based on an interview with CEO, Linda Jenkinson
LesConcierges is a professional service organization, providing corporate clients with bundled services that simplify their client’s customer’s complicated lifestyles. Services include dining, tickets, entertainment, travel, hotels as well as errand, meeting and other domestic and professional services providing a luxurious experience of being served beyond expectation through a single point of contact.
An example of the white labeled services that LC offers to its clients, who then brand the offering to their customers, is the American Express Centurion program that offers the exclusive Black Card. LesConcierges developed and implemented the program for American Express to drive spending to the card. And, until 1999 provided the concierge driven incentive programs such as free entrance to the most prestigious clubs in the world, dinning privileges at the worlds finest restaurants, travel programs with special perks, luxury hotel perks, ticketing privileges to the most popular events around the world, as well as a broad selection of luxury items for gift giving. All services custom designed for the Centurion member by a concierge, who acted as a single point of contact into the luxury world for business engagement and personal pleasure.
After losing Amex and other prestigious accounts in 1999, LC began to flounder under the leadership of its founders. In 2001, a venture capital group invested $8.5 million to purchase LesConcierges. The venture capital group engaged a new CEO, Linda Jenkinson. Ms. Jenkinson possessed impressive experience and qualifications, an M.B.A. from Wharton School as well as A.C.A qualifications. Linda had founded two multi-million companies including an IPO of a $230 million international transportation services company with 6,000 employees.
In the ensuing three months, Linda Jenkinson as the new CEO experienced a number of circumstantial challenges. The previous CEO of LC had left $2 million in undisclosed liabilities that didn’t show up in the due diligence prior to the sale closing and three months after the closing the Dot.com crash hit. One and half years later, 9/11 occurred. The executive team had immediately been thrust into survival mode while losing all stock options and incentives for ownership due to the lack of planned performance. In 2003 the venture capital company that held over 90% of the stock was looking to cut their losses and liquidate LC to move on to the next funding opportunity.
Initially, Culture ROI (CROI) was engaged to investigate the possibility of a Management Buy Out (MBO) of the controlling interests held by the venture capital firm.
In 2003 CROI began to consult the executive team in developing a plan and later executing the MBO that was successfully completed in December of 2005.
While consulting the executive team in the MBO, CROI organized the investor group that eventually funded the MBO.
During the process of consulting the executive team, Ms. Jenkinson was taken by CROI’s unique approach to negotiating and executing professional skills when engaging people. As a result, she requested that we begin to work with the executive team through our Quantum Leadership Program. We immediately began implementation in September 2005, a couple of months prior to the closing of the MBO.
After the new funding was secured, LC had the latitude to engage staffing and operational issues through coaching, training, strategic and streamlined hiring and firing.
We discovered that the staff was working in silos. As a result, vital synergies were being frustrated as a result of necessary information not being shared, thus the organization was suffering in its ability to efficiently maximize its limited resources.
As a result of the Quantum Leadership Initiative, Corporate revenue increased 25% in the initial 12 months. They are projecting 150% increase in the coming 12 months (based on secured contracts, income yet to be annualized). Company revenues increased from $6.5 million to $9.3 million in a two year period.
Executive team meeting time dramatically decreased. Planning meetings that used to take 4 hours and only progress through ½ of the agenda were taking less than 2 hours and the agendas are completed in the time frame.
Between 2006 & 2008 CROI engaged in a number of additional efforts to assist us in breaking through to unprecedented levels of efficiency and effectiveness. Their continued support in fundraising contributed significantly to raising an additional million dollars in investment, restructuring and expanding the board, securing a line of credit of $1,000,000 that has assisted us in achieving our stated goals. Today we have secured a 5 year service agreement with Visa to provide the first global luxury global concierges service. Cuture ROI has been an intricate part of negotiating financing, contracts, strategic planning, leadership development from the board level through to middle management which has deeply impacted our corporate culture and has had profound impact on our clients as well as their customers.
Before the Quantum Leadership Initiative authority was centralized, the CEO controlled the budget and was hesitant to allow other members of the team to be accountable for their results. Now the enhanced communication, increased trust and synergized values allows for each manager to account for their own results and control their own budget effectively and efficiently. The entire management team enjoys a shared perspective and enhanced one-on-one communication. Leadership is beginning to develop from within the organization. Here is a quote from Linda Jenkinson:
“We have reached a new level of functioning so we are no longer working through the smaller issues but are focused on the corporate vision. Our common clarity of vision has allowed for action steps to organically emerge within the team.
The depth of impact that the Culture ROI training & coaching services has had on our organization has revealed themselves in our Return on Investment. We have increased bandwidth which has established an excellent foundation for growth. The leadership initiative has cultivated a ‘change ready’ attitude in our staff, creating an unprecedented level of flexibility and responsiveness to our customers, both external and internal.
We have achieved a fundamental change in our ability to perform, to grow and to transform.” Today we are projecting gross revenues of approximately $15,000,000 in 2010 and projecting approximately $25,000,000 by year end of 2011 just from the contracts we have already closed in the past two years. Needless to say I can’t speak highly enough about the impact CROI’s array of training, coaching and negotiation services have had on LesConcierges business not to mention the lives of each our executives, managers and employees.
When a majority of businesses have had to endure layoffs and staff reduction during this great recession we are happy to say that our pains are centered around double digit growth and expansion in the global market place. We truly could not have accomplished all this without the CROI’s contribution at every level of the organization.