expertise that drives results
Making your mission and succession plans simple by expertly engaging owners, employees, and customers for generational success.
Succession Planning Success Stories
First Generation Business
Children Disinterested
- Quest: Forward-thinking small business owner trying to determine the viability of the business.
- Strategic Planning with Family
- Market Analysis & Logic Modeling
- Mission, Vision and Values
- Rebranding
- Stakeholder Communications
Gains Realized: Company expanded its marketplace with a focus on profitability and tripled their employee headcount. Business transitioning to children ownership.
Complicated Partnership
Competing Priorities
Quest: Diverse partnership with different goals to attract and retain customers.
- Strategic Planning among Partners
- Mission, Vision and Values
- Branding and Logo Development
- Stakeholder Communications
- Social Media
Status Update: Multiple-owner partnership dissolved with two new companies forming. Years later, client's firm has purchased retiring partners' share and now expanding the business once again.
Market of Opportunity
The Everything Entreprenuer
Quest: Successful solopreneur provides professional services to many industries. To afford newly-hired staff, the firm spreads itself thin.
- Strategic Planning with Key Staff
- Mission, Vision and Values
- Unique Selling Proposition & Profitability
- Branding and Logo Development
- Website, Copywriting and Marketing Materials
Results: Company has multiple locations specializing in infrastructure projects.
Leadership Transitions Success Stories
Founding Director Retires
Rapid Growth
- Quest: Sunsetting director realizes organization needs to shore-up operations and help set the foundation for the future.
- Strategic Planning
- Focus Groups with Board, Professional Partners, Funders, and Staff
- Mission, Vision and Values
- Implementation Coaching with Board and Staff
- Customized Tools for Repeatability
- Internal Policy Review and Procedure Creation
- Rebranding
- Stakeholder Communications
Gains Realized: Organization and staff prepared for new leader by clarifying their mission, tying operations to profitability, and most importantly, increasing client and staff safety.
Board Exhaustion
Viability in Question
Quest: Foundation seeks intervention to see mission continues into the future.
- Discovery and Assessment
- Financial Analysis and Modeling
- Viability and Prosperity Options
- Focus Groups with Stakeholders
- Dissolution Services with Board
- Mission Aquisition
Results Achieved: Empowered Board to determine the fate of the mission by offering tailored troubleshooting, mentoring, and mission positioning for next generation operation through a new entity.
Works One Way
Company Historian
Quest: Multinational corporation shifts call center operations and implements KANBAN processes. Retention of long-time employee with inherent knowledge is vital.
- Guided Coaching
- Tactical and Realistic Expectations
- Change Management and Culture Adoption
- Archive and Document Systems
- Inventory System Implementation
Assistance Received: One-on-one coaching to assist longtime leader adopt new practices and be empowered in a new company culture while maintaining customer service and satisfaction.
Case Studies
We appreciate clients sharing their business journey and personal experiences.
Compelling Facilitation
"The focus to get it done."
October 2024
Linda worked with us for many years marketing the County: rebranding, new logo development and website to strategic communications for increasing recycling participation. She always included everyone. She built consensus and brought focus needed to get the job done and done well. Linda helped us secure a broad range of grants, including a Mega Initiative of restoring the Grass Lake Watershed and neighboring Lake Wakanda. Her work on this particular project required bringing multiple stakeholders together to agree, and writing a compelling and competitive grant application.
LARRY KLEINDL - KANDIYOHI COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
Contracted to provide public relations in 2013, the work performed for Kandiyohi County during the ten-year client relationship included:
- Branding, Logos and Signage
- Mission, Vision and Values
- Strategic Planning
- Public Relations and Communications Planning
- Marketing Campaigns, Website and Materials
- Taskforce and Committee Facilitation
- Grant Writing and Grant Reporting
Kandiyohi County works around the clock to serve its consituents, protect resources, and perserve the beautiful natural environment.
Turning Aspirations into Reality
"We are paperless!"
January 2024
"Thank you for all of your support and great work. A national award, community award, and CARF accreditation at the highest level with a commendation for the community inclusive program we developed. Your work kept us on track. "
- KAREN HERMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UDAC, DULUTH, MN
Contracted to provide strategic planning services, the relationship expanded to training leadership on team problem-solving methods and mentoring for successful plan implementation.
- Strategic Planning
- Mission, Vision and Values
- Focus Groups with Board, Employees, Clients and Referring Partners
- Strategic Plan Implementation Assistance
- Problem-Solving Team Training
- Process Improvements to Increase Profitability
Linda Mathiasen helped Udac develop a clear strategic direction, align the organization around shared goals, and empower improve team collaboration. Staff had the aspirations to become paperless in an industry that is very personalized and highly regulated. Through LEAN Change Management principles and embedded team problem-solving skills, her role resulted in the creation of a new client intake process, streamlining operations, and radically reducing the 44-day waitlist by removing multiple steps, handoffs and decision points.
Congratulations to Udac on your many accomplishments!
Telling Stories for Change
"We were a key priority."
November 2023
"Most important to me in the long partnership with Linda was her strong, committed investment of time, effort, creativity, and broad ability to serve as a key source of knowledge, connections, and advocacy for our work. She also remained extremely current on new ideas, resources, working with diverse populations and ways that we could continue to provide and add value to the [Duluth] community. And, although I knew that she had many other clients, we were always a key priority." - PAM KRAMER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LOCAL INITIATIVES SUPPORT CORPORATION [LISC], DULUTH, MN
Over the 17-year relationship of working with LISC, the client relationship expanded to include:
- Media Relations and Press Conferences
- Board Committee Facilitation
- Stakeholder Communications
- Event Planning and Fundraising Campaigns
- Video Talent & Storyboarding
LISC has had an extraordinary impact in Duluth's neighborhoods and overall quality of life.