Biosite

K. Blickenstaff
Chairman and CEO
Biosite Diagnostics, Inc., San Diego, California

“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.”

Large Multinational Biotechnology Company

EVP of Corporate Development
Large Multinational Biotechnology Company

“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.”

Beckman Coulter

Bob Hurley
Chairman
Beckman Coulter

“At Beckman Coulter we have a great deal of experience with mergers and acquisitions. In 2009 we acquired a large Japanese Diagnostics business. This business had autonomous executive management in Europe, Japan, and North America. As the executive responsible for the integration, I had and have a great sense of urgency for Beckman Coulter to realize the value targets. This more than half of a billion dollar transaction is incredibly complex due to its size, international components, regulatory and competitive environment, and the senior management implications.

I thought that Michael Brainard may be of assistance based upon his unique background and prior successes working with senior teams. Michael has completed transactions as an internal executive, and his process orientation as a consultant offers a unique combination that is valuable in integration work. We originally invited Michael to assess the combined businesses product portfolio. As a part of this process Michael facilitated a series of meetings to develop an integrated product strategy and to develop a first pass rationalization of the combined R&D budgets. As you can imagine there were executives wed to their products and products in development. Our outcomes were fantastic in that the newly combined team made objective decisions that would not have been possible without Michael’s skills. Michael then began to work with the new management team on their overall Mission, Vision, and Strategy. This team is now partnering with Michael as an on-going strategic consulting partner to assist them with the many integration activities. I have also asked Michael to “do what he does” for our Japanese executive team and then to work with that team as they interface with other management teams around the world.

Michael’s background as a psychologist and as a business development executive who completed transactions is invaluable. His 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. Michael is a friend, and someone whom I trust implicitly as a strategic consultant. Please don’t write a book, Michael. We can’t have you go on the road and be unavailable to our business.”

Bob Hurley
Chairman
Beckman Coulter

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.

Mr. Wing S. Pang
Corporate Vice President
Beckman Coulter

“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.”

Charlie Pittman
VP Global Facilities
Beckman Coulter

Michael,
“So, did your coaching really pay off for Beckman, and me? I would answer that question this way.
I had a 97% (108) participation in the 2011 Engagement Survey. Yes, my organization ranked highly when compared to other business units and BEC overall but that is not satisfactory to me because as a company and organization, we should and can do better in this area. But, let’s compare year over year on the areas that you helped me with.

• Behavior change, last year 55% favorable, this year 78% favorable.
• Communication, last year 68% favorable, this year 70% favorable.
• Employee engagement, last year 69% favorable, this year 79% favorable.
• Performance management, last year 67% favorable, this year 70% favorable.
• Supervisor effectiveness, last year 69% favorable, this year 74% favorable.
• Trust scored 72% favorable; it was not measured last year.

There are five shared priorities between my team and BEC overall and I am pleased my organization scored highly in this area because it is an indicator of focus and collaboration on strategic objectives.

Having said all this, your work with me has paid off dividends for the company and me personally. You should be proud as I am. You helped to smooth some rough edges off a good old southern boy. I applied the learning and it shows that you should probably be paid more than you charged BEC. I greatly value your help and want to thank you Michael for helping me to be a better leader. “