| Greetings!
Is your business a job engine?
We often hear the importance of growing the economy by adding jobs. The higher the pay, the better. This is much easier said than done. Many businesses add people to the payroll only to let them go later on when they downsize. Or they hire the wrong people and suffer from low retention and poor morale. These are not sustainable strategies for a strong local, national or global economy.
In this month's newsletter, we help create a clear path to help businesses and non-profits make better decisions about growing and adding talent. The questions we ask:
- How is job growth possible?
- What type of education is needed for skilled workers?
- Do we invest first in people or improving processes?
- How do we hire the right people in the first place?
It is all of our responsibilities to enhance the communities we live in. Strategy1 does this through our continuous efforts to develop better leaders, stronger organizations and more fulfilling lives.
For those who want to be involved in the growth planning process in the Tucson region, I suggest you make your opinion heard by filling out the Imagine Greater Tucson survey. This is a very informative survey and will only take a few minutes.
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"Sustainable Job Growth"
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The conventional wisdom is that two out of every three jobs in the US are in "small business." While that may well be true, most micro and small business owners just want to be their own boss and are content with their "lifestyle" business. The fact is that these type of businesses are not net job creators; they lose as many jobs as they gain in any year.
How then can small business be a significant engine for jobs? The answer is simple: Sustainable Growth.
New jobs are created when businesses grow in a consistent and organized way based on a clear vision. The best way you can help the overall economic recovery is to develop and implement a living action plan to grow your business. A Strategy1, we look for entrepreneurs who want to differentiate themselves from their competition and grow their business strategically. Together, we work to help them become more innovative in many areas of their organization. We start by asking these questions: - How can you provide a new product or service to your customers?
- How can you find new customers for your products or services?
- How can you hire the best people for the job at the right time?
These are the key questions for sustainable growth. They are not easily answered, but answers are absolutely required. Strategy1 can help you discover the best strategies needed to grow your business.
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"Education and Skilled Workers"
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In order for Arizona, indeed the United States, to successfully compete in tomorrow's economy, we need the best and brightest skilled workers. However, with school budgets being amputated, subjects such as the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathmatics are being shortchanged. So how will we have the highly skilled workforce necessary to support the high tech, sustainable growth industries we wish to attract?
One example is STEM, an exciting national program, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. STEM attempts to stimulate critical thinking through "hands-on, minds-on, inquiry-based exploring" programs thus bringing these subjects to "life." With the proper support, STEM can be one of the solutions we need. The Arizona Technology Council Foundation supports STEM education through a variety of events, scholarships and grants, to motivate and assist students pursue education and career paths in STEM related fields. Arizona's Regional FIRST Robotics Competition (where high school students demonstrate the robots they have designed and built) is being held, 22-24 March. Five teams from the Greater Tucson area are competing. This is being followed by the Arizona Science and Engineering Fair, 2-4 April.
The business community's support of these young people is vital. Smart growth starts with education so let's make the smart investment in growing our skilled workers of the future now.
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"People or Processes?"
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Leaders set the direction, but managers get the job done. They do it by managing processes and managing the people who work in those processes. But where do we invest first - hiring people or improving processes? Successful businesses are built around repeatable processes. Everything that happens in a business happens because of a process. However, too frequently the processes that run a business were developed when the business was smaller or less mature. Therefore, it is essential that every business have an ongoing process improvement program. It is commonly accepted that any business process can be improved by as much as 40% - and that improvement goes directly to your bottom line. It is also good to remember that processes are operated by people. People are indispensable, but not perfect. Effective processes enable our most precious and important resource - our people - to work their magic. In order to get the best from your business processes, you need to have the right people in the right jobs, and then enable excellence in your people. This means hiring the right people, with the right mix of knowledge, skills, attitudes and work habits who match your culture and needs. Don't let your people leave their brains at the front door. People are the only renewable asset that a business has over the long term. Strategy1 can help you develop your people and your processes (and decide where to invest first).
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"Hiring The Right Talent"
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As you build a stronger business and more robust economy, a more careful assessment of your investment in people talent is required.
Don't even think about posting a vacant position or hiring a new person until the role is analyzed and the job description is updated to represent what is currently happening within your organization.
Follow this path to revamp your hiring process toward maximizing your most valuable asset - your people.
- Calculate the return on investment generated by the resources dedicated to maintaining this role. Dollars and "sense" both need strong consideration. More than ever, every position must be gauged as essential and financially sustainable.
- What are the ideal capabilities you need today? With job seekers still at record levels, how will you capture the right talents, experience and characteristics to fulfill your ideal expectations. By carefully crafting the job duties and responsibilities, you have created an ideal image to guide your candidate screening, interviewing and hiring steps.
- Use due diligence to evaluate candidates by: establishing procedures to rate hiring criteria; extract critical behavioral traits to match your ideal profile; give strong consideration about how finalists will fit and compliment the existing team; pay attention to any detractors to avoid expensive mis-hires.
Strategy1 offers specialized human resources services to support recruitment and hiring. Ask us about our candidate assessment tools and other best practice steps that can easily be incorporated with your internal operations.
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Strategy1 offers innovative, world-class business services to increase long-term sustainability and maximize the performance of entrepreneurs, businesses and non-profit organizations.
Our integrative solutions for strategy, profit and people include:
   
Consulting Marketing Accounting Leadership/HR |
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| Contact Info: |  | 900 East River Road
Suite 102
Tucson, Arizona
85718
520-299-9169 (Tel)
855-299-9169 (Tel)
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| Strategy1 Team: |
 | | Paul Bellows |
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 | | Eli Larriva |
 | | Rosalind Tao |
 | | John Dennis |
 | | Donna Russo |
 | | Josh Hottenstein |
 | | Alan Dankwerth |
 | | Pat Taviss |
 | | Don Orton |
 | | Susan Johnson |
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| About Us: |  | |
Strategy1
Vision Statement:
Strategy1 provides unparalleled strategic business consulting, accounting, marketing, human resources and leadership development services to results-oriented organizations, teams, entrepreneurs and individuals to select cities across the US.
By playing a significant role in our client's success and prosperity, we build long term working relationships and are recognized as influential innovators in our industries and communities.
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Strategy1
Core Values:
1) Our Attitudes
with all of our Stakeholders:
We are always professional, respectful and lead by example with our ethical and visionary leadership.
2) Our Professional Standards:
We maintain the highest levels of qualifications, knowledge and skills through continuous training, professional development and improvement in all business operations.
3) Our Client
Services:
We offer exceptional value for all of our services and are fully accountable to our clients.
4) Our Collaboration with Strategic Partners:
We serve our client's needs with a full range of complementary services by collaborating with proven partners who are aligned with our passion, values and goals.
5) Our Community
and Social Benefits:
We make a positive and lasting impact in our communities through our efforts to develop better leaders, stronger organizations and more fulfilling lives.
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