I stopped being the focal point off all decisions

I took the class along with three of our managers, which was absolutely the right thing to do. You never know what people know (and don’t know) and if they’ve been with you a long time, it can be difficult to tell them how to do their work. In Vicki’s BYDT class, my managers had the opportunity to learn things on their own — realize things for themselves. Now, when I bring something up — like the need to get agreements — I’m not lecturing them — we’re talking about it together.

My team and I now have the skills to give/receive feedback in a more comfortable, conversational way

As a project manager, I am always frustrated by unproductive meetings. While they may feel productive in the moment, the follow-up often falls short of expectations or does not happen at all. The Meeting Action List from Vicki’s BYDT course is really going to help with this. Vicki’s recommendations on giving/receiving feedback were excellent as well! Instead of putting people (or being put on) the defensive, my team and I now have the skills to give/receive feedback in a more comfortable, conversational way. If you are open to learning, then you will get a lot out of this class!

This class is a road map on how to create a team

What is it worth to transform your company into a team working towards shared results leading to shared goals? For me, a lot! This class is a road map on how to create a team, along with notes on how to coach the team. Each module of the course is worth the price of admission on it’s own…if you are willing to take the message to heart and follow through!

We learned how to be better bosses

My partner and I signed up for Vicki’s class because we had just started a partnership. Our aim was not only to make money, but to create a place where people are happy to work, and we wanted to set things off on the right foot. Vicki showed us how we could do that by being better bosses. We don’t have to be either the (overly) nice guys – or the enforcers. We’re still learning, but now we know what we need to do. I’d tell any business that has a high turnover – which is basically everyone in the construction industry – that they would benefit from Vicki’s very helpful course.

BYTD course has given me the tools to hire better

Vicki’s class helped me appreciate how important it is to clarify the responsibilities of a position before we hire someone to fill it. Then, as we go through the hiring process, we can clearly set expectations and the employee’s agreement to meet those expectations from day one. I can see that having everything written out where we can look at it and discuss it will help us hire better, and run the business better. I think anyone who has direct reports would benefit from this course!

I definitely got the inspiration and ideas I was looking for from the BYDT course

A lot of the contracting industry still looks at employees like they’re assets, not people. The prevailing attitude is: if you don’t do you your job, you can be replaced. It’s harsh! I took Vicki’s course because I wanted to develop a more progressive philosophy about management. I believe that if you invest time and energy in managing your employees, they flourish, and your business flourishes, too. I definitely got the inspiration and ideas I was looking for in taking Vicki’s class. It was a very positive experience. I recommend it!

Vicki’s tools gave us a great — and straightforward — way to outline agreements and establish accountability

Vicki’s class made me realize that people don’t respond well when you manage by expectations. Things go much better when you operate based on agreements. Before taking BYDT, we didn’t have any way of outlining agreements or establishing accountability. Vicki’s tools gave us a great — and straightforward — way to do that. Anyone who wants to manage their team better or build a better team should take this class.

BYDT is a great course for owners, managers and employees alike

Vicki’s BYDT course created awareness and provided the tools necessary to manage people by results. I would recommend it to all members of any team! Even though I saw its relevance as a business owner having this insight would also make me a better employee! I recommend this course without hesitation.

Now, I put in half the time and get twice as much done!

Looking back, before I worked with Suiter Business Builders, my business was running me. In spite of putting in 80-100 hours a week. I was exhausted and unhappy. Vicki showed me how to create systems that make my business work, and have people take ownership of their job. Now that I have clear job descriptions and have learned to manage by results, I’m profiting in ways I never would have dreamed possible. I’m literally putting in half the time I used to — and getting twice as much done.

I finally understood what was causing our stagnation in our growth

Vicki Suiter is the finest listener I’ve ever met. In listening to the way we were communicating, she was able to help me see why our staff was having so much trouble resolving issues. The problem came down to the fact that everyone on the staff was operating from a different set of assumptions. When we started following the Suiter Business Builder approach — writing out job descriptions, establishing processes, getting clear agreements and managing by results the relief I and everyone on the staff felt was immediate. The result was that we were able to increase our profits 2 to 3 times over what they were before we started working with Vicki.

It turns out, people like knowing what they’re supposed to do!

“It sounds ridiculous now, but I thought creating formal job descriptions was a waste of time. I just assumed I was hiring professionals, and professionals should know what to do. Did I really have to spell it out for them? In a word, yes!

Vicki clearly showed us that not having clearly outlined job descriptions and defined responsibilities was causing the havoc we were complaining about. People weren’t doing their jobs because they weren’t clear what their jobs were.

Using Vicki’s approach to bringing accountability into the culture, we now have job descriptions and metrics in place that have helped us manage more effectively and gives our employee a clear path to be successful in their position as well.”

We streamlined the chain of command and improved communications

“The benefits of job descriptions have been many for us at H&F- esp. for the foreman, painter and field supervisor positions. Before implementing Vicki’s approach of building a culture of accountability, and implementing job descriptions, we had a lot of blurry lines between were the foreman’s responsibilities for the project, the field super and even mine as an owner!
They really helped us “clean up” and streamline the chain of command as well improve communication up and down the chain. Having defined accountabilities has given us a lot of clarity around what we can expect out of the guys and how to review their job performance, which in turn helps us judge compensation, which in the end results in great employee retention.
I highly recommend Vicki’s approach to building cultures of accountability, and the creation and implementation of job descriptions for all small business owners. It may seem like a boring and tedious exercise while you are doing, but the payoff is well worth it! Thanks to Vicki for putting us through it, it’s helped so much!”