An Introduction

It’s a consulting practice focused on helping small and midsized businesses build out strategies for long-term success. In the years leading up to this decision, I’ve spoken with many business owners. In those discussions, I’ve heard a common theme. Many of them were so busy running the day-to-day of their businesses that they never really took the time to build out a strategic plan. Business plans evolved rather than being strategically designed. Most days were spent fighting fires. Money was wasted on things that didn’t move the business forward and often, employees weren’t engaged in its success. They had a vision of where they wanted to go but not a roadmap on how to get there.

Our mission is to help businesses like these get the right strategies in place to become successful and that’s the reason behind the name, The Five Echelon Group. It’s a belief that there are five foundational areas for success in business. The bedrock is Organizational Culture. Building a company with a mission and a set of shared values. On top of that, there are the People, Product, and Process that together, create a strong foundation. Hiring for cultural fit, building products designed to address a specific market need and constantly improving processes for efficiency. The goal, of course, is to generate Profit. But it’s about more than making money. It’s about how money can enrich the lives of both owners and employees. It’s a tool to enable a more positive work-life balance. At a high level, that’s how The Five Echelon Group came into being and it’s our strategic vision for helping companies become successful.

Don’t get me wrong, my corporate experience has been invaluable. I’ve made countless friends and connections, traveled the world, developed valuable skills, all while earning a great living. During that time, I’ve worked with large enterprise companies and small businesses. I’ve experienced many management philosophies and learned from some visionary leaders. Through those experiences, I’ve gained many insights which have helped prepare me to step out on my own.

In the United States, 99.7% of businesses employ less than 500 people and 98.2% have less than 100. These are the businesses our economy is built upon even though you won’t see most of them discussed on CNBC. Unfortunately, their failure rates are high as these business struggle to gain traction in a crowded, noisy marketplace. They often have a business idea but not the strategies in place to become successful. This presents a tremendous opportunity to help. But a couple other factors heavily influenced my decision as well.

I live in the United States and we have the dubious distinction of being the only advanced economy that doesn’t guarantee workers any paid vacation. In fact, one-quarter of private sector workers get no paid time off at all. The U.S. sits down at number 19 in a ranking of the happiest countries to live. I’m not saying that we rank so low because of vacation time alone but I think it speaks to this larger issue of work-life balance.

People need the ability to recharge for their health and well-being. To spend time with family and friends. To get outside, travel and away from their daily routines and commutes. What seems to have eluded current corporate thinking is that vacation is an expense and therefore bad. I believe the opposite is true. Stress and anxiety levels are at record highs. That’s not a recipe for engagement and in fact, hurts organizational culture and employee productively.

I believe we need a better work-life balance. The flexibility to work to accommodate our lives, not our lives accommodating work. Some people spend literally days each month commuting only to arrive and sit in a cubicle all day. Some see co-workers more than family, miss important events or get home so late and tired, they just want to sleep. That’s not the kind of living that brings out our best. We should be figuring out ways to work less, not more. To have more freedom, not less. To encourage employees to take time off, recharge and come back to work energized and refreshed.