John Mautner Shares the Cycle of Success for All Businesses

INTERVIEWER:     Yeah, and that actually segues right into you explaining the type of business that might be on the brink of closing, but what industries can you help or do you enjoy working with? What five companies, what industries, who’s your ideal client?

JOHN MAUTNER:  I would say a privately owned or family owned business with ten to a hundred employees, and a business owner who realizes that they’re not getting the kind of traction or results that they want. They’re not sure why, and they’re sort of tired of sucking at business and they really want things to be better. They have to be open-minded. That’s number one. In terms of industry, it’s interesting. I started out with manufacturing companies. I’ve done construction, service, retail, restaurants, professional services like architects, engineers, design firms, and IT firms. It’s interesting how the process I developed has been implemented in almost every type of industry vertical with good to really great results. It’s a universal process they can use to identify the top things that need to be implemented, and then we create these teams of employees that work together. We call them Tiger Teams; teams that work cross-functionally to attack multiple targets at the same time, and creating new procedures and processes around what they’re doing. It gives them some structure and it creates a better working environment, because people are engaged in what they’re doing. They feel more connected because they’re participating in a team to solve a problem that they see every day, and which they may have identified. You get more engagement with people, and engaged companies are much more profitable than non-engaged companies, if that makes sense.

INTERVIEWER:     Right. Yes, that definitely makes sense. It sounds like your unique selling proposition, what makes you different than another business consultant is, your approach of speaking to the employees as a starting point. Would you agree with that, or is it something else?

JOHN MAUTNER:  Yeah, it is. I am not the expert in their business. I’m not going to go in and say, “Change this, fix        this, do this.” I don’t know because I haven’t worked there for years. The people who work there—that’s voice of the people. It’s the people who work inside that company who can identify the problems. They already know what they are. They can come together and prioritize and work in teams in order to solve them. I’m just guiding that process along so they have an ongoing process they can use to continue to refine and improve the company for decades to come. I think that’s the key differentiator, combined with these twelve building blocks of the program and some coaching every week to help guide them through the process. That’s what I think makes it different from me coming in as a consultant and having to fix everything, when I really don’t know the problems and not to the depth of what these people really know. A consultant might know on the surface, but there’s twenty feet below that they don’t even see because they haven’t been working there. They don’t have the deep knowledge that these people do.

INTERVIEWER:     Absolutely. So, what would you say is a common misconception that business owners have about hiring an outside person, a business coach, or consultant to help them get out a bad situation?

JOHN MAUTNER:  Yeah. The number one is, “How can this person help me when they know nothing about my business?” I think that’s a common misconception. I always address that issue with, “You’re right. I don’t know anything about your company because I’ve never worked there. Who knows your business better than you and your people? Nobody.” That’s the misconception, and I think they may have had consultants in the past who came in, read their report and laughed, and said, “Holy crap, how are we supposed to fix this? We don’t even know what to do. We don’t how to solve problems—we can identify the problems, we don’t know how to solve them,” and that’s where they need the most help. I think a misconception is that the owner has to muscle it through by themselves and be the hero and the answer is, that’s wrong. What they should do is engage their people to help—everybody work together to move the company forward; empower the people in the organization to make something happen instead of again, trying to pull it all by yourself—drag the sled uphill by yourself, because it will never happen. If you do, it will take forever.

 

INTERVIEWER:     That’s very good. Can you share a brief case study or success story of a company that you helped?

JOHN MAUTNER:  Sure. I’ve got many. I would look at Julie’s company. She and her husband were in a business, and they were getting a divorce. They both worked in this business as a trucking company and they would move concrete material and rocks and stones to construction sites. They built a million dollar company and they decided the marriage wasn’t working out, so they got a divorce and Julie was to take 100% ownership of the company. On the way out the door, he told every customer, “Hey, we’re going out of business. Don’t call us anymore, and we’re done.” Just to spite her, because she was going to take over and this is a business that was started by her grandfather, and her father ran it and she took it over and was running it with her husband. Unfortunately when he left, he tried to burn it down, not literally, but in terms of customers and so on and so forth. There’s a situation where customers are leaving.

Lisa C. Williams

Lisa C. Williams is a exposureist and chief #momentum officer (CMO) of Smart Hustle Agency & Publishing. Lisa creates Corporate Social Responsibility campaigns that business owners, entrepreneurs and companies participate in which helps elevate their brand while being part of the solution to make the world better for others.

Lisa has helped hundreds of professionals get featured in the media and she has worked with over 50 business owners assisting them in becoming published and reaching best seller status.