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Executive Performance is a simple equation. Productivity and Engagement aren’t just buzz words, it comes down to inspiring a workforce that is driven by a culture of cooperation and teamwork.

Lead your industry with innovation in every sphere with strategies from Brainard Strategy!

Mitchell

Jack Farnan
SVP, Human Resources
Mitchell International, Inc.
San Diego, California

“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.”

Sequenom

Alisa Judge
Vice President, Human Resources
Sequenom

“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.”

Patient Safe Solutions

Jim Sweeney
Chairman and CEO
Patient Safe Solutions

“Our Board of Directors was seeking an assessment of the organization relative to performance challenges, retention challenges and a sense that our culture may have been evolving in a way that was a potential concern.  I was referred to Brainard Strategy by a trusted adviser.  I had very little knowledge about Brainard Strategy’s capabilities but I knew that as a rapidly growing company conducting this type of assessment we would need a credible, experienced and trusted adviser.

Michael and I met, and at that time I was not exactly sure about the right path forward and how to implement the assessment process.  I knew that we needed an outside and expert view that could enable us to better understand challenges in and among potentially sensitive area; and then help us to develop a path forward that would be acceptable for the company, board, and executive team.  After our first planning meeting it became clear that Michael blended a practical approach and a strong theoretical foundation.  Michael Brainard’s team designed and personally interviewed 25% of our company, conducted focus groups and reviewed dozens of documents.  Michael Brainard brought us the results but more than that, a very deep understanding of what the results meant, and guided us toward a very pragmatic and effective action plan.  Our Board members were very impressed with the process and outcomes.  We are now partnering with the Brainard Strategy team to implement a series of organizational changes and we are delighted with the positive change that has already started.

Brainard Strategy’s blend of assessment skills, organizational development knowledge, and senior executive presence helped me to get our teams focused on key activities. Michael and the team at Brainard Strategy are experts in what they do and how they do it, they are practical, and a trusted partner for Patient Safe Solutions.”

AMN Healthcare

Julie Fletcher
Vice President, Human Resources

“Michael has been a tremendous force to support the evolving focus on talent at AMN for many years. Prior to my arrival in 2008, Michael had planted the early seeds of change to evolve the organization to one where an integrated approach to talent management was front and center to all HR platforms. When I started my journey at AMN, I was looking for a creative thought partner to help articulate the vision of what was to come based upon deep knowledge of our culture and strategic direction. Michael had already built relationships with our executive committee and CEO and was considered a valuable resource to many. Michael is brilliant, phenomenal to work with, adds value to any situation and has an amazing team to back him up in Brainard Strategy. I will continue to recommend Michael to peers and clients who are looking for that resource to complete this missing link. I am eternally grateful to Michael.”

AMN Healthcare

Ken Gowen
VP Human Resources
AMN Healthcare, Inc.

“Our executive team needed assistance in identifying opportunities for revenue generating ideas that would bring a ROI within the next 9 months. Brainard Strategy effectively led us through a process that maximized our strategy sessions and led to the development of some exciting initiatives…”

Julie Fletcher
Vice President, Human Resources

“Michael has been a tremendous force to support the evolving focus on talent at AMN for many years. Prior to my arrival in 2008, Michael had planted the early seeds of change to evolve the organization to one where an integrated approach to talent management was front and center to all HR platforms. When I started my journey at AMN, I was looking for a creative thought partner to help articulate the vision of what was to come based upon deep knowledge of our culture and strategic direction. Michael had already built relationships with our executive committee and CEO and was considered a valuable resource to many. Michael is brilliant, phenomenal to work with, adds value to any situation and has an amazing team to back him up in Brainard Strategy. I will continue to recommend Michael to peers and clients who are looking for that resource to complete this missing link. I am eternally grateful to Michael.”

Volcano

Scott Huennekens
CEO – Volcano

“We annually perform an employee survey to understand our culture and achievement of our V-difference objectives. Additionally, this year we wanted to take a deeper dive in the understanding of the organization relative to perceptions regarding diversity. Based on a long standing and trusting relationship I had with Marissa Waldman I included Brainard Strategy into the process by which we choose a partner. I had very little knowledge about Brainard Strategy’s capabilities but I knew that as a public company conducting this type of assessment we would need a credible, experienced and trusted adviser.

Michael, Marissa, and I met, and at that time I was not exactly sure about the right path forward and how to implement the assessment process. I knew that we needed an outside and expert view that could enable us to better understand challenges in and among potentially sensitive area; and then help us to develop a path forward that would be acceptable for the employees, management team, and our board. After our first planning meeting it became quite clear that the team at Brainard Strategy had deep experience, a strong theoretical foundation, and a practical approach that I was eager to support. The Brainard Strategy team partnered with me, my HR team, and two board members to guide us through a global survey that was incredibly painless, fast, and cost efficient. Michael Brainard and Jennifer Konkin brought us the results but more than that a very deep understanding of interpreting the results and guided us toward a pragmatic and effective action plan. Our employees, management team and Board members were impressed with the process and outcomes. We will be leveraging the Brainard team for other types of assessments as they are clearly a unique choice among their peer group.

Michael’s blend of assessment skills, organizational development knowledge, and senior executive presence helped me to get our teams focused on key activities.   The flexible options and Brainard’s customization of the tools used for organizational assessment enabled us to navigate what could have been very choppy waters and we are better for it at the board level, executive team level and organizational level.”

OCP

Ed Cleary
General Manager, OCP
San Diego, CA

“Like many companies our size, we had hit a sales ceiling, and were at a loss for what approach to take to create the change we needed to get us to the goals we have laid out for long term growth. Within a couple hours of sitting with Michael and his team, it was obvious we were going to have to change the culture of our company and develop a completely new approach to how we implemented and accomplished goals at all levels in our organization. Now on the other side of a comprehensive assessment and strategic development, we are confident that we have eliminated many of the hurdles that were slowing us down, and have put clear strategic paths in place to keep us on the leading edge of our market. We are seeing a refreshed outlook from our staff, and consistent results in line with our company’s goals. It’s quite clear we would have not gotten here without the insight, mentoring, and facilitation that Michael and his team provided.”