Overview

Why Colleen and Shifting Gears Consulting?

Having over 25 years experience in so many areas of for-profit and nonprofit management, let me just say this – I get it.  I know that you are short-handed.  I know that every year is a battle to keep the staff you have and fight for every dollar you can get to keep or expand your valuable programs, products, and services.  Most importantly, I know that there are projects you want to tackle that you know are critical to improving the operation, but you simply don’t have the bandwidth to get them done.  I get it.

Goals

My goals in working with you are to provide efficiencies for you and your staff that will allow everyone to be more productive and lighten the load on everyone who is working so hard with so much passion.  My hope is to present and implement some new ideas for process improvement that will provide enormous benefit.  My goal is not to tell you how to run your business or suggest that you are doing anything wrong.  As the eyes and ears in the industry, I’m out there gathering up: experience, good ideas, best practices, and lots of resources and I want to use that to help you.  In the end, I want you and your employees to not just be more productive and efficient but to actually enjoy the job more.

Solution

I can offer a menu of several options to give you a way to try me out for a while and make sure that I can do what I say I can do.  Typically, I work on a project basis and we’ll work together on a timeframe and expectations.

Your End of the Bargain

Clearly, my success is dependent upon the level of cooperation I get from your staff and volunteers.  For example, I can suggest a long list of “great” fundraisers, but if no one is excited enough to chair the committee or buy in to the event, then it is no longer a “great” fundraiser.  If I do a Trade Show Effectiveness session for you, it will dramatically increase your success at the show – but only if we get senior management buy-in and visible support.  Or, I can manage the heck out of a database conversion pretty independently, but if we get hung up because a staff member isn’t providing critical information,  that project won’t go so well.  Please know that I work independently, I can think on my feet, I’ll communicate clearly, and I’ll limit the burden on your staff.

Let’s Do This!

I look forward to the chance to help you and your staff work better, more efficiently, and more effectively.  Down with frustrations and road blocks, up with productivity and new projects.