Our Clients’ Stories

Light-Core has worked with progressive leaders and their businesses in almost every economic sector — organizations with annual gross revenues ranging from $250,000 to $500 million. All had one thing in common — to move forward, they needed to change.

Creating Collaborative Leadership and Employee Engagement

12 years ZERO Growth + 2 years working with Light-Core = 75% sales growth, doubled profit!

Challenge: For 12 years, a world leader in the design and manufacture of transformer cores and components had plateaued with zero growth in revenues and profits. Like many manufacturers, this company was run with the prevailing belief that better tools, processes, technology and business mechanics would drive results — “old economy” thinking in today’s VUCA world.

Solution: Light-Core’s principals helped the management team see that leadership behaviour and fully-engaged employees are as important to sustained and profitable growth. Over a relatively short time, the company adopted a new approach to its customer, supplier and employee relationships emphasizing an entrepreneurial and “trusted advisor” role. Light-Core worked with leaders to revamp strategy, leadership practices, culture, performance management, accountability and employee communication. It also helped resolve a long-standing misalignment at the most senior level using a win-win approach — saving the company millions of dollars.

Results: In just two years, this company enjoyed a 75% increase in sustainable revenue and a doubling of profit without any increased spending on head count, new equipment, new technology or space. Today, the company is self-funding its own expansion and profitable growth continues at an exponential rate. Most recently, it received an “Exporter of the Year” award.

Maximizing Value and Executing a Profitable Exit Strategy

Challenge: With unrealized potential for greater future success in a mid-sized equipment leasing, structured financing and supply chain financing company, its key partners could not agree on the steps needed to take their business to the next level — including how to maximize its value for imminent sale.

Solution: Light-Core’s principals worked closely with the key partners to develop a new behavioural approach to corporate strategy, performance management, accountability, stakeholder engagement and workplace culture. The executive team, with Light-Core’s advisory support, created a new Board with appropriate protocols in place to move forward with a buyer. Light-Core then worked with the organization as a whole to balance the demands of the buyer’s due diligence review process with the chaos of day-to-day business. All of the partners then participated in the eventual sale and termed exit.

Results: In just one year, Light-Core helped the leadership team increase the business from an “on paper” $5 million book value to a vibrant and entrepreneurial operation that sold for $15 million.

Harmonizing Disparate Corporate Cultures

Challenge: A venture capitalist firm had consolidated a cross-country assembly of technology-based businesses — companies that each had their own unique corporate culture and leadership style. The principal investor needed this disparate group to start behaving as a single organization — one that would be attractive to new investors.

Solution: Light-Core was one of two key consultancies retained for a 14-month project to help create a cohesive, cross-functional corporate culture of engagement, accountability and performance focus. Through workshops and coaching, participants were taught a new framework for managing within the chaos and aligning the disparate organizations.

Results: In just under two years, the value of the united company rose by $200 million and was eventually sold for $425 million.

Achieving Ongoing Profitability, Sustained Growth and Innovation

Challenge: Leadership in a privately-held regional transportation company was struggling with a critical post-9/11 financial situation while realizing its potential salvation lay in expanding into the national market. The challenge was how to grow and innovate while also sustaining ongoing profitability.

Solution: Light-Core began by helping the leadership team turn around and stabilize its financial situation. Then, the focus turned to adopting an approach to strategy, accountability and employee engagement that was deeply aligned with their family-based values. The organization and leaders knew how to thrive in chaos, but needed a more professional approach to systems and business analysis. Light-Core taught leaders how to more effectively interpret financial information and use those insights to develop a three-dimensional model for profit, growth and innovation simultaneously.

Results: Over an eight-year period of periodic consulting, the company’s leadership entirely changed its approach to the market and clients. The company initially doubled its revenues from $2 million to $5 million per year and, with new national market growth, is achieving approximately $12 million in revenue per year. The company is also successfully grooming a new generation of leaders, leveraging its learnings from Light-Core.

Aligning a Family-Run Enterprise for Future Success

Challenge: A family-owned distribution business had enjoyed modest success of $3 million in annual revenue after many years, but had reached a point of stagnant growth. The company needed to graduate to a new level of professionalism and market expansion.

Solution: Light-Core took a phased approach to resolving the various issues. In phase one, the owner amicably transitioned his father out of the business and adopted a behavioural-based approach to corporate strategy, accountability and engagement, including professional management. In the second phase, the owner brought in another family member as a partner, and then successfully transitioned to being a passive investor in the business. In phase three, the company began aggressive innovation and market expansion.

Results: Over a seven-year period of consultations, the business grew from $3 million to $6 million in phase one. By the second phase, the company grew to $7 million in annual revenues, had expanded its product line globally for the first time in 30 years, and began successfully marketing a lifestyle brand in the United States. Since the consulting engagement ended, the company continues to use Light-Core’s teachings, has expanded online sales, and is approaching revenues of almost $15 million annually with a healthy profit and highly functional culture.

Realigning Leadership’s Vision for the Future

Challenge: A small interior design and staging business with annual revenues of $300,000 had lost its momentum. The partners were simply misaligned in their vision for the future.

Solution: Light-Core helped the partners see the misalignment and the partnership was successfully dissolved with an amicable buy-out. The company adopted a new behavioural approach to strategy, accountability and engagement that is deeply aligned with the owner’s purpose and values.

Results: After a four-month consultation period, the company’s revenues grew from $300,000 annually to $600,000. The business continues to thrive, and the owner is now working on succession and expansion plans.