here to read more

At Brainard Strategy we believe it takes innovative and courageous HR leadership to positively impact performance, inspire leadership, create strategy and implement change!

Click here for more information about this cutting edge conference…

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Date: Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Location: Manchester Grand Hyatt – One Market Place – San Diego CA

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“Our business was in massive change as we have been less than one year post an acquisition, many jobs were being consolidated and moved back to the mid-west from California, and our competitive pressures were as severe as they ever had been. We were forced to re-organize while needing to maintain very key talent and teams, we were re-energizing or deciding on resource allocation that was very different than prior years with lower performing brands, and we were trying to maintain our position with well performing brands while our budget was tightening. Our business situation could best be described as chaotic.

We met Michael as a part of our re-structure planning and he was quickly able to assess our business conditions accurately and offer a set of steps that were actionable and impactful. He partnered with me and my executive team on a series of communications plans, he partnered with our HR function on plans for our “impacted” and “surviving” talent and teams, and devised a knowledge transfer plan to enable a smooth business transition for very key functions. Michael met with dozens of executives, delivered dozens of customized change management type of workshops and wrote countless drafts of communications with me and my team for all stakeholders. The change process we focused on was one of “building agility” rather than getting through some set of events… This approach was helpful for our executives and managers far beyond the “chaotic” times we were in. I have since had Michael in for many other types of strategic and operational challenges and his breadth of experience is something I value.”

“Our strategy was unclear and the lack of alignment across departments resulted in negative business outcomes. Brainard Strategy came on board and partnered with us to create and implement an executive strategy that has made us more successful and effective than ever.”

“We have a new CEO and new ownership group, and we were just completing a year focusing the senior management team on external matters. As a management team we thought it prudent to challenge ourselves around these key questions: 1) Is the culture we have the culture we need for the future? 2) Are our values still a fit for who we are and who we would like to become? I knew that Michael Brainard was the only facilitator to help us to wrestle with these questions, and that if we did not leverage Michael, then the conversation could get muddled and there could be no clear implementation that would result from the conversation.

Michael and I had worked on goal setting and goal cascading in the past. While the OGTM process is still a part of Mitchell International five years later, what stands out most is Michael’s ability to facilitate a senior group. Michael, our CEO, and I collaborated on the agenda and Michael interviewed us prior to our session. During our session Michael was able to get us all to a common point of understanding of culture, the interaction of culture and performance, and the importance of values in the development of a new culture. We had many action-able strategies to validate and drive the values through our management practices and talent systems. Michael is unique among Management Consultants in his depth and breadth of expertise on organizational issues. Michael’s facilitation skills and pragmatism have brought about positive culture change for Mitchell International.”

“After interviewing several consulting firms to assist us with developing a strategy for aligning objectives across the corporation, we selected Michael Brainard at Brainard Strategy. Michael worked diligently with our executive team and helped us to develop a process that has been operational now for three years and becomes more ingrained with each passing year. The results that Michael achieved with us exceeded our expectations allowing us to implement an objectives-driven culture within the company. Michael does an outstanding job of bringing the right blend of current business thinking and operational practices to the table which contributes to his success and ultimately the success of his clients”.

“As our business changes the pressure on our leadership team to continuously improve is ever more critical. We sought customized 360 feedback and a development process. We believed that an off the shelf 360 would not meet our needs, as we needed to specifically define the unique competencies required for our leaders. In addition, we did not need a web site or book to offer development, we needed a trusted local resource to interpret the feedback and offer action-able, just in time learning tailored to each individual executive.

Brainard Strategy had partnered with us for strategic planning and they had done our employee engagement survey every 18 months. Michael and Jennifer were able to quickly and practically build an executive competency model for us that was easily validated. We then created the items, scale, open ended questions, and report format that would meet our needs. Their platform and expertise in crafting the assessments are truly unique in this now commoditized industry. In addition to creating the assessment and managing the process, Michael and Jennifer offered an emotional intelligence assessment, a personality assessment, and an assessment of cognitive style to those executives who wanted to go through a broader assessment. They were able to do this because these assessments are a part of Jennifer Konkin’s dissertation. We truly appreciate that Michael, Jennifer and the team at Brainard Strategy are partners in learning and always striving to learn and grow; they practice what they preach. Lastly, Michael and Jennifer delivered the feedback in the spirit of growth and development and our executives reported that this type of process was among the richest of its kind they have ever experienced.”

“We have grown very rapidly over the past 12-18 months, primarily organically, and we had a very strong sense that our growth had impacted our culture. A primary concern for our senior executive team was to proactively shape our culture during our high rate of growth and diversification rather than watching some issues arise un-checked. We worked with Brainard Strategy to better understand the aspects of culture that were measure-able and action-able. We wanted to understand our culture and it’s impact on our people, business processes, and performance. We engaged Brainard to work with us to create a customizable Organizational Survey Process. This process was highly tailored to our org while encompassing a holistic view of culture generally. Brainard worked with our steering committee and our senior mgt team to ensure solid design, data collection via the web and action-able reports. We will continue to partner with Brainard well after the data has been reported to continually enhance our culture and business performance.”

“We are a 3+ billion dollar company who is among the most values driven corporations you will ever experience. We have provided one-off training and learning solutions throughout our history, and it became clear that we needed a strategic approach to learning and development in 2009. I attended the Disney Institute, we had executives attend Ivy League programs, and we had hired firms like PDI and CCL in the past. All of these approaches were effective, but none of these solutions were right for us holistically. What we needed to do was to build a comprehensive training and development program that might include the best elements from the above firms, but one that was highly customized for us. As I began to seek advice about a resource or partner to help us to build this infra-structure I was referred to Brainard Strategy by a number of trusted colleagues.

Michael met with me and our CEO to collaborate with us relative to the outcomes and options for the process. Michael was clearly a technical expert in building and delivering corporate learning initiatives, but fit was to be critical. Additionally, we needed a web-enabled solution as our managers and employees are spread out around the globe. Brainard Strategy was selected based on our comfort with Michael and his team, their technical expertise and experience, and their flexible Learning Management System. We are just finishing design and implementation for this year long project. It is a highly complex project and we are delighted with the substance of and interpersonal interactions with the Brainard team. We look forward to a successful implementation in 2010.”

“Golden State Foods is one of the largest diversified suppliers to the Quick Service Restaurant industry. This 63-year company is values-based and is 100 percent management owned and run. As such, GSF places a high priority on quality leadership development, which has been a strong motivator for us to establish a strategic learning and development system at our company.

In the past, we have provided training and learning solutions, but it became increasingly clear in recent years that we needed a more strategic approach to further educating and developing our leaders. We participated in the Disney Institute, Kellogg Executive School, and outsourced training to AMA, DDI and CCL. The approaches were effective to a degree, but none was right for us holistically. What we needed to do was to build a comprehensive and integrated training and development program that would include the best elements from the above organizations, but one that was more customized for us.

As I began to seek advice about a resource or partner to help us to build this infrastructure, I was referred to Brainard Strategy by a number of trusted colleagues. Michael Brainard met with me and our CEO to collaborate about outcomes and process options. Michael proved himself to be a technical expert in building and delivering corporate learning initiatives, but a ‘fit’ was critical, both technically and personally. Additionally, we needed a Web-enabled solution for our managers and employees, as they are spread out around the globe.

Brainard Strategy was selected based on our comfort with Michael and his team, their technical expertise and experience, and their Learning Management System recommendations. We are finalizing the design and implementation phases for this year-long project, and we are preparing for our initial launch later this year. It is a highly complex project, and we are delighted with the substance of and personal direction from the Brainard team. We look forward to a successful implementation in 2010.”

“We had experienced less than optimal business results in 2006 and some management team conflict that was out of the ordinary, and my feeling was that our management structure and management team functioning may have been less than what it had been in the recent past. I asked Michael for his thoughts on an approach and his expertise in initiating an objective assessment of our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats if we did not change our course of action. Michael’s approach was based on solid theory, his questioning style and data collection techniques enabled people to be open, and enabled us to get a very thorough assessment that was then easy to convert to pragmatic action. The organizational and management plan of action was easy to understand and prioritized in such a way that many members of our senior management team could easily agree with and work toward.”

“We realized that we just weren’t reaching the goals our team set out to attain… We were struggling to improve our sales and marketing management team’s skills and sales ability. Brainard Strategy recommended a series of assessments and interviews for our key talent. Once through the assessment he advised our executive team on ways to “map” our talent relative to our needs. We began to revise our hiring process as a means to find similar types of “smart” people whom we were always able to attract, but now we were better able to assess for “fit” with real data. We also were able to rightly move some key people into key roles and each and every person in our marketing and sales organization were given developmental feedback by our managers in a way that enabled open and “real” conversations about contribution and value. We then took our team through sales training and personal development planning activities based on the collective assessment information. Because of Brainard Strategy, our team is back on track.”

“We engaged Brainard Strategy to help us develop the foundation of a leadership development program for our senior leaders and potential successors. Michael and his team helped us flush out the key competencies for our current and future leaders and built a comprehensive leadership model. Our leaders participated in a 360 feedback process and received one on one consultation and coaching to analyze strengths and areas for improvement. The initial stage of the program culminated in a two day off-site retreat where Michael spoke to the group at large and challenged them to step outside of their comfort zones and actively embrace their leadership role.

Michael and his team did a tremendous job in taking all of our available materials on leadership and our current challenges in the business to develop a superb leadership model. They mapped out the process leading up to the retreat with manageable timelines and provided an array of assessments and other resources to energize participants. Most impressively, Michael’s delivery at the retreat was both inspiring and motivating. He possesses the unique ability to resonate with all levels of management including our executive team, and his vast knowledge of leadership development is complemented perfectly with his customized approach to the client’s specific business challenges. Michael has earned our highest recommendations.”

“We had a major corporate initiative being driven by one of our teams of PhD scientists. This team is incredibly smart, but less than incredibly appreciative of the importance of teaming and / or the impact of true organizational leadership. It was difficult to get this type of team to be open enough to be willing to learn something about the “soft skills” associated with a high performing team; however, the need to increase team performance was clear to all. When I was referred to Michael, I was impressed by his way of thinking, his experience in life sciences with this type of population, and his credentials.

Michael met with me and the leader of this team who was not yet convinced that “team building” would do any good. Michael framed his belief about team building to be more of a team development process….

Michael dispelled his beliefs about some kumbya session, or ropes courses, etc. Rather, Michael’s approach was based on assessment of the core issues, an agenda built upon inclusive dialogue, and objectives that were measure-able. The team development process changed many of the key leaders’ approach to teaming and leadership. Michael has a unique ability to communicate with highly educated and tough executives, so much so that we now leverage Michael for similar types of work with other groups. It is meaningful to me when a member of the team that we worked with over a year ago refers to something Michael covered with that team. I appreciate Michael and his firm, and they are a trusted partner for us. Michael’s facilitation skills and pragmatism helped many of our teams go from “performing to “high-performance.”

“We have had a great deal of success with mergers and acquisitions but in 2010 we sought to reduce some of the friction that our internal process seemed to be experiencing. While ultimately much of our work in Corporate Development was highly successful it was clear that we were not operating the deal process as efficiently or as effectively as we could. As the executive responsible for all aspects of M&A activity I have a great sense of urgency for the company to realize its value targets and for us to build scale-able and replicable process to the extent possible. Our transactions can range from tens of millions to multiple billions, be incredibly complex, have international components, and we often must navigate a complex regulatory and competitive environment.

Michael was referred to us based upon a prior experience a colleague had with Michael, his Corporate Development background as well as his Organizational Development expertise. We contracted with Brainard Strategy to assess our M&A processes, then deliver a series of reports and facilitated sessions with a variety of executives and other stakeholders. As one can imagine there were executives wed to certain aspects of the process and many of the people who were in the debrief sessions helped to create the very processes that were being assessed and potentially challenged.

It became crystal clear that Michael’s ability to pull together many data points and points of view in an honest, clear and objective manner led to instant credibility. It was also clear that Michael and his team had a vast amount of technical expertise in both doing transactions, and consulting on the process of completing transactions. In many instances Michael asserted known challenges for us and in many other cases he was able to articulate the implications of some of our challenges in such a way so as to limit defensiveness. His ability to communicate tough truths and facilitate various types of groups toward the best end for us as the client was immensely valuable to me. We were left with a concrete action plan for change that was eventually integrated by the board and the senior management team.

Our company is now partnering with Michael as a strategic consulting partner to assist us with a variety of process consulting initiatives. Michael’s unique background as a psychologist, business development executive who completed transactions, and facilitation capabilities, as well as interpersonal skills and pragmatism helped our team and company to gain value that may not have been gained without him. I estimate his contribution to be worth many millions of dollars for us.”

“I would like to sincerely thank Mr. Michael Brainard, President of Brainard Strategy who has coached my team members and I in the area of Business Strategic Planning and Executive Level Communication Skills last six months. We were having great difficulties in developing and communicating our business strategy at the beginning of 2008. After months of intense one on one and team meetings, Michael had helped pulling my team together using a very discipline and proven approach. First we have discussed, debated and developed our business strategy. Then using Michael’s presentation process and approach, we have developed a common template for multiple product lines. The improvement in last six months is just unbelievable.”

We engaged Brainard Strategy to work with us on both a strategic and tactical project around Performance Management at Beckman Coulter. We invited Brainard Strategy to help us to re-examine all aspects of our performance management strategy and approach and then to design a highly impactful training process for both managers and employees to ensure understanding of the Performance Management process and their role in the execution of that process. We then partnered with our HRBP’s in a transfer of knowledge, train the trainer sessions globally, to enable them to educate and train managers in the changes in the new process.

We choose Brainard Strategy based upon their team’s expertise and experience in building Performance Management initiatives in a variety of industries, to include healthcare, biotech, and medical devices. We found the team at Brainard Strategy to be experts in performance management, and were able to customize the materials in a way that aligned with our culture and expected outcomes. Michael’s facilitation skills were very valuable in delivering the learning sessions. Jennifer Konkin’s abilities in instructional design were also very critical to the successful outcomes we experienced. We will continue to leverage Brainard Strategy to help us grow well into the future specifically building on the experience in matters of leadership development, coaching and strategy execution.