THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 5, 1996 TAG: 9608030510
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 168 lines
Some people can't wait to leave work at the office. Dan Kirsch can't wait to bring his work to you.
``Have you heard of the rule of 67?'' asked Kirsch, the president of Hudson Associates Consulting Inc. ``For every one customer you tick off, you ultimately lose 67 more.'' That one unsatisfied customer will eventually tell others to avoid doing business with you, sparking a word-of-mouth chain reaction until 67 total customers are ``lost.''
Dan Kirsch, the rule-spouting half of Hudson Associates Consulting Inc., delivers all these mantras topped with a smile.
For three years, he and his wife Pamela, have built up their small Virginia Beach-based consulting business by training managers, helping companies set benchmarks to measure or evaluate their performance and set goals. Setting organizational goals is known as strategic planning.
Commonly used in the private sector by mammoth corporations and medium-sized firms, these consulting companies litter the business landscape. They train company executives to organize their operations and measure progress. They show the bosses how to stay focused and plan for the future.
But those practices aren't limited to the private sector anymore.
Pinched by dwindling budgets or contribution bases, public agencies and nonprofit organizations have turned to consulting firms like Hudson Associates to help them set goals and make better use of their shrinking resources.
Outside corporate headquarters, many public servants and nonprofit volunteers are eying business practices that can help them put their own houses in order.
``When money is running tighter, you have to run smarter,'' Dan Kirsch said. ``If you know what's coming in the future, you can plan. You want to be proactive in business, not reactive. The government is really trying to emulate the best of business.''
Planning will become more crucial in the future as the Baby Boomers - 40 percent of the nation's tax base - retire. Then the need for government services that address working taxpayers, and their corresponding budgets, will diminish significantly, Dan said.
Hudson Associates has already watched that trend sprout.
Local and regional agencies have struggled with decreasing funding. In an effort to help them trim their inefficient practices, Hudson Associates has worked with the Virginia Department of Corrections, the Department of Social Services and other agencies. They've assisted different offices to become organized and trained in the specifics of ``how-to.''
They did such a good job with those projects that others in state government approached them about training their personnel. Referrals from previous clients ballooned into a successive string of work.
Hudson Associates now holds three five-year contracts with the state to provide training and workshops in strategic planning.
The timing couldn't be better, said Katie Campbell, director of the Virginia Office of Volunteerism.
``I think both the public and nonprofit sectors are very aware that they need to be as efficient and strategic as the business sector has been for years,'' said Campbell, whose office is overseen by the Virginia Department of Social Services. ``But many of us are not as knowledgeable.''
Campbell's office received a mounting number of calls from nonprofit board members who need someone to help them facilitate the planning process, explain the steps involved and set up an action plan. Hudson Associates ran five regional workshops on strategic planning for her office around the state. About 200 to 250 people attended, representing 150 agencies.
``Planning sometimes has a bad connotation in people's minds,'' Campbell said. ``They sit around the board meetings and `plan.' ''
Often, those plans never see an implementation date. So naturally project managers are leery, she said.
``The nonprofit sector has been reactive - `what's the crisis at hand, where's our funding coming from next year.' To be strategic, you need to envision where you want to be in the future,'' Campbell said. ``For organizations that have been around for a long time, sometimes they need to change to survive, certainly to accomplish their mission.''
The Kirsch husband-and-wife team didn't always have a strategic plan to arrive where they are today.
``We didn't start thinking we were going to be a training agency, but it started in that direction,'' Dan Kirsch said.
An electronics officer - a former Navy master chief - he worked for Pacific Ordinance and Vitro Corp., two East Coast-based federal contractors that concentrate on engineering projects and systems integration. He ventured out on his own in 1993.
It wasn't glamorous: consulting on individual projects with local engineering companies and helping assemble business plans.
Pam Hirsch, an English major with experience in office management and technical writing and editing, helped him in the evening and on weekends until she decided to join him in the company permanently in 1995.
``We learned a lot of this by being armchair managers,'' Pam said.
The two started moving toward state training contracts by developing on experience with local government clients and then regional governments. They cobbled together job after job: research for departments at Old Dominion University, cultural diversity training at Tidewater Regional Transit.
Consulting projects grew in size and frequency. Hudson Associates generally boasts around 15 active clients at a time. Four to 10 people might join their offices at a time for the duration of a project. But they try to stay relatively small and build relationships with their existing client base, which has provided them consistent business in the form of projects or referrals.
The Kirsches are still the only ``permanent'' employees. They call in help if they need it.
``We do not try to be all things to all people,'' Dan said. ``We're really niche-oriented.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Cover, Color photo]
GOVERNMENT ADVISORS
MORT FRYMAN
The Virginian-Pilot
[Color Photo]
MORT FRYMAN
The Virginian-Pilot
Who are they?
Dan and Pamela Kirsch are the husband-and-wife head of Hudson
Associates Consulting Inc. They've run their Virginia Beach-based
firm for three years.
What do they do?
They train managers and help businesses develop goals. They're
one of the consulting companies that bring their colorful charts and
mantras to large businesses, helping them compete. People trying to
do what the Kirsches do are as common in at large companies as the
water cooler. ``When money is running tighter, you have to run
smarter,'' Dan Kirsch said. ``If you know what's coming in the
future, you can plan. You want to be proactive in business, not
reactive."
Who do they do it for?
The Kirsches take their consulting not simply to private
corporations, but also to the public sector and nonprofit
organizations. These have been the last to look for long-term
strategies, the Kirsches say, but they need to. Hudson has done
consulting throughout Virginia's government, including:
Department of General Services
Department of Information Technology
Department of Personnel & Training
Department of Labor and Industry
Virginia Employment Commission
Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation
Department of Forestry
State Council of Higher Education
Old Dominion University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Department of Planning and Budget
Department of Taxation
Department of the Treasury
State Department of Health
Department of Medical Assistance Services
Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance
Abuse Services
Department of Rehabilitative Services
Department of Social Services
Governor's Employment and Training Department
Department of Historic Resources
Department of Environmental Quality
Marine Resources Commission
Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Department
Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
Department of Correctional Education
Department of Corrections
Department of Criminal Justice Services
Department of Emergency Services
Department of Transportation
Department of Motor Vehicles
Supreme Court
Senate
State Corporation Commission
Competition Council
Academy for Staff Development by CNB