Sam Altman and his associates reportedly have a betting pool about when there will be a $1 billion company staffed by a single person. The premise, of course, is that AI agents can carry out all the other functions that companies would ordinarily need, so the company itself can be run by a singular human being who has created or purchased custom agents to complete said functions.

This has obvious and wide-ranging implications for business leaders around planning and strategy. Should business leaders be thinking about new sets of business tools and vendors? Should business leaders be thinking about new operational models? Should business leaders be thinking about new organization charts? And maybe most obviously, and starkly, how should business leaders be thinking about their current staffing needs and capacity?

Sam Altman is a genius and far be it for me to argue with him. On this point, however, he is wrong, and here’s why. Sam (Yes, I’m on a first name basis with him even though he does not know who I am) is looking at companies in terms of how we define and understand a company today. However, as soon as the development of AI tools allows people and companies to automate today’s functions and turn their focus to new functions, ideas, and ways to service customers, people will optimize themselves and companies will look very different than they do today.

Let’s look at this another way. Human Resources does not have a long history; it’s existed for a much shorter time than you think. But over time, companies started to make more money, and people began to find new ways to exploit companies. Companies became more efficient through automation and technology, and therefore more protective of their money, property and the status quo. They also had more money around because of said efficiency, and built HR teams to protect themselves legally.

Of course, HR teams have evolved to do more than that, but the basic function of an HR team is to protect a company, legally, and the need for that functionality only exists because it can exist. In other words, greater efficiency has led to the ability to add functions that are now necessities, but would have been seen as luxuries in the past.

It’s similar to Parkinson’s Law, which states “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” In his 1955 essay, historian C. Northcote Parkinson also talked about the idea that the number of workers within public administration, bureaucracy or officialdom tends to grow, regardless of the amount of work to be done. This he attributed mainly to two factors: that officials want subordinates, not rivals, and that officials make work for each other. As our corporate environments continue to look and feel more bureaucratic, we can clearly see the crossover between the public domain discussed by Parkinson, and the private corporate domain.

I gave the example of human resources above, but let’s also look at customer success teams. The customer success function, like HR, did not exist in the not-too-distant past. Organizations had product, sales and administration departments/areas, and sellers dealt with clients, so there was no need for a dedicated client success or service function, specifically in the B2B world.

Over time, as markets became more congested and fragmented, and switching costs decreased, it became easier for clients to churn, so it made more sense for companies to start hiring more people and spending money to keep clients around. As the technology fueled competition, and made room for more slices of the pie to be cut, it also grew the size of the overall pie, and therefore freed up money for businesses to focus more on interpersonal interaction and relationships. In other words, more technology made it so that companies could find a competitive advantage in spending more time on the non-technical pieces of their business in order to differentiate.

We can argue about whether this is good or bad for business, or for clients, or for the economy, but the point is that, historically, step function leaps in technology have not led to smaller workforces. In fact, they have led to larger workforces once the market has adjusted and companies have figured out what to compete on. Sure, Sam may be technically correct in a kind of transition period, as there may be companies who find efficiencies before the overall market adjusts. Once we reach economic equilibrium, or anything close to it, companies will find something to compete on, or something to leverage for efficiency, and will therefore not want to cut resources. It will be more efficient and profitable to add resources to improve their abilities in these areas, and that will include adding people.

Let’s look at another historical example for fun: spreadsheets. Electronic spreadsheets vastly diminished the amount of time that an accountant needed to spend building reports. Could you imagine writing numbers into graph paper every time you needed to build a revenue model? However, the advent of Excel and Google Sheets did not lead to smaller accounting teams, it led to more historical modeling, and the need for higher levels of certainty and greater reporting detail which has led to larger accounting and finance teams, and the proliferation of forward-looking modeling and financial analysis. Reporting that was unimaginable 40 years ago has become table stakes for any business.

“I get it,” Sam might say, “but AI is different because it can do anything that humans optimize themselves to be able to do.” In other words, we no longer need an accountant to run that report, because an AI agent can do it. So we are in a fundamentally different place in terms of technology development. He has a point here, but let’s clarify.

As it stands now, we don’t have Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and we won’t have it until mid-century at the very earliest (according to the most recent predictions). AGI will conceptually be able to ingest wide arrays of inputs and act with human levels of expertise across many areas of function as opposed to what we have now which is limited by task and breadth of function.

But even as we develop AGI, assuming it plays out as we expect it to, AI already is, and will always be better than humans at many things and not as good as humans at other things. The most successful companies will know how to leverage comparative advantage. AI models will have to compete with other AI models and there is a significant cost to customize and host, so humans are likely to retain a comparative advantage in the areas where we are more efficient, like human interactions, judgement and planning.

Think about it: as AI models continue to improve, and are forced to compete against each other, we will need humans to build those ever-improving models, so at a certain point, it will make more sense to find the jobs that humans do best and and focus the AI on the things it does best rather than continually iterating on new AI models for each and every function. This is what mature markets will bring to AI development, when we get there.

We can also look at this from a very human perspective. Fads tend to change over time to reflect what is hard to acquire. We see this with the retro bespoke style movement. We can also see this, interestingly, through sociological studies on skin color treatments. In most northern European and North American countries, historically, tanning and skin darkening has been a sign of beauty, while in tropical countries it has been much more likely to be the case that skin lightening treatments have been signs of beauty. Simply put, things that are harder to come by are seen as valuable for the very reason that they are harder to come by.

So, it is very likely that over time, as it becomes increasingly easier to execute on functions and outputs that differentiate businesses today, it will end up being the things that businesses cannot do today, that new technology will eventually allow them to do, that will be competed on most fiercely. Those new functions and outputs will be harder to execute on, and therefore more valuable to customers. Those new functions and outputs will be at the cutting edge of technology, and therefore necessarily need human input and humans to work alongside the technology. And because those new functions and outputs will be harder to compete on, businesses will look for ways to gain an advantage. And that will often mean hiring more people to perform in very different-looking roles, but nonetheless, hiring people.

This will mean that in the not-to-distant future all the functions that we currently understand that need to be accounted for in a company may be able to be executed on by one person and a cadre of AI agents. However, the new frontier in business will be the functions and outputs that differentiate one business from another in customer service, in efficiency, and in product-to-market capabilities. These things will always exist at the vanguard of technological improvement, therefore always necessitating some level of human involvement and teamwork between humans and technology.

So, what does this all mean for planning and strategy decisions in the coming years? We don’t know exactly what the world will look like once AI tools are more ubiquitous, but it seems a safe bet to assume that it will be very important to focus resources on how to build productive relationships between AI tools and highly skilled workers. In many cases, this will mean investing in people and processes that focus on how to input information into tools, and how to extract information and usable outputs from those tools that can be leveraged by those highly skilled workers in order to make themselves more efficient.

Thinking about the problem from this angle can help business leaders think about tools, operational models, and organizational charts in a way that supports the world as we know it and the potential future world that is still unclear and evolving.

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Canopy Expert Advisor Dan Greenberg is a revenue leader with general management background and an outstanding track record of growing revenue organizations through thought leadership and operational rigor, as well as developing internal and external relationships and partnerships.

Interested in bringing top-tier fractional experts like Dan into your organization? Tell us about your project here.

The post The AI Economy: Why The Reality Is Likely Different Than the Hype appeared first on Canopy Advisory Group.

For companies in the $5 to $25 million revenue range, and especially those selling services, there are many ways to manufacture growth. Healthy and sustainable growth, however, requires the right structure, the right people and the right mindset, as well as the ability to seize the opportunity when presented.

In this article, I share my thoughts on what it really takes to scale a business. My goal is to move beyond generic tips and Silicon Valley platitudes, offering real-world insights for founders and leaders facing the practical and often personal challenges of growth.

Growth Requires Letting Go

Let’s start with the hardest truth: if you want to scale, you have to stop doing everything yourself. In a service business, that means giving up billable hours, handing off client relationships, and delegating decisions. It often means making less money personally, at least for a while.

Many founders wrestle with this, and rightly so. When you’ve built a business around your own expertise, it feels counterintuitive to step back. But it’s the only way to create leverage, because scaling is contingent on your ability to enable others to do what you do well.

One example that has stuck with me came from a conversation with a leader selling his business. His secret to success? Growing by trial and error and experimentation. 

This leader invested heavily in a team of young salespeople during a high-growth push, and he got results fast. He knew that an investment in a salesperson wasn’t their annual salary and bonus, because within three months he would know if he had the right resource. If he needed to, he could cut his risk and his costs at any time.  

But the real key?  This leader wasn’t afraid to turn over staff for non-performance.  He treated hiring like a growth experiment, not a permanent commitment. That mindset: decisive, data-driven, risk-forward, and detached from ego, is what allowed him to scale.  

Healthy business growth rarely happens by accident. It usually requires a decision to invest in something that seems risky, whether it’s people, technology, geography, or a new vertical. According to Salesforce’s 2024 State of Sales Report, 79% of sales leaders reported increased revenue after making strategic investments in people, enablement, or tools. The businesses that grow most rapidly aren’t simply doing more of what they’ve always done. They’re betting on something new. Those that don’t, stagnate.

Processes Will Evolve. Values Shouldn’t.

As your business grows, your processes will evolve. And they should. What worked for 10 employees won’t work for 50. Over time, your culture will shift too, especially as you bring in new leaders and teams. That’s normal.

But your values? They are the bedrock of your organization. Use them in hiring, feedback, and even in client selection. Talk about them at company meetings. Collect the stories of cultural heroes and villains and make them part of the lore of your organization. 

Take the time to define your values clearly. Your values are the glue that holds your company together during the messiness of growth, and they tell people how to behave when you’re not in the room.

Seize Your Breaks. Then Leverage Them.

Every company needs a break. If you grow, you will get your stroke of fortune.  Maybe it’s a marquee client. Maybe it’s a game-changing project. Maybe it’s a big-name hire.

But the mistake is treating the win like a destination instead of a launchpad.

When opportunity knocks, your job is to turn the win into a system. Serve the big client well. Use their name in your marketing or for a reference and understand what was done to win and how you can repeat it. Build a process to win similar clients and projects and embed those lessons into your organizational DNA. 

Strategic leverage is what separates growth spurts from true scale. Don’t just land the big fish. Build a fishing fleet.

Set Real Goals, Not Hollow Ambitions

A line I hear all too often: “We want to be a $100 million company.”

There’s nothing wrong with big goals. But “$100 million” is often a round number masquerading as a strategy. It sounds impressive, but it’s usually untethered from reality.  

Why $100 million? And how? What needs to be true to reach that level?

If you want to transform this statement from a dream to a goal, start by imagining what your organization looks like at $100 million:

• What markets will you need to play in to win?
• What kind of team will you need? 
• What do your clients and offerings look like?

Then, work forwards and backwards:

• What must change in the next 12 months?
• What do we need to invest in? Where will the money come from?  
• How will we know if we’re successful? Do we have intermediate milestones?
• How does the team at $100 million look different than the team today?
• What are the hard truths about us or our business that we need to face and change?

Set goals based on what you can build, not just what you want to be.The risks of not doing so are real: 44% of growing small businesses report cash flow challenges, and 58% cite rising costs as a major barrier to scaling. And even more daunting, only 0.4% of startups ever grow beyond $10 million in revenue within five years.

Scaling Isn’t Doing More. It’s Doing Differently.

Early-stage businesses succeed through hustle. Mid-stage businesses succeed through systems, and it’s a shift that can be jarring.

As you scale, doing more of what already works is often not the answer. Instead, you need to:

• Replace ad hoc workflows with documented processes
• Move from founder decisions to delegated authority
• Upgrade your tech stack to match your complexity
• Create and communicate the [your company name here]-way

If your answer to growth is just “work harder,” you’re not scaling. You’re stalling.

Scaling means shifting from heroic effort to organizational capability. This requires strategy. Do the hard work that comes from honest reflection of your organization’s strengths and weaknesses.  

Don’t Outgrow Your Ability to Deliver

It’s easy to get caught up in chasing revenue goals and new logos. But if your ability to deliver lags behind, you’ll burn client trust faster than you build it.

This is especially risky in service businesses. Every new client stretches your team. Every overpromise chips away at morale. And I’ve seen too many firms “negotiate with themselves” by cutting corners, lowering prices or bending commitments to land a deal, only to regret it later.  

Growth should feel uncomfortable. It shouldn’t feel chaotic.

Protect your delivery capability. Price based on the value you create. Hire just ahead of the curve. Invest in training. Say no when you must. Scaling means growing your operational backbone, not just your top line.

To Be a Leader, Build Leaders.

You can’t scale if every decision flows through you. Your real job as a founder or CEO is to build other people’s judgment. That means:

• Coaching, not just managing
• Letting others make (and learn from) mistakes
• Delegating outcomes, not just tasks

If you build strong leaders, they’ll build the business for you. It will feel and be slower at first. But it’s the only way to scale sustainably. And according to surveys of scaling entrepreneurs, three of the top factors they cite for meaningful growth include:

1. Investing in talent and leadership development
2. Adopting digital tools and automation (89% say this is crucial)
3. Focusing on high-margin client segments

Growth invariably brings new challenges for the CEO. A few I’ve seen stump even the most effective leaders at high-growth companies include:

• A sales leader who delivers the goods but leaves a trail of bodies behind them. They’re unpleasant or arrogant or worse and the organization resents that leadership doesn’t address it. 
• The people who were with you from the beginning who now feel disenfranchised because they haven’t grown with the company. They feel that they have been pushed down into the organization and further from you as others are hired above them. 
• Replacing B-players with A-players. That’s a good thing, right? Beyond bringing new talents and skills, A-players can be motivated, vocal, and sophisticated, and bring with them a whole new set of expectations around compensation, responsibility, and advancement.  

Your job is to figure out how to handle these new challenges while staying true to your values and enhancing your culture. 

This is What Scaling Really Feels Like.

Most founders don’t hesitate because they lack ambition. They hesitate because they’re smart. Scaling introduces risk: financial, emotional, and reputational. And when the business carries your name, every decision feels personal.

But here’s the truth: trial and error is a scaling strategy and most of those bets pay off, or fail, much faster than we expect. Hiring a senior leader feels like a year-long financial gamble, but you’ll know within months if they’re the right fit. Expanding into a new market may seem risky, yet early feedback can validate, or challenge, your assumptions quickly. And handing over operations isn’t just a symbolic move, it’s a strategic shift that often becomes necessary long before it feels comfortable.

Knowing this means understanding your limitations. You may be the visionary, the rainmaker, the cultural anchor. That doesn’t mean you’re the best person to run daily operations at scale.  Knowing  know when your role should evolve is a strength, not a weakness.

And successful founders know something else: it’s lonely at the edge of growth. The bigger the bet, the fewer people understand it. So if you feel fear, hesitation, or doubt, you’re probably doing it right.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, scaling requires the courage to act even when the path isn’t perfectly clear. Your team, your clients, and your investors need you to make decisions. Sometimes you’ll get it wrong. That’s okay. Make the call, learn from it, clean up the mess if you have to, and move forward. 

Rob Novick is a Canopy Business Strategy Expert with more than 20 years of experience in management consulting, acquisition integration and business planning and ownership. Interested in bringing top-tier fractional experts like Rob into your organization? Tell us about your project here.

 ¹ Entrepreneur 2024
– https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/over-half-of-small-businesses-are-struggling-to-grow/482623; Salesforce 2024
– https://www.salesforce.com/blog/15-sales-statistics; Chase Business Survey
– https://media.chase.com/news/us-small-businesses-change-strategies-chase-survey

² Source: Entrepreneur, 2024
– https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/over-half-of-small-businesses-are-struggling-to-grow/482623

 ³ Source: EY Entrepreneur Ecosystem Barometer, 2025
– https://www.ey.com/en_us/newsroom/2025/06/entrepreneurs-are-confident-their-business-will-grow-this-year

  ⁴ Sources: Entrepreneur HQ
– https://entrepreneurshq.com/small-business-statistics/; and LinkedIn commentary
– https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jennscilabro_quick-question-so-forbes-reported-this-activity-7201968692987899904-z74b

The post Scaling Your Business: What Every $5–25M Leader Needs to Know appeared first on Canopy Advisory Group.

A great hire can push a team to unprecedented levels of success, while a poor one can cause problems well beyond sunk costs. And the stakes are even higher at the executive level. There’s more money, more responsibility, bigger expectations and often, a greater need. Most organizations can’t afford to get these hires wrong.

By now, you’re well aware of the fractional trend sweeping through the U.S., in which organizations are choosing to bring on high-level, high-skill talent on a part-time and project basis in a range of different C-Suite roles. Organizations can save money while getting access to a leader they could not afford otherwise, while also de-risking the hiring process through contract lengths and the ability to turn support on and off based on their needs.

But like any other type of working arrangement, a fractional executive will work extremely well in some situations and be less effective in others. While every organization is different and every situation has its own nuances and complexities, the following scenarios were identified by Canopy’s own experts as those in which a fractional executive would be the ideal choice.

1. Unlimited ambitions, limited budgets

Cost effectiveness is routinely listed as the top benefit for organizations in bringing on a fractional hire versus their full-time equivalent. Whether or not you agree where that benefit belongs on the list, our community of experts agrees that it should be a factor you consider in approaching any executive hire.

It’s well-documented that hiring a fractional expert, especially at the executive level, can save organizations a bundle. When you factor in the timebound nature of the work and the fact that most fractional experts will not receive health insurance or other benefits, the savings can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the case of a financial executive, assuming an average per hour rate of $350 per hour and a year-long contract, hiring a Fractional Chief Financial Officer (CFO) might cost an organization close to $168,000, while total annual pay for a full-time CFO might run an average of $742,011.

If you have large projects on the horizon or you have critical needs that can’t be filled with your internal team, and you’re limited on budget, it makes economic and strategic sense to consider a fractional expert first.

“Even for organizations with a lot of resources and reserves, it can take months or even years to recover from a bad hire. The ability to de-risk an executive hire, even slightly, continues to be a powerful selling point for fractional experts,” said Griffen O’Shaughnessy, founder and CEO of Canopy Advisory Group. “Significant cost savings aside, fractional hiring offers a way to access expert, executive-level talent without locking you in if things go sideways.”

2. Executive leader transitions

An executive-level hire is a big deal in any organization. Even if these hires don’t work out as planned, there’s a ton of pressure on founders and CEOs to “make it work,” at least for a certain period of time. On the flip side, when the new leader performs extremely well, founders and CEOs need to worry about how to retain an individual who will be in high demand.

Regardless of how an executive leaves the business, the hole they leave in the organizational structure presents both opportunities and challenges. From the perspective of the founder, CEO and Board of Directors, the opportunity is to bring in new skill sets and new thinking. The challenge is to minimize the disruption and, in the case of losing someone valuable, limit the damage from their departure.

The situation is often extremely suitable for a fractional hire given the need to bring someone into the business quickly, the strategic nature of the position in a period of transition and the level of experience required to navigate a potentially difficult situation (including the possibility of preparing for a full-time hire in the role within the next year).

“When you lose a high-level executive who was important to the business, there’s often no clear direction, and the team may not know where to turn,” said Canopy Marketing Expert Kate W. “A fractional executive immediate senior-level expertise without the full-time cost, no annual salary, no benefits overhead. They can step in quickly, stabilize the team, assess the landscape, and drive strategic action.

3. Periods of rapid growth

Early on, much of the messaging around fractional hiring centered on the use of fractional experts as stop-gap measures in transition periods. While many organizations continue to use fractional hires to bridge these gaps, a growing number are discovering the value of fractional experts in accelerating growth plans.

Whereas the first two scenarios are clearly tailored more toward hiring a fractional expert than a full-time resource, the growth stage is a situation where you’re making more of a strategic choice. Regardless of the discipline for the role (e.g., CFO, COO, CRO, CMO, etc.), a full-time hire can certainly prove to be an excellent choice, especially if the individual ends up being a longer-tenured member of the organization and is a leader that the founder and CEO wants to grow a team around.

Reasons a founder or CEO may wish to go with a fractional expert in a growth scenario include:

• An interest in keeping costs down while maximizing impact
• The need for speed-to-impact, including areas like faster onboarding and truncated time-to-result
• A desire to bring in an executive leader with very specific situational experience
• A market or organizational situation that prioritizes agility and the ability to react and adjust quickly

4. Navigating large-scale change

While the departure of a leader or leaders certainly qualifies as change, these are far from the only situations where fractional executive hires can be instrumental in helping an organization withstand turbulent times. And unlike a situation where a single leader leaves an organization and the founder, CEO and Board are forced to move quickly to replace them, a large-scale adjustment to the direction, model or structure of an organization can (paradoxically) provide a bit more breathing room for leadership to approach the problem more strategically.

Similar to the rapid growth scenario, founders, CEO and Boards have the potential to be successful in this situation with either a full-time or fractional hire. In this case specifically, the choice can be largely dependent on the strength and clarity of the organization’s business plan. Clarity on direction often brings with it an understanding of the team that’s likely to be able to fulfill the long-term vision, and in these instances, leaders tend to lean toward full-time hires who can grow with the organization. While fractional experts can perform quite well in this scenario, organizations may choose to skip a bridge option and move straight to a longer-term hire.

Conversely, for all of the reasons fractional experts thrive in any organization, founders, CEOs and Boards may choose to bring in an experienced expert to help them build the future direction of the organization. In this case, they can also provide recommendations on who to hire to build a full-time team, and when it makes the most sense to hire those roles. 

We have also seen leaders set a new direction and then compile a group of the best fractional experts available to drive the plan forward. Whether or not this is a longer-term solution, it invariably helps the organization gain the traction and foothold necessary for a new direction to get off the ground.

Canopy Nonprofit Expert Meg G. described what a fractional expert engagement can look like during a major organizational change: “Sometimes during the life of a nonprofit, the Board of Trustees may find that a total restructuring of staff and mission is required. I went through this for a magazine, during which I was called in to supervise the restructuring and to shepherd how the magazine approached production, management, marketing, fulfillment and more. The process took approximately nine months.” 

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Thank you for reading! If you’re interested in hearing more from our experts on when and how to hire fractional executives, check out our guide, Demystifying Fractional Executive Hiring.

The post Hiring an executive? Here are the top four scenarios where fractional makes sense. appeared first on Canopy Advisory Group.

It’s a great question, and the answer varies based on the role you’re looking to hire, the stage of your organization or company, and your unique needs. We’ve put together a guide to help you get to the right answer, right now.

Demystifying Fractional Executive Hiring includes fractional hiring playbooks for top C-Suite roles, surfacing insights from our fractional executives and other experts on when and how to hire the best fractional talent for your specific situation, as well as useful information like roles and responsibilities, ideal organization stages and sizes for fractional hiring, and cost comparisons for full-time and fractional positions.

The post GUIDE: Demystifying Fractional Executive Hiring appeared first on Canopy Advisory Group.

There are a wide range of factors that could be contributing to why a marketing program might be struggling to produce results. One of the challenges with modern marketing is that the discipline has become so complicated that you often have to dig through mountains of data to get to the core workings of the marketing engine. Because of this, my first inclination when I begin an evaluation is almost always to look to simplify.

In my eyes, assessing a marketing program can be consolidated down to three distinct areas: people, processes and platform. Sure, there are always nuances, and every program is fundamentally different in its own unique way. Still, the 3 Ps framework is almost always a good place to start in an objective assessment of a marketing program.

Goal Setting

Before we get into the framework itself, we need to start by setting goals for the evaluation process, including answering some form of the following questions:

• Why are we performing a thorough evaluation of the program in the first place? 
• What do we want and need to do with the findings after we’ve completed our assessment? 
• What business metrics need to be impacted by marketing and what expectations are we putting on marketing to achieve (as we make adjustments based on the evaluation)?
• What rubrics are we using to define what’s working and what’s not working?

Beyond allowing you to set parameters around the work and assisting you in measuring the results of the evaluation process and the work that comes after, goal setting can also help you with objectivity. There are areas of marketing that you and your team can measure down to the nth degree and there are others that will always be more ethereal and subjective. The most effective assessments will be those where you can remove as much of your own biases as possible. The decisions you make as a result of the evaluation will naturally include some subjectivity; you will almost always be better served by making those calls after looking at data gathered from a more objective evaluation.

Once you’ve identified your goals, you’re ready to dive into your assessment.

Step 1: People

Understanding the people behind your digital marketing program is the first step because, if you don’t have the right people, no amount of processes and platforms will make your program successful.

When assessing people, I’ve found it valuable to start with the positives. What are the key strengths of each person on the team and how do those strengths align with the goals of the marketing program and the organization as a whole? Beyond getting a solid picture of each person and their contributions, this also helps uncover a bigger picture of the areas of strength and skill gaps for the program as a whole. For example, you may find that you’re very strong in marketing operations but very light in content expertise.

As you dig deeper, shift your focus from the person to the role. What is the impact of each role and where are gaps and struggles relative to marketing and company goals? Taken together, insights into each person and the impact of their current roles can help you build a roadmap to get back to growth. I’ve often found that organizations have the right people, but that they’re in the wrong roles or don’t have the required training. It’s a lot easier to make these adjustments than to realize you have the wrong person and need to replace them, although that’s one possible outcome of the evaluation process.

I also recommend looking at the individual goals and incentive programs you have in place to see how these align with and motivate people. You may only require a few tweaks in these programs to make the entire team more effective.

One oft-overlooked element of the people evaluation process is a review of the external groups that are working with your marketing team. Take the time to understand what these groups – agencies, vendors, freelancers and other contractors – are being paid, what projects they are undertaking and roles they are filling, how they are incentivized, and their goals relative to the goals of the business. I’ve often found that these external partners bring more specialization and expertise at a more affordable cost, and that the work they are doing is critical work that the in-house team would not have access to otherwise. I’ve also found, in many cases, a lack of defined goals and metrics, a lack of alignment with the broader goals of the marketing team and organization, and a lack of clear communication between the partners and the team. 

If that’s the case in your organization, it’s vitally important to close those gaps and create crystal clear alignment to ensure every partnership is as effective as it can possibly be.

Step 2: Process

When created and implemented well, processes help give clear direction and structure, and allow for continual improvements. 

I’m a firm believer in avoiding over-processing marketing, and I’ve seen many organizations where this adds unnecessary complexity and slows work to a crawl. That said, it’s extremely important to implement a framework for certain processes to avoid massive inefficiencies in your marketing.

The first frameworks I recommend are often in the production of marketing content and collateral and on the handoff between marketing and sales in terms of how leads come into the system and how they’re managed by both teams. I won’t spend a lot of time there in this post, however, as I want to focus on one of the more technical process areas: campaign structure.

My rationale is that, if you’re running campaigns, you’re spending at least some money on advertising. Very few businesses can afford any level of waste within their advertising spend, and I’ve seen preventable inefficiencies in campaign structure far too often in my assessments.

When you’re setting up your campaigns, start with the intended goals and objectives of the campaign, and importantly, how each subset of the campaign ladders up to your business goals and objectives. It’s surprisingly easy to overcomplicate your campaign structure. That means having too many campaigns running at the same time, too many subsets within each campaign, and spreading yourself too thin so that your campaigns aren’t able to gather enough data or generate enough impact within the budget you’ve allocated. On the flip side, I’ve also seen a number of clients running too few campaigns, with not enough of the segmentation of audiences that’s required for truly targeted marketing. Structuring campaigns is a delicate balance that can benefit from an expert viewpoint.

Assessing campaign structure can be done by reviewing each element of your overall marketing approach: audience, geography, audience splits, time of day, day of week, device types, etc. Then, apply this data to campaigns and subsets of campaigns, including ad creative. It can be a tedious process and can also be extremely worth your time. I’ve seen clients save anywhere from 25 percent to 52 percent year-over-year in their campaigns based on these efficiencies alone.

Step 3: Technology

Anyone who has spent any time working in marketing knows that technology can be a blessing, a curse, and everything in between. And that’s precisely why technology is the third step in our assessment: it’s critical that marketing teams are only using technology in a way that’s making them more efficient and effective. 

This evaluation starts with a review of the key needs of the client, including those that may or may not be covered with technology. Once that list has been identified (or created if it didn’t exist before), you will map current technology to each need. In my experience, you’ll likely find at least some lack of alignment here, and potentially quite a few discrepancies between the problems you’re trying to solve and the technology you’ve purchased and put into place.

The most common situation I see is overbuying. Organizations have too many platforms, some of which have features and benefits that overlap, and they’re not using most of them effectively. With employee turnover and shifts in strategy over time, it’s remarkably easy to find yourself in this situation. I also see the other end of the spectrum: an incomplete tech stack. These organizations have so little from a technology perspective that most of the work in their businesses is completed manually, creating ongoing inefficiencies that could be eliminated with technology.

After identifying the gaps between what the organization has and what it needs, the next step is to create a strategic plan on how to refine and use the tech stack moving forward. I’ve found this is best done in a phased approach, starting with small achievable goals and working toward longer-term efficiency wins. If you have the right processes and people but not the right technology, you may 

After we access what is needed then we work to come up with a strategic plan on how to best utilize the technology stack. We start out with small, achievable goals and work towards longer-term efficiency wins. Making sure that the right technology is in place is critical, as is ensuring that each platform can communicate with the others, and that employees are trained on each platform and accountable for using each to its fullest extent.

Simplifying Your Evaluation to People, Processes and Platforms

If creating a marketing program that seamlessly runs on all cylinders and drives exceptional outcomes for the business was easy, everyone would already be doing it.

It’s natural to struggle with it and even to be overwhelmed by it. If it’s feeling like a gargantuan effort, try simplifying your approach to the 3 Ps. And if that doesn’t work, consider hiring an expert to help.

The post How to Evaluate Your Digital Marketing Program appeared first on Canopy Advisory Group.

On the surface, though, the concept can seem counterintuitive. Why wouldn’t an in-house team, made up of people who are often experts in their own right and who have a much stronger sense of the business and brand, be set up well for success without considering expert help? Taking the question further, couldn’t an outside expert actually have a detrimental effect on a project due to disruption of team dynamics and a lack of organizational knowledge?

And yet, it’s a fact that many of the projects in which organizations choose to hire an external expert are deemed successful, and especially relative to what in-house teams internally may have been able to achieve in the past. Why is this the case?

Organization-Wide Investment in Project Success

It’s an uncomfortable truth that, in many corporate environments, being on the same team doesn’t always mean being on the same team. Certain people in certain roles may stand to benefit if projects fail, and they often act accordingly. 

More often than not, projects are not killed in one fell swoop, although that does happen. Instead, failure comes from a thousand different cuts, including unnecessary bureaucracy, last-minute stalling on reviews, sidebar conversations and sudden shifts in prioritization. Regardless of the reasons a person may have for slowing down or upending a project, it can be an incredible source of frustration and affect even the most talented and high-powered in-house teams.

An engagement with an outside expert can eliminate a lot of that bureaucracy and politicking for a simple reason: the money for the engagement is coming from a line item and not from people costs. 

This may not seem like a big difference; in many companies, however, it means that the project receives far more scrutiny. And by extension, there are more internal team members who are invested in its success due to their responsibility for the budget, the referral or a variety of other factors. The organization is paying directly for a positive outcome on an important project, and that alone makes the project more likely to get the resources and support it needs from leadership.

For the fractional expert or freelancer, the investment in success is more obvious. The value of their work, what it’s like to do business with them and their overall reputation is on the line. It will either earn them more business and future clients or it won’t; even an engagement that is “fine” but not Earth-shattering is likely more of a negative than a positive.

And for the internal staff that’s not on the company’s leadership team, while they may truly be invested in the success of the company long-term, their surface-level investment in an outside engagement is more tactical. If a fractional or freelance project fails, it means more work on their plates, which, in the age of ever-leaner teams, is something most employees are desperate to avoid.

Access to (Real) Experience at an Affordable Rate

You can have the world’s most capable in-house team, and they will still struggle without the necessary resources, budget and support. Too often, leadership’s response when looking at an area that’s not performing as well as they had hoped is to assume they don’t have the right people or that their people aren’t working hard enough. While either could certainly be the case, it’s more often that the in-house teams don’t have what they need to be successful. As of August 2024, only 33 percent of U.S. workers in Gallup’s Engagement Survey strongly agreed that they have the opportunity to do what they do best every day, and only 46 percent strongly agreed that they knew what was expected of them at work.

Even if you’re the type of leader who understands your team needs help, you still face challenges. Most notably, adding headcount is one of the most difficult processes in any organization, and for good reason. According to the Paycor, labor costs can account for as much as 70 percent of total costs for a business. Thus, even if you are somehow able to get new headcount for your team approved, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to free up enough budget to hire top talent.

Paradoxically, cost is an area where engaging an outside expert can be extremely attractive. Yes, these outside parties are paid at a higher rate that represents their experience and expertise. They are also paid on a time-bound basis, either by project or hourly, and are not paid benefits like insurance or bonuses. As a result, organizations can afford to bring in higher-level experts at a lower overall cost than a mid-range full-time hire. 

Importantly, if your company works with an organization like Canopy Advisory Group who heavily vets every fractional expert in its community, your company will be bringing on an expert with actual experience in the problems you’re trying to solve. If you choose to scroll through LinkedIn to try to find an “expert,” you risk ending up with a consultant who is good at selling themselves but who has never executed anything at the level you need. 

The best experts will provide value well above their overall cost, in both the work and in their impact longer-term, supporting your in-house team with the guidance and in-the-weeds help that they need to make real progress on key projects.

A Blend of Strategic and Tactical Support

Many in-house teams are composed of employees who are meant to play extremely specific roles. Leaders create strategy and manage large teams, specialists support platforms and operations, junior team members focus on blocking and tackling work – you get the idea.

Once again, there are a lot of reasons for this, and it’s not necessarily the wrong approach. It can, however, hamstring in-house teams when it comes to agility and execution. If, due to hierarchy, approval process and extreme specialization, a team takes three weeks to complete a project that should take one, you have a big problem.

Unlike traditional consultants, fractional experts bring a blend of strategic acumen and execution ability, meaning that they can become a contributing member of the team almost immediately. What often helps in-house teams most is working collaboratively with fractional experts and seeing the output, which then helps them adjust and improve their work. This is the longer-term value of fractional engagements that isn’t talked about enough; the impact of ideas, concepts put into practice and inspiration often lingers long after the fractional expert has completed their project.

Outside Support is Often Necessary Due to Barriers Facing In-House Teams

For the most part, organizations don’t need to bring in consultants because in-house teams are incompetent. They need to bring in outside experts because of how hard it can be for in-house teams to get things done.It’s not an indictment of organizational structures and processes as much as it is a fact of life within many companies. 

Organizations look at hundreds of different metrics to determine business health, prioritization, and the success or failure of projects. Smart business owners and leaders are greenlighting fractional engagements to help solve key business problems for a wide range of reasons. The one that will almost always matter most is better outcomes.

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Are you looking for a better way to get your projects across the finish line, on time, and under budget? Canopy can help you find the right fractional expert, onboard them quickly, and ensure a speedy and successful engagement. 

Tell us about your project today at canopyadvisory.com. 

The post Why Does Adding Outside Experts Help Teams Deliver Better Outcomes? appeared first on Canopy Advisory Group.

In business, however, and especially when it comes to different ways of working, myths can be more dangerous. They can set us down a certain path, false assumptions held tightly in our hands, without the benefit of real experience and knowledge.

The reason myths persist, however, is that there is some level of truth in them. If they were wholly unbelievable, they would slowly fade. Many of the myths about fractional work and consulting fall into this category. Someone, somewhere had an experience with fractional work or consulting that spawned the idea that “every fractional and consulting engagement is or will be just like this.”

In reality, these outlying experiences tend to be more exception than rule. To help us layer reality on top of some of the biggest myths about fractional work, we asked our Canopy expert advisors for help in identifying those they hear the most (and what the actual truth is in nearly every case).

MYTH #1: “Fractional hires are too expensive for non-profits and small businesses.”

THE REALITY: Interestingly enough, startups and early-stage companies were among the first to embrace fractional work. The reason? Because hiring fractional team members is often the more cost-effective option than bringing on full-time employees. In some cases, those savings could be significant, with Forbes estimating that the fractional model could cut employers’ payroll costs 30-40% vs. full-time employment. For organizations with tight budgets like many small businesses and early-stage companies, and those who need to keep overhead minimal like non-profits, fractional can be an extremely attractive option precisely because of its cost-effectiveness.

MYTH #2: “Fractional experts run up big bills and don’t deliver results.”

THE REALITY: This myth is derived, whether right or wrong, from a negative view of the value of consulting at a general level. While consulting and fractional work are similar, there are critical differences. Most notably, while all fractional work is consulting, not all consulting is fractional work. True fractional experts offer a “best of both worlds” approach between high-level consulting and freelancing in that they provide both strategy and tactical execution; consultants generally offer only strategy while freelancers generally offer only tactics.

Due to the nature of the work, both the perceived and actual value of fractional work is likely to be more in-line with expected outcomes and results. In terms of the “big bills” myth, while it is true that many fractional experts are paid at significantly higher hourly rates than freelancers, because fractional resources primarily work on a project basis, the costs for an organization remain far lower than other options, including hiring full-time staff members. Organizations hiring fractional resources get access to the very best in expert talent without paying benefits, longer-term salaries or bonuses, driving better results at a much more reasonable cost.

MYTH #3: “Fractional experts don’t care about the company they’re working with.”

THE REALITY: In a recent survey of our community of experienced Canopy fractional experts, this myth came up in many of the open-ended responses. Fractional experts want companies to know that, although they are often working for a limited time or in a limited capacity, this does not affect their interest in integrating themselves completely into organizations. Most take pride in learning company core values and becoming a true part of the team during their engagements. There may be isolated situations where a fractional resource remains detached from a team or organization throughout a relationship, but that would be the rare exception.

MYTH #4: ”This fractional resource will solve all of our problems.”

THE REALITY: The “fractional expert as business panacea” trap can be surprisingly easy to fall into. After all, you’ve chosen and vetted an elite expert to come into your organization and you want to believe that pulling the fractional lever is the one thing you need to do to get your business moving in the right direction or growing faster.

Make no mistake, if you bring in the right fractional expert and set the right expectations, a single project can have a tremendous impact on your business. That said, one of the things that makes fractional work so valuable is that a fractional resource is brought in to solve very specific problems based on their expertise. Imagine that it’s the heat of the summer and you’ve inflated and filled up a kiddie pool. Unfortunately, the pool is leaking. If you’ve identified a single hole in the fabric of the pool, there’s a good chance that you could stop the leak by plugging that hole. If there are multiple holes, plugging one might slow the leak, but will not solve the overarching problem.

The point being that it’s important to look at the value of fractional work for what it’s meant to do: solve specific problems with project-based work (not magically cure every organizational ill in a six-month timeframe).

MYTH #5: “They create a plan then leave chaos in their wake.”

THE REALITY: The “drop a 50-slide PowerPoint deck on the team and leave” myth about fractional work is another that is a result of poor consulting practices. As noted, the critical difference between consulting and fractional work is that most fractional resources participate in the execution of the strategy vs. providing only recommendations.

Beyond the fact that this provides better value for most organizations, the greatest benefit often comes in the positive impact of fractional engagements on internal company staff. Because fractional experts are both creating strategy and implementing it, most make a concerted effort to coach and train employees in their clients’ organizations to ensure that those employees can take the strategy and run with it when the engagement is complete. Watching how a fractional expert works in-real time can provide an incredible amount of value from a development perspective.

MYTH #6: “They use generic playbooks for every engagement.”

THE REALITY: There’s nothing inherently wrong with having a playbook. Every consultant, fractional expert and freelancer is likely to have one, as they need to have a framework or model to be able to articulate and sell their services. The issue arises when a consultant keeps the playbook at too high of a level, providing a generic framework that doesn’t customize to fit the true needs of a business.

That’s precisely how this myth was born, and it’s one of the most common complaints from clients of some of the large consulting shops. For fractional experts, it’s about providing a balance between having a strong framework to apply to organizations and ensuring that they’re providing differentiated value within that framework that the client couldn’t get anywhere else.

MYTH #7: “Being an outsider means they can’t understand our problems.”

THE REALITY: This extremely common myth is a function both of poor experiences with consultants and the resentment that can arise when an organization brings in an expert from the outside to look at any part of a business. Sure, there are likely situations where a consultant or a fractional expert doesn’t do the work to really get to know a business, and those relationships are doomed to fail from the very beginning. In most cases, however, understanding the root business problems, what’s been tried before and the overall dynamics of the business are all implied in the mandate of a fractional expert. It’s part of what they’re paid to do.

In our survey of Canopy expert advisors this year, our fractional experts told us that bringing an outside perspective is often precisely what does help solve problems that may have been difficult for internal teams to see or execute against given their other responsibilities. So this myth can be flipped on its head; an outside perspective can be the most valuable part of a fractional engagement.

MYTH #8: “They’ll just tell us what we already know.”

THE REALITY: Is there an outside chance this could happen? Sure. But the odds are extremely low. While every recommendation may not be brand new, the role of a fractional expert is to provide the right guidance needed to solve business problems. If they’re doing their jobs, known issues will certainly be a part of what a fractional expert uncovers. Fractional experts are paid what they’re paid for a reason, and as a result, what an organization gets back will go far deeper than a surface level.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to bring the right fractional experts into your organization, check out our guide, Making Fractional Work for You, or send us a note here.

The post Myths and Realities of Hiring Fractional Experts appeared first on Canopy Advisory Group.

Click Here to download a PDF version of the eBook.

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Fractional experts can join organizations quickly, onboard at high speed due to expertise and experience, and start making an impact almost immediately. Fractional hiring is also more targeted than hiring for full-time employees, because you’re hiring on a project basis. That means you’re able to bring on the right expert to solve a specific problem or problems, as opposed to trying to overcome every business challenge all at once. Last but not least, you get the very best talent without having to foot the bill for benefits or being on the hook for a salary long-term, which can save you quite a bit of money.

Like any type of organizational decision, however, bringing in fractional experts is not the right move in every situation. We asked our community of expert advisors to identify specific scenarios when a full-time employee could make more sense than a fractional hire.

Scenario 1: Organization Needs Support Above and Beyond a Project Basis

As one of our expert advisors noted, one way to identify this scenario is when your fractional expert’s hours are closer to 35-40 for a period spanning around 6 months. Even if you don’t use those numbers, you will know when you’re starting to move from a fractional engagement to something that more closely remembers full-time. From the perspective of the fractional expert, reaching this type of milestone represents a positive longer-term outcome of fractional work, as it means that the expert has brought the organization to a place where it can now sustain the work on a longer-term basis.

Many fractional experts prefer to work with a variety of different clients and would be ready to move on to a new client in this scenario. Others may be open to considering a full-time engagement with your organization.

Scenario 2: Organization Has Reached a Growth Tipping Point

When an organization reaches a certain stage of growth, needs often arise that only full-time employees can fill. This isn’t to say that the organization shouldn’t hire on any fractional experts; far from it. It simply means that there are likely to be both tactical and executive-level roles that the organization may wish to bring on instead of using fractional talent to fill those needs. As mentioned above, hiring for executive-level full-time roles could be partially based on the sheer number of hours needed to get the work done in specific functional areas. It could also be driven by the number of projects necessary for the resources to manage. For more tactical or mid-level roles, it could be an increase in the number of tasks that require constant interaction with customers or suppliers, the need to be available and/or tied into communications during business hours, or the need to manage other staff.

Similar to Scenario 1, Scenario 2 could also be a situation where your organization has worked with a fractional expert and reached the point where a full-time hire simply made more sense. As noted, organizations don’t outgrow all fractional expertise. They reach a point where both full-time and fractional experts should work hand-in-hand.

Scenario 3: Organization Only Needs Tactical and Operational Support

The primary difference between consultants and fractional experts is that, while all fractional work is consulting, not all consulting is fractional work.

Fractional experts actually provide a best of both worlds between consulting and freelancing in that they offer both strategy and tactical execution. Consultants, for the most part, offer the strategy piece through expert advice and guidance, but not the implementation. That’s what makes fractional experts so valuable. They give you the roadmap and then drive you at least part of the way there.

For organizations that are not in need of the strategic or expert-level portion of the equation, hiring fractional doesn’t make business sense. These resources come at a higher cost due to their expertise and experience, and the fact that they provide both strategy and execution. Freelancers or junior full-time employees are often more cost-effective if an organization is looking only for tactical support.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to bring the right fractional experts into your organization, contact Canopy Advisory Group today.

The post When Does a Full-Time Employee Make More Sense Than a Fractional Hire? appeared first on Canopy Advisory Group.

Fractional work is defined as an arrangement in which an individual provides specialized skills or management services to multiple organizations on a part-time or project basis. An alternative form of work gaining some traction is one thing, but the fact that half of Americans are projected to be participating in this kind of work, and that soon? That qualifies as a seismic shift in the relationships between employers and employees.

So how did we get here? Since 2020, workplaces in the U.S. have been in a near-constant state of turmoil. A pandemic forcing workplaces into full-time remote work, widespread leaks of footage showing how disconnected executives are from their teams, The Great Resignation, return-to-office mandates, mass layoffs, lack of backfills for departed employees, economic uncertainty. It’s created what could be termed a perfect storm for hiring and retention across nearly every industry and vertical.

For businesses, tighter budgets, expanding growth targets, a focus on efficiency and high people costs are making fractional resources more and more attractive. For talented workers, stagnating corporate salaries, poor executive leadership and the constant drumbeat of draconian and impersonal layoffs are fueling a move away from full-time employment. As talented employees leave to pursue the freedom of fractional work, organizations that either do not support side hustles for their staff or exhibit the qualities that tend to push employees out are at the highest risk. And when those companies go to rehire, they will have access to fewer and fewer of the very best, as those experts are more likely to be pursuing alternative work options.

Fractional work is only a threat, however, for organizations who fail to embrace it. The organizations who win in this new world will be those who commit to understanding and embracing fractional work right now. Learning how fractional workers can integrate into their business model, learning which projects are best suited for fractional support, learning how to meld fractional resources with full-time staff. Because those companies will already be far ahead when other organizations are still scrambling to shift when they’re forced to change.

These organizations will understand that they need to change how they staff their companies and complete projects in a work world that’s already undergoing a transformation in how people work. Even more importantly, they will know that sticking with the status quo won’t allow them to achieve their most important goals. Organizations embracing fractional work will:

• Save Money: Hiring a fractional worker saves a company an average of 30-40% over a full-time worker due to a variety of factors, including a shorter, time-bound tenure and lack of benefit payments.
• Increase Agility and Speed: Not only can you hire fractional workers far more quickly than full-time employees, most come with reduced training time and expenses given their experience and high level of expertise. 
• Increase Effectiveness: Expert-led, project-based work will result in more projects being completed on time and at a high level of quality, as fractional resources are unlikely to be slowed down by traditional internal company challenges.
• Innovate With Purpose: Innovation is driven by creativity, knowledge, technique and motivation. The outcome-based nature of the engagements, the level of expertise of the individual consultants, and the limited time they have within organizations inherently makes innovation more of an imperative for fractional workers than their full-time counterparts.

There are, of course, cons of hiring fractional experts into your business instead of full-time staff. While fractional experts are cost-effective due to the fact the organizations don’t pay for benefits or other overhead and because their projects are time-bound, they are also paid as experts, and so become less cost-effective the longer they are under contract. There are also leaders who believe that, because fractional workers are hired on a project basis, they may be less committed to the organization they work for than a full-time employee. Finally, because they often exist outside of the traditional interviewing process for full-time hires, it can be more difficult for organizations to vet the experts effectively (without help).

So, while fractional hiring isn’t likely the hypothetical silver bullet to slay all of your organization’s werewolves, it very well may be the right munition for some of them. If you’re ready to learn more about why fractional work could be right for your business and how to find and hire the expert talent you need to move your most important projects forward right now, set a meeting with our team at Canopy Advisory Group.

The post Why Embracing Fractional Work Can Change Your Business for the Better appeared first on Canopy Advisory Group.

In this informative webinar, Marcia will share the Culture CARES Framework that she developed which has transformed business outcomes in many organizations. This model will help you build an empowering and inclusive work culture that inspires trust and engagement, making it easier to recruit and retain top talent.

The post Canopy Virtual Event: Retaining Talent: A Deep Dive into Building Organizational Culture appeared first on Canopy Advisory Group.

Click Here to download a PDF version of the eBook.

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During these life cycles, the quality of the financial decisions at crucial stages contributes to the company’s development. Most startups don’t launch with finance or accounting teams. Several times, one of the founders assumes the accounting or financial planning positions. However, as the company expands, the need for a specialized finance expert, a full-time CFO, or a team to oversee financial functions becomes increasingly crucial. Bringing in a CFO during the early stages can significantly influence a company’s initial profitability strategy. However, the feasibility of hiring one can be a challenging task for startups with limited financial resources. This is where the expertise of a fractional CFO can be engaged, and when supported by an accounting staff and a part-time finance controller, can provide adequate support for a business that cannot afford to build a full-time team but requires financial expertise.

If you are new to Fractional CFOs, our blog on How can a fractional CFO contribute to Business Growth and Profitability provides a background on the importance of a skilled fractional CFO and areas where your company can see a long-lasting value in growth and profitability.

When to Consider a Fractional CFO

Here are Ten signs that it is time to hire a fractional CFO.

Rapid business growth and expansion

As a startup, going through a phase of swift business growth and expansion brings excitement to the company, usually when revenues are high, net profits are positive, customer retention is impressive, and the business is gaining recognition in its respective industry. However, effectively managing business growth and the company’s finances can become increasingly intricate. Startups experiencing rapid growth and expansion can employ the services of a fractional CFO to navigate through the growth stage while ensuring that the cost and capital structure is optimized to support the business operations.

Raising capital

There is a sense of fulfillment and validation that comes from raising venture capital. Founders and business owners consider this phase a fulfilling one. However, the pitching and fundraising process can be tedious and sometimes unpredictable. The requirements of each funding round change, and a business can leverage the services of a Fractional CFO to manage the requirements of these rounds. In addition, not only can the Fractional CFO function in the fundraising process, but they can advise on the timing of the fundraising and the percentage of debt and equity that is best for the company at each round.

It is also important to note that in the series A or seed funding stages, what investors value most is the idea, management, and scalability of the business. When you are heading towards series B or later stages, the key value driver becomes the financial metrics, profitability, and revenues. Therefore, if you are in the series B or later rounds of your fundraising, this can be a perfect time to have a fractional CFO on your team.

Navigating an audit or transaction

Organizational audit periods can be one of the busiest periods in a company’s calendar year. While internal audits can help a company understand the status of its financial health, there are other cases where the government, investors, or shareholders demand an audit report before making relevant decisions. Audit requests may come last minute, and the complexity of this activity can seem difficult for first-time founders and entrepreneurs. Audit tasks can be contracted to fractional CFOs, who can ensure that the company’s financial statements are accurate against other financial documents and credit card statements.

When it’s time to scale

“Growth” and “Scale” are words often used interchangeably in business. However, growth involves increasing top-line revenues without significant concern for expenses, whereas scaling a business focuses on optimizing revenues while efficiently managing costs to improve profit margin. This concept is known as the “economies of scale.”

Popular approach companies adopt for scaling involves incorporating new software into their manual operational procedures. For instance, they might utilize Zuora for invoicing and Salesforce for managing customer relationships. When a company opts to scale, it can be a smart move to bring on board an experienced fractional CFO. This helps guarantee smooth and problem-free integrations, all while maintaining the company’s workflow undisturbed.

Cash flow issues

One specific challenge that startups encounter is dealing with cash flow issues. These issues can arise due to uneven cash inflows and outflows, unexpected expenses, or delays in receiving payments from customers. In some cases, startups may struggle to determine the average number of days it takes for customers to pay their invoices, which is known as the accounts receivable turnover. A lack of clarity regarding this metric can lead to uncertainty in predicting when cash will be available. A fractional CFO can play a crucial role in addressing cash flow challenges by devising a fresh billing strategy. This strategy may involve setting clear payment terms, offering incentives for early payments, or implementing efficient invoicing and collection processes. Furthermore, a fractional CFO can work with the startup’s management team to negotiate improved payment timelines with customers. This negotiation process may involve finding ways to align payment schedules with the company’s own cash needs, smoothing out the variability in cash inflows. By securing more favorable payment terms, the startup can enhance its ability to maintain a steady cash balance and navigate cash flow fluctuations more effectively.

Optimizing employee compensation and benefits

If you are considering improving your employees’ benefits, payroll, and workers’ compensation, outsourcing these tasks to a Fractional CFO can significantly help companies to reduce their non-operating expenses. For example, the cost of employee benefits, particularly in healthcare, is constantly increasing. In 2022, a McKinsey article reported that the average employer saw a 5% increase in cost of employee healthcare benefits, and will increase by an additional 10% throughout 2023 according to Willis Tower Watson. An experienced fractional CFO is always attuned to emerging economic alternatives and should be capable of suggesting strategies to reduce costs while upholding or elevating employee benefits.

Frequent industry regulatory changes

Some industries experience frequent regulatory changes. If you are a multinational company or have a diverse supply chain, you need to pay attention to the changes in relevant regulations in the countries you operate. These regulations could be reporting, disclosure obligations, or compliance, and therefore require individuals with related experience or professional skills, as the implications of misinterpreting regulations can be reputationally and financially disastrous.

Given that fractional CFOs often possess experience spanning multiple industries, their wide-ranging expertise and understanding of various regulatory demands can facilitate the transfer of knowledge within existing teams, as well as provide adequate insights to the CEO and management teams.

Management restructuring

Management structures often change, particularly after the completion of a merger and acquisition (M&A) or a leveraged buyout (LBO). If investors are not looking to appoint their CFO, some incumbent CFOs and staff resign at this stage, leaving the business without a financial decision-maker to implement new strategies. Moreso, it takes an average of 6 months to a year to hire a CFO, compared to the swift onboarding process of an experienced fractional CFO who can fit into the role on an interim basis.

Influencing the board of directors

Venture or private equity (PE) funded companies end up with diverse board members that hold significant influence over decisions and future trajectories of the company. Introducing a fractional CFO to participate in board meetings and contribute fresh perspectives to business decisions can be beneficial to the company.

In addition, larger companies typically have a more complex board of directors, including independent board members with no significant financial, business, or familial ties to the company and whose decisions should not be influenced by internal interests or conflicts of interest. Occasionally, specific corporate actions may place an independent board member in a potentially conflicted position. During such instances, a fractional CFO can step in as a temporary board member, ensuring unbiased oversight of the matter without any personal conflicts.

Decision-making on budget allocation

High-growth companies expand rapidly with increasing operational demand and often need to make decisions around the strategic allocation of funds. One notable aspect of their decision-making process is determining where to invest their financial resources to achieve high returns for their shareholders. For example, decisions made during Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) can significantly impact a company’s trajectory, market positioning, and competitive advantage. In the absence of a dedicated full-time CFO, which is not uncommon for many evolving companies, the option of engaging a fractional CFO becomes particularly valuable. In situations where complex and impactful decisions must be made swiftly, often referred to as intensive, time-sensitive sprints, the fractional CFO can step in to provide insightful project evaluation.

In the dynamic landscape of business growth and financial management, recognizing the pivotal moments to engage expertise is key. The ten signs elucidated here underscore the critical junctures when a fractional CFO can be your strategic partner. From steering through rapid growth and complex scaling transitions to deftly navigating audits, regulatory changes, and budget allocations, the insights and expertise of a skilled fractional CFO can guide your company to enhanced profitability and sustainable success. As you assess your company’s trajectory, remember that these pivotal moments are opportunities for transformation. To ensure that your financial decisions align with your growth ambitions, contact Canopy Advisory Group for Fractional CFOs today. Let our seasoned professionals empower your journey, ushering you through these crucial phases with expertise, insight, and a commitment to your company’s financial excellence.

The post The 10 Signs It’s Time to Hire a Fractional CFO appeared first on Canopy Advisory Group.

The main responsibility of a marketing consultant is to help a company develop its brand through various marketing services including website design, event planning, social media, graphic design, and creating an effective online presence. 

A marketing consultant is usually available as an individual consultant or part of a full marketing agency with several professional marketing specialists who can create and implement every part of a marketing plan.

What A Marketing Consultant Does

After implementing a new marketing strategy, a marketing consultant will analyze the results for effectiveness and present the results to the client. When it comes to implementing marketing strategies, a marketing consultant handles the task from start to finish. Presenting the results is vital to the reputation of a marketing consultant since it showcases the level of their work ethic.

The first thing a marketing consultant does is examine a company’s marketing to determine its strengths and weaknesses. This is being done to get a complete picture of which marketing platforms are working and which ones need improvement. 

Performing Market Research

The difference between a second-rate marketing consultant and an amazing one is that the latter goes the extra mile to come up with ways to reliably help your business develop. This entails performing market research to find new marketing trends, as well as coming up with ways to develop current strategies. 

Best Marketing Strategies 

Partnering with a marketing consultant who provides effective marketing strategies will be a huge benefit to your business, ensuring future success. Businesses must have successful marketing strategies so they can be competitive in their industries. 

Your marketing consultant should know valuable marketing tactics that will be helpful for your company, but also useful strategies to aid in your future business growth. 

Advantages of Hiring a Marketing Consultant

If your goal is business growth, it is crucial that you work with a marketing consultant.

A skilled marketing professional will possess the expertise and knowledge to assist your business in achieving its goals. 

How can you be sure you’re hiring the right person? When selecting a marketing consultant, some important questions must be asked before hiring. They include:

• Ask about any experience with similar projects
• Ask about marketing results with past clients
• Ask about references

Denver’s Top Marketing Consultants

With years of marketing experience, a marketing consultant’s services include creating new ideas for business growth. Since they know what marketing strategies work, partnering with a marketing consultant saves you time and money. Your business will benefit from effective email marketing, website designing, and copywriting.  

With so many marketing consultants in Denver competing for new business, why not reach out to Canopy Advisory Group today? We look forward to hearing from you.

The post What Services Do Marketing Consultants Provide? appeared first on Canopy Advisory Group.

These consultants bring an external and objective viewpoint to the challenges of the startup, allowing them to give unbiased advice, assess the startup’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as identifying areas of improvement. These valuable insights allow for the startups to install best practices and make more informed decisions. Finding an on-demand consultant that can help with everything from business strategy to marketing to human resources, and so much more. 

Benefits of On-Demand Consulting

One of the biggest advantages for startups using on-demand consulting is the cost-effectiveness. Adding a full-time consultant to your workforce can be expensive, and this allows for use of the consultant as you need it. A lot of the projects that require consulting aren’t long-term, and the flexibility of using on-demand consultants on a freelance or project-by-project basis can be much more cost effective. This allows you to drill down on the issue at hand for a more efficient outcome. 

Startups can tap into the specialized knowledge and expertise of the on-demand consultant to gain insights and guidance tailored to their specific challenges. Experienced on-demand consultants will also have access to extensive networks of investors, professionals, and other industry connections. By leveraging these networks, they can provide introductions and potential brand partnerships for startups. These connections can really expand a startup’s reach and open the door for valuable resources and partnerships. 

Get Down to Problem Solving

Startups can often face complex challenges, many that are time-sensitive. On-demand consultants bring their experience and expertise to efficiently analyze problems, develop strategic solutions, and guide startups through the decision-making process. T/heir ability to quickly understand the startup’s context enables them to offer actionable recommendations that help save time and get the problem solving done more quickly. 

Because most startups face such rapidly changing environments, they often have evolving needs at different stages of growth. The on-demand consultant is perfect in this role, as the flexibility allows for startups to engage with the consultant when necessary. This adaptability ensure that the startups have the best access to the right expertise at the right time. Not all problems arrive in a timely manner, and there’s no timetable to when they’ll show up. The flexibility of the on-demand consultant optimizes their chances for success.

Leveraging external expertise as you need it is a huge advantage in making informed decisions, and in overcoming challenges more quickly. When seeking on-demand services, startups should clearly define their budget, objectives, and timeline to ensure they find the right consultant to deliver desired results. For more information on how on-demand consulting can help your business or startup, reach out to the experts at Canopy Advisory Group today. 

The post Are There On-Demand Consulting Services for Startups? appeared first on Canopy Advisory Group.

If you can’t afford a full-time CFO, a fractional CFO delivers the same expertise at a fraction of the salary. 

A fractional CFO has an active management and leadership role in a company. They provide important information that comes from analyzing trends and helping to develop accurate plans for your business. Additionally, they can identify risks to your business and safeguard you against those risks.

Ways A Fractional CFO Helps Accelerate Your Growth

Top-level of Expertise 

As a seasoned financial expert, the skills and experience of a fractional CFO are tried and true. Engaging with a fractional CFO at the appropriate time brings substantial value to a company. Fractional CFOs are critical in financial problem-solving, complex financial analysis, capital raises, working with new investors, creating incentive plans, and more.

Accounting 

Even though most businesses already have an accounting department, a skilled fractional CFO will be able to effortlessly fit in with your existing accounting team. Partnering with the controller, a fractional CFO will assist with assembling reports and implementing new procedures. 

Being integrated into an organization’s accounting team helps the fractional CFO better understand how the department and company operate. The fractional CFO can use the acquired knowledge to develop new strategies, unique to that organization’s goals and objectives.

Financial Analyst

A fractional CFO will analyze and oversee your company’s financials, including ROI, liquidity, and other critical metrics on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. As your company experiences growth, a fractional CFO will help your company modify its workflow and processes, managing your increased cash flow and new financial needs.

The Right Fractional CFO in Denver for Your Business

Canopy Advisory Group has the most experienced fractional CFOs in Denver. Schedule a consultation with us today.

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Since we’ve all gone through two years of constant, unprecedented change, I’d like to jump right ahead and share my first prediction, which is that shifts will continue in 2022, I don’t recommend harboring expectations about a return to normalcy. Other than that, here are my 5 biggest forecasts for what will be happening inside offices in 2022

1. NEW VALUES AROUND WORK

After the mass layoffs, resignations, and retirements of 2020, we’ve seen a continued cultural change around employment. Principles have shifted. What people were willing to do just for the dollar amount on a paycheck, will be displaced. We value our time more than we did before, and we have learned to ponder the opportunity cost of our labor. As people look for new, more fulfilling jobs in 2022, they will be expecting better suited, more inclusive, flexible positions.

“What people were willing to do just for the dollar amount on a paycheck, will be displaced. We value our time more than we did before”

The noticeable return to work we’ve seen in October and November of 2021 corresponds to a reshuffling of talent and an increased interest in entrepreneurship, both these trends will continue in 2022 and we will continue to see a workforce that cares about growth and mentorship opportunities. During the pandemic we learned that how we spend our day matters and it will have a lasting effect in how we view work in the future.

2. A WAVE OF NEW WAYS TO MAINTAIN A WORKFORCE

As employers seek to attract and retain talent, expect to see more shifts in how they do business and how they accommodate for the new expectations of the workforce. Some trends that pick up may include:

• Remote and hybrid work offerings
• 4-day weeks
• Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives
• Pay transparency (it’s about time, Colorado is ahead of the game here)
• Coaching, mentoring and clear career paths
• Horizontal structures
• Climate and culture programs that boost belonging
• Personal time, parenting and illness paid time off

There Will Be A Reimagining Of Customer Facing Jobs: For The First Time, Companies Will Reassess The Value Of Their Frontline, And Jobs That Interact Directly With Clients Can Expect To Receive Renewed Respect, More Flexibility, Better Benefits, And Much More Corporate Support.

3. PROFESSIONALISM WILL HAVE A NEW DEFINITION
Hustle and grind culture will not die. In fact, they will continue to be popular, but the way in which they show up will dramatically change. Whereas before people held 1,2,3 jobs to make ends meet and they bought into the “side hustle” culture, there will be a new interest in finding one better paying, more inspiring, single occupation.

On top of that, the collective definition of professionalism, will distance itself from the dominant white-male culture and shift into a new age.

Where suits and ties and sharp haircuts were once synonym with professionalism, we will expect responsiveness. Being “professional” will no longer go hand in hand with being “polished” or showing up at the office early. Having your ducks in a row will be less important than being able to jump in to address a crisis. The last nail in the coffin might have been pandemic driven remote work, where we all learned to work in our jammies, and log into meetings at the last minute, and we aren’t about to forget about it.

As Gen Z and Millennials gain ground in the professional world, they will bring about a change in principles. The people that can’t stop themselves from blurting “Good morning gents” (or other micro aggressive or exclusionary comments) will seem less apt than those who say “Good day folks”.

There will be a real need to adapt to social expectations. People who are willing to adjust to new social norms and become more culturally aware will be seen as more professional. More varied personal styles, self-expression through sociolinguistic diversity and more openness about non-traditional lifestyles will increasingly be more acceptable at work. The times where we mistook tattoos with being less capable are dying.

4. WE WILL REQUIRE DIFFERENT SKILLS
Unpredictable change, which will continue to happen, will require organizations that have a culture of  adaptability. Teams that perform will be expected to be better equipped to be self-driven, self-managed and self-motivated. At the corporate level, the rising stars will not be the ones that adhere to the plan but the ones that have the ability to work best independently and from anywhere. Skills like project management and self-efficacy will be most in demand. There will also be a continued demand for human center branding and social media saavy.

We will see a changing business arena with startups and small companies gaining ground on slower giants. As the supply chain issues force companies to reassess risk, businesses will look for increased ability to adapt, suppliers and partners that are closer to home, and a return to doing business with the local community will be tangible in 2022.

Small, Agile, Hybrid Teams Will Be Decisive, The Cubicle Is Dying.

5. LEADERSHIP WILL EVOLVE
There will be a shift in the definition of a good leader. Leaders used to be praised for picking out the best talent and recognizing the individuals that stood out. Pointing out a protégé that looks and sounds exactly like you, will no longer be considered admirable.

Leaders will now be praised for finding talent in non-traditional pools and for striving to be equitable. They will be recognized for creating paths toward social mobility for underrepresented groups and seeking to include everyone. Besides, empowerment will be necessary to engage in a flexible hybrid world and those leaders who cannot delegate will have the hardest time leading successful teams.

In Conclusion, Employees Will Continue To Have The Upper Hand In 2022 And The Companies That Can Capture And Respond To The Culture Shift Will Be Able To Secure Talent Best.
This Stands To Be A Great Opportunity For Companies To Redefine Their Roles And The Way They Do Business. If They Capitalize On The Shift, They Can Find People That Perform Better And Whose Talent Is Much More Aligned To The New Expectations.

The post The Biggest Trends In Organizational Culture In 2022 appeared first on Canopy Advisory Group.

Question:

At the start of the pandemic, many companies offered strategic ‘outs’ for employees (including unpaid leave and insurance-only furloughs) to avoid traditional layoffs. They seemed like win-win scenarios—companies could save money on salaries and employees could technically stay employed. However, more often than not, it was women who took these opportunities. As the pandemic continued, the women who took these temporary holds vanished from the workforce. Companies inadvertently helped push women out. Now what can they do to bring women back?

Answer:

In less than 11 months, we lost 32 years of progress toward intersectional gender equity in the labor markets. It will take a 360-degree approach to recuperate more than three decades of lost headway. And that means the private sector and the public sector must deploy a variety of strategies to bring women back into the paid workforce.

For the purposes of your question, let’s focus on what the private sector should do to bring women back into the workforce. (We’ll leave the public sector for another day.)

Ready? Here’s what companies should do to bring women back:

Ensure equity of opportunity and pay. That’s it. Instead of trying to fix women, companies need to fix the broken system that doesn’t value them equitably. 

Our workplaces were not built to value all genders equitably. Evidence of this abounds.

If we want to rehire and retain women post-pandemic, we need to revamp our (inequitable) pre-pandemic talent management systems. 

What does this look like in practice? → It looks like every stage of the employee lifecycle providing people with equitable access to resources, opportunities, and compensation.

Now how do we operationalize this?

Start with data, because data will reveal where the cracks are. I recommend taking the following steps:

1. Map out each stage of the employee lifecycle: recruiting, hiring, onboarding, performance evaluation, development, promotion, retention (including employee experience & pay), and offboarding.
2. What does DEI success look like at each of these stages? Translate “success” into metrics so you can measure it. Metrics might include: rates of promotion, involvement in leadership training, employee churn, representation on every step of the ladder, etc.
3. Properly disaggregate your data to avoid creating intersectional blind spots. The minimum data disaggregation should be gender PLUS race/ethnicity.
4. Set goals: where do you want the metrics from step 2 to be by [calendar date].
5. Decide tactics: what is your plan to achieve the stated DEI goals? Maybe you’ll offer paid leave to improve retention of parents and caregivers. Or maybe you’ll publish annual pay data so that all your employees can be confident they’re being paid fairly without having to ask/negotiate/fight.
6. Finally, hold leaders accountable for meeting these goals and make the entire process transparent.

Now is our opportunity to hardwire intersectional gender equity into our businesses. It’s one of the best strategies we have to not only bring women back into the workforce, but also improve financial performance, future-proof our workforce, and build back better.

The post 6 Steps Your Company Should Take To Bring Women Back Into The Paid Workforce appeared first on Canopy Advisory Group.

Question:

Should paid maternity leave be mandatory for companies with more than 100 employees?

Answer:

No, because it should be paid caregiver leave and all employees should have access to it—regardless of the size of their employer.

A quick note on nomenclature:

I say caregiver leave instead of maternity leave because the former is more inclusive and applies to a broader range of life events. The gender-neutral caregiver leave includes the 85% of working fathers who “would be willing to do anything” to be very involved with their young child. It includes the 47% of adults who, in addition to caring for their own children, also care for an elderly parent. It includes the nearly one million same-sex couple households whose family needs may look different than heterosexual couple households.

That’s why I prefer the term caregiver leave instead of maternity leave. If you want to read more on why I make this distinction, you can do so here.

Here’s why every employee should have access to paid caregiver leave:

1. Caregiver leave benefits the household.

Children benefit when their parents are involved during their early childhood years. Studies have shown that when mothers (currently society’s default caregivers) have access to paid leave, it positively impacts their children’s long-term educational and earnings potential. Moreover, 71% of US families depend on a mother’s income for their financial well-being.

When mothers without access to paid leave are forced to exit the workforce to care for their children, they face a greater risk of a.) never returning to work, or b.) being penalized with lower wages when they re-enter the workforce. As it stands, working moms earn 71 cents on the dollar compared to their male peers and face a 4% earning drop in hourly wages per child. These are real wages that millions of women and children lose out on every year.

2. Caregiver leave benefits the organization.

We can’t argue with the business case for gender equity. Gender equitable businesses outperform lesser-equitable businesses, full stop. Pipeline’s original research across 4,161 companies in 29 countries found that for every 10% increase in gender equity, businesses see a 1-2% increase in revenue. Since access to paid leave improves women’s professional trajectory, and since women are essential to building gender-equitable teams, businesses reap the rewards of paid leave.

And that’s not all. Paid leave reduces employee turnover (which costs companies on average 21% of an employee’s salary) while simultaneously increasing employee engagement. Paid leave policies also attract top talent, with two-thirds of HR managers agreeing that healthy work-life balance policies are the #1 factor in attracting and retaining employees.

3. Caregiver leave benefits the larger economy.

The US fell from 6th place in 1990 to 17th place in 2010 in terms of female labor force participation among OECD countries. Why? Researchers pinpoint the US’s widespread lack of paid leave as a major driver of the slippage. When life events happen—such as the birth of a child or the illness of a loved one, women in the US have to choose between their job and their family.

Fast forward to today and it’s not difficult to see the second-order effects of this job-vs-family bind, as exposed by the pandemic. For starters, less than half (47%) of parents whose children are learning remotely are working full-time, whereas 71% of parents whose children have returned to in-person instruction are working full-time. And while 69% of men with school-age children are working full-time, only 41% of women with school-age children are saying the same thing.

Here’s another point worth noting: single women’s job growth has increased by 7.6% since June 2020. But married women’s job growth has gone in the opposite direction. It has decreased by .3% since June.

As I referenced at the beginning of this letter, falling female labor force participation weakens the US economy by billions of dollars. It does not serve US businesses well. It certainly doesn’t serve US families well either.

Paid caregiver leave is one tool in our policy toolbox to curb women’s free fall from the labor force. It won’t magically kick-start economic prosperity, but without it, we will not achieve an equitable economic future.

The post Should Paid Maternity Leave Be Mandatory For Companies With More Than 100 Employees? appeared first on Canopy Advisory Group.

Question:

I just completed a new-hire onboarding that included videos on promoting diversity at work. One issue the videos didn’t talk about was how to ID bias without coming across as thin-skinned. I’m a WOC and this is my biggest concern when it comes to office bias. Would love to hear your take.

Answer:

Between micro-aggressions, accusations of quota-filling, and reverse-affirmative action—the institutionalized “way to win in the workplace” manual tells us to wade carefully in matters related to bias and diversity. Or better yet, stay quiet altogether.

But staying quiet in the face of inequity doesn’t sit well with me and it doesn’t sit well with you either. It shouldn’t sit well with anyone. So how can we speak up and call out bias without jeopardizing our professional reputation?

Well, good news. We have a roadmap—data, and it will lead us out of these murky waters. It will help us identify instances of bias with confidence. Or as you said, without fear of coming across as “thin-skinned.”

Here’s a live walk-through of how data can help identify bias.

1. In your annual performance review, your manager says that teammates have been complaining about your communication style, calling it rude and snappy.
2. You’re caught off guard because this is the first time you received a negative evaluation of your communication style.
3. You ask your manager for specific examples of times when you’ve been rude and snappy.
4. Your manager provides nebulous references to what other team members have allegedly said. You’re told to review past communications with colleagues and going forward, you’re advised to re-read your messages before clicking send.
5. You don’t think this is a fair evaluation of your communication habits but don’t know what to tell your manager. You don’t want to sound like you’re complaining.

Is the above scenario an example of gender bias? If so, how can you prove it?

Let’s dig into the research. Here’s what we find:

• Women receive more criticism in performance reviews than men: a linguistic analysis of 248 performance reviews across 28 organizations found that 87.9% of women were given negative feedback compared to only 58.9% of men.
• Women also receive more diluted feedback than men: their performance evaluations are less likely to include specific, objective-driven feedback than men’s.
• When women do receive constructive feedback, it’s often focused on their communication style—and how it doesn’t strike the right chord.
• What does it mean to not strike the right chord? In the linguistic analysis referenced above, the word “abrasive” appeared 17 times in 13 separate performance reviews of women. The same word appeared zero times in male performance reviews.
• Moreover, negative comments based on personality traits appeared in 76% of women’s critical performance reviews.

Now, imagine you return to your manager, present them with this data, and make another request for specific feedback on why they flagged your communication style as rude and snappy. It’s difficult to come across as “too sensitive” when you’ve done your research and have the facts to support your claim.

Data helps us make decisions based on facts, not emotion.

Data-as-a-roadmap is not a new or novel idea. Nor is it the takeaway I want to leave you with today.

The lesson I want you to take away from this is not that you need to spend x-amount of time per week digging into the research so you can confidently spot bias. Yes, it’s important to educate yourself. To know your worth. To understand how bias impacts you and those around you.

But if we truly want to create diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces, we have to stop asking the subjects of inequity to fix a system they didn’t break.

Imagine if instead of retroactively going back to your manager with data on gender and racial bias in performance evaluations, your workplace proactively identified biased decisions to stop inequity before it spreads and multiplies. What if your organization—and all organizations across the world—could do this at scale.

Guess what? It’s already happening. The Fourth Industrial Revolution ushered in a new suite of possibilities to hardwire equity into our organizations. We have the tech tools to achieve equity in this lifetime, and these tools are becoming sharper every day.

And until company leadership picks up these tools and starts running, it’s still on the subjects of inequity to fix a system they didn’t break.

The post How Do You Identify Bias Without Coming Off As Overly Sensitive? appeared first on Canopy Advisory Group.

When I first grappled with this fuzzy concept, I started with this: There were things I knew and things I didn’t know. My executive coach at the time challenged me to expand on this, research it, and if I didn’t find something that scratched my itch, create it myself. Whether I didn’t do enough research or my concept was, perhaps, novel, I didn’t find what I was looking for. Instead, I went to the nearest whiteboard and started brainstorming (I love a good whiteboard!).

Much ink later, I put together what I refer to as the Leadership Growth Window. It looks at the relationship between one’s knowledge and one’s awareness.

Unlike constructs like the Johari Window, this one deals only with the self, not the self in relation to others. Can it help me understand growth as a motivator? Can it help me focus on how to direct my growth? Yes and yes. Immersing myself in the Leadership Growth Window, I discovered the relative importance of self-awareness versus knowledge. Specifically, for me – and I contend for many leaders, especially as they grow in charter and seniority – directing growth towards greater awareness is vastly more important than growing in knowledge and know-how.

Okay, so let’s pull up for a minute to understand this 2-by-2. You have a grid with 4 squares against 2 axes. One axis differentiates between knowledge, know-how, and expertise that a person has versus that which they do not have. The other axis separates self-awareness from being unaware.

When a person has awareness of something they know how to do, they operate in flow. A licensed pilot knows how to fly a plane, she’s aware of it, and she flies. On the other hand, a person who is unaware of something they do can be dangerous. He operates in the dark and may not appreciate the direct or indirect impact of the things he does. Consider unconscious bias – we all have it. It’s there, in part, to create efficiency, but the direct and indirect consequences of unconscious bias can be severe. The aim of unconscious bias training is to build new awareness to be able to operate with intention, understanding the impact of the words and actions we choose.

Shifting to the bottom half of the grid, when a person has awareness of something they don’t know how to do, they can proactively engage resources. I’m aware that I don’t know how to fly a plane, so I buy a ticket on a flight when I want to travel a far distance. This is a simple example, but by extension, self-awareness of a person’s gaps in know-how frees that person of the burden or stress of doing something they don’t know how to do while simultaneously offering opportunities to proactively engage people or resources who do. Without this awareness, resources can only be engaged reactively, responding to events or needs as they come.

The value of understanding my impact on those around me and of being able to proactively fill my own gaps is inordinate. The path to this value? Direct growth towards building awareness. The means? Get curious.

So I’m curious, if you had full awareness, what would be possible? Or more pointedly, what wouldn’t?

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