Decision Associates Web Wire - February 2016
CEO
Role: Strategy, the
Economy, Succession
and M&A - Yes,
they are Connected!
by Don Moore

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Don Moore
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As
the owner of a
32-year-old consulting
firm with 10 very
talented
professionals, there
are certain roles that
I've gravitated to and
others that someone on
my team is better
suited to provide. The
role that clients
expect of me is to
help them look
downfield and position
their business
strategically within
the competitive
environment. That is
the first way in which
the 5 topics above are
all
directly
related: each of these
topics are the highest
order of strategic
issues that an owner
has to address. Over
the next few
newsletters, I am
going to address each.
I'll tie them together
in this article, then
dive deeper into the
topics and their
interconnection.
First, let's set the stage. Decision
Associates' client
base is 65%
privately held
companies; there
are no publically
traded or private
equity owned
companies. Most
are very high
performing,
sitting near the
top among their
peers. The other
35% is in the
nonprofit sector.
Interestingly,
most of these are
very similar to
our privately held
clients: most
offer a fee based
service to the
community, are led
by a strong
executive and have
a substantial
staff and budget.
For whatever
reason, most of
those that we work
with are high
performers. So,
we've developed a
deep expertise in
supporting and
guiding high
performance
entities. We are
also pretty
successful at
helping entities
that are not yet
high performers
but have the drive
to do so.
Capitalize
on Disruptive
Change with Market
Research
by Ricardo Guardiola

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Ricardo Guardiola
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So,
you believe that a
game-changing
disruption in your
market is on the
horizon? Your internal
experts predict it and
trusted industry
insiders agree. But do
you truly have all the
information you need
to make critical and
strategic decisions
for the future of your
company?
This
was exactly the case
for a recent Decision
Associates client who
has interests in the
waterborne
transportation of
metals, energy
commodities and
agricultural products.
With our careful,
evidence-based
analysis of domestic
and global data, we
were able to clearly
define their timeline
for profitable growth
as well as the scope
of the opportunities
at hand.
Companies that are most successful at executing
strategy from the
actionable
insights
ascertained from
information
outside of their
control, yet
critical to their
success, shape the
future of their
industries.
Every company
needs insight into
the future of
their industries
to learn how to
grow profitably
from novel
opportunities and
how to mitigate
risks from forces
beyond their
control.
The
Content Marketing
Revolution
by Mike Smiley

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Mike Smiley
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The
past several years
have marked an
historic
transformation for
businesses and
organizations, both
large and small, and
it centers on content.
As a
consumer, you are
undoubtedly aware that
the majority of
companies are now
marketing with content
- that is, going
beyond the traditional
advertising and
communications
channels. Instead,
companies are
enhancing their brands
and relationships by
publishing (or passing
along) relevant
information, ideas and
entertainment that
their stakeholders
will value.
The success of content marketing has
dramatically
changed the way we
communicate. This
content marketing
revolution signals
more than a mere
marketing fad. It
marks an important
new chapter in the
history of
business
communications: an
era of customer
education and
corporate
transparency.
News Clips
Jim
Ryan, Senior Partner
in Decision
Associates, recently
participated in the
Profiles International
Partner Conference in
Austin, Texas.
Profiles International
offers employee
assessments and talent
management solutions
to more than 40,000
customers in 122
countries. As a
strategic business
partner with the
organization, Jim
helps organizations on
a national basis in
selecting and
developing high
performance
workforces. Jim has
moved to Florida, but
remains connected to
the Erie office and
continues to serve the
assessment needs of
local clients. To
learn more about
Profiles
International, contact
Jim at 814.881.2203 or
JimRyan@DecisionAssociates.net
Interested
in watching how things
are made? We
congratulate our
client, Ernie Ferro of
Corry Rubber, who was
recently featured in
Made in America on Jet
TV and Fox 66. To
watch the video, click
on the MADE IN
AMERICA: CORRY RUBBER
CORP thumbnail below
the main video at http://www.yourerie.com/news/made-in-america.
What's
on Your Mind?
Send
your comments and/or
suggestions for
future topics of
interest to:
SueMoore@DecisionAssociates.net.
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