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Thursday, November 15, 2007

Six Disciplines Business Excellence Program Builds Nationwide Momentum

Six Disciplines Business Excellence Program Builds Nationwide Momentum

Business coaching network enters new markets, adds clients, experiences rapid growth during 2007

FINDLAY, Ohio, Nov. 15, 2007 — Six Disciplines expanded its reach by entering the Southeast market with a new center in Atlanta and added new clients to its roster in the manufacturing, plastics, construction and engineering industry. Six Disciplines is an award-winning national business excellence network which provides organizations with a complete program that encompasses four elements for enduring business excellence: a repeatable methodology; ongoing external coaching; proactive organizational alignment software to ensure individual and team accountability; and the competitive advantages of a shared learning community.

“Six Disciplines has built momentum during the past two quarters, through franchise network expansion, client growth and senior coaching leadership additions,” said Gary Harpst, founder and CEO of Six Disciplines. “For entrepreneurs and businesses around the country, it’s an alarming reality that only four percent of businesses survive beyond ten years. Our program provides an unprecedented combination of expertise, resources and commitment to help top-performing organizations pursue business excellence and ensure they sustain growth to be one of the four percent that endures.”

President Riz Shakir led the expansion of Six Disciplines Atlanta in October 2007. Shakir, an Atlanta-based serial entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience growing and running businesses, is a certified executive coach and consultant with the Vail Leadership Institute and has completed executive development programs at The Harvard Business School, The University of Chicago School of Business, The Wharton School of Business and The Kellogg Business School of Northwestern University.

To manage the Atlanta office, Shakir is joined by Senior Vice President Larry Smart, a certified business excellence coach who has led high-growth technology companies in turn-around strategies throughout North America and overseas.

To commemorate the launch, Six Disciplines and the Vail Leadership Institute co-sponsored a leadership event in Atlanta on Nov. 5, with Stephen M. R. Covey, author of The Speed of Trust – The One Thing that Changes Everything, who addressed the importance of trust and how it impacts organizational performance. Additionally, on Dec. 6, Six Disciplines CEO Gary Harpst will be presenting “Execution Revolution: Introducing The First Enduring Business Excellence Program." in conjunction with the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.

The Six Disciplines business excellence program is designed to help businesses increase their capability to handle ever-changing challenges, specifically related to strategy and execution. New clients adopting the Six Disciplines program include Tiffin-based J.B. & Co. Inc. Roofing, one of the largest roofing contractors in Northwest Ohio; Montpelier, Ohio-based Winzeler Stamping Co., a fourth-generation, family-owned manufacturer and supplier of high volume, deep drawn metal stampings and related complete engineering/tool room services; Russells Point-based World Class Plastics Inc., an ISO-9000 certified manufacturer of thermoplastic injection molded parts, dies, flanges, protective pads and blow molding; and Bowling Green-based Kellermeyer Co., which distributes cleaning supplies, cleaning equipment and packaging products in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan.

To broaden the community among current customers and better connect with businesses seeking assistance in strategy execution, Six Disciplines also launched a redesigned Web site at http://www.sixdisciplines.com/, extended their client rosters and announced new staff additions.

  • Six Disciplines North Carolina (Raleigh; Research Triangle Park): Managing partner, Craig Landwehr, recently completed a series of annual strategic planning workshops with Cary-based Signalscape, Inc., provider of advanced signal processing solutions and the parent company of law enforcement video analysis leader StarWitness(SM). The center is also working with several global and regional, non-profit organizations to help them better set and achieve goals while reducing risks.
  • Six Disciplines Central Indiana (Indianapolis): Indianapolis-based Deborah Wood and Associates, a full-service healthcare communications company, has completed a full year utilizing the Six Disciplines program. The company is producing a “Business Life” Video Series in conjunction with Six Disciplines Central Indiana to showcase the company’s progress. The center is also hosting a Jan. 17 event focusing on women business leaders and their keys to success.
  • Six Disciplines Central West Florida (Tampa): President Sean Burke was a featured speaker at a recent Tampa Bay Business Journal Power Breakfast, and the center recently launched a podcast series focused on business challenges facing CEOs in conjunction with the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce.
  • Six Disciplines Ohio (Northwest Ohio): President Eric Kurjan will present to entrepreneurs and business owners on how to build company-wide accountability at the University of Toledo on Nov. 30. Kramer Enterprises, a uniform and dry-cleaning business based in Findlay, Ohio has successfully completed a full year with Six Disciplines Ohio focused on developing a corporate succession plan. Kramer Enterprises, along with Six Disciplines, was recently featured in the Wall Street Journal regarding the best way to prepare for corporate change.

In addition to local momentum, based on recent media exposure, the top-rated book Six Disciplines for Excellence, authored by Six Disciplines CEO Gary Harpst, experienced top rankings in the Organizational Learning book category at Amazon.com.

Based on years of field testing, client feedback, 100 man-years of research and development and a $20 million investment, the Six Disciplines business excellence program provides organizations with a holistic, enduring approach toward strategy, planning, organizing people and processes, and execution management. Compared to other business improvement and quality programs like Baldrige, TQM, Six Sigma and Lean, which are prevalent in much larger businesses, Six Disciplines is the first program for enduring business excellence, designed specifically for small- and mid-sized businesses. Features normally associated with these much more expensive approaches – including proven best practices such as balanced scorecard, project management, key performance management metrics, integrated activity alignment, and business excellence rating systems – are all elements of the Six Disciplines program.

About Six Disciplines - Six Disciplines Corporation, founded in 2000, developed the first enduring business excellence program, specifically for small- and mid-sized businesses. A business excellence program is an organized way to grow a company’s ability to address an ever-changing and ever increasing series of business challenges, with a focused effort on execution. The Six Disciplines program integrates a repeatable methodology to drive organizational learning, ongoing external coaching to ensure accountability, a proactive alignment system to align daily activities of every stakeholder, and a shared learning community of like-minded people to accelerate and sustain business excellence. The program is offered exclusively through a locally-owned national network of Six Disciplines franchises. The organization was awarded the 2006 Entrepreneur Magazine Top Gun Franchise distinction and among its clients are several from the Inc. 500, ISO-9000 certified companies, and a Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award finalist. For more on Six Disciplines, visit http://www.sixdisciplines.com/.

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