Chuck Violand and his team of advisors are available to present on subjects addressing a broad range of business and leadership topics.  Whether you’re looking for a one hour keynote or a more in-depth presentation, the topics listed below can be adjusted to fit your needs.

Taking a Longer View – Building Lasting Companies of Vision and Values  

In today’s fast-paced business climate it’s easy to over focus on short term goals and to celebrate instant results. This seems to be especially true when it comes to planning for the longevity of our businesses. This presentation examines a different point of view and asks the question: Rather than planning to flip our companies as quickly as we can, what would we do differently if we adopted the perspective of building a business that transcends our own work career, and continues on even after we’re no longer at the helm? 

Sailboats, Yachts and Tall-Masted Ships – a Nautical Tale of Growth in Business

Businesses rarely grow in a smooth, methodical fashion. More often than not, they experience jumps as they grow that can be painful to the owner and threatening to the business. That’s where the relationship between sailing a boat and growing a business comes into play. This presentation takes you on a journey of business growth as owners move from one size boat to another. At some point the very survival of our companies may dictate making the leap to a larger boat. With each leap one’s decisions become weightier, and if we don’t have the proper strategies in place beforehand, we’re at serious risk of capsizing. 

8 Sins of Management: How They Derail Your Company and How to Avoid Them

Many business owners are very successful in guiding their companies through the initial stages of growth. But, when they reach the second stage (where they have to depend on people doing the work for them), or the third stage (where they have to depend on managers to manage the people actually doing the work), their management skills fall short. This presentation walks you through eight “sins of management” that get in the way of business growth, and shows you what you can do to avoid them.

Climbing the Staircase to Business Success: The Five Steps of Managing a Small Business 

One of the greatest challenges facing small business owners is knowing how to manage their businesses. This presentation describes different levels of management and makes clear the importance of taking one step at a time. Learn how to move up—and stop falling down—the staircase to business success.

Restoration Estimating Overview – Tips and Tricks for a Successful Scope and Estimate

Your goal in writing winning restoration estimates goes beyond just finding a number—you need to pump sales, increase closure rates, and improve gross profits with every estimate you complete. Learn to surpass your operational and sales goals by starting with a systematic scope and relying on good habits of damage documentation and assessment. You will also see how to best utilize powerful tools like Xactimate and your laptop to prepare presentations that will close more jobs and get less objections from adjusters.

The Entrepreneurial Conspiracy: Six Management Behaviors that Plot Against Your Company

Are you achieving the things you want from your business? If not, you may find the reason is that you’ve been conspiring against yourself! Learn how to stop sabotaging your efforts to grow your company, and begin charting a course for personal and professional prosperity.

The Most Important Thing You Need to Know About Hiring Great People

The key to building a successful business isn’t just finding good customers. It’s finding, and keeping, good employees. Whether the unemployment rate is high and you are bombarded with applications, or the rate is low and you have far fewer choices, this workshop will provide you with an effective program for building a team of the best people available.

Lifting the Numbers Curse: Making Your Financial Reports as Easy to Understand as 1-2-3 

Cleaners and Restorers have developed an entire vocabulary around hiding out from their financial reports. And it’s no wonder, given that “accountantese” language can be somewhat intimidating and rather confusing. After attending this workshop, however, you’ll have no more reasons to hide. Hear in everyday language what all those numbers mean, and learn which ones you need to pay attention to.

Power Selling for the Professional Cleaner                

When it’s time to get serious about making money in your business, then it’s time to add commercial carpet cleaning to your service mix. Many cleaners realize how profitable commercial work can be, but they let their fears of not knowing what to say, or not knowing where to find qualified prospects keep them from pursuing it. This workshop eases the pain of selling by showing you where to find, and how to close, profitable commercial business.

Leading a High Performance Organization                

The trouble with growth is that it frequently arrives before we’re ready for it. Consequently, as our companies grow, too often they morph into organizational structures that are confusing, overstaffed, and inefficient. In contrast, high performance companies have lean organizations where every employee knows his accountabilities and has performance expectations that can be measured.  This course shows you how to be the architect of your own top-performing organization.