Hailing from the fast-moving world of tech, Angela Nadeau is always excited to have her mindset and business strategy challenged. Her company, CompuData, is a successful, Philadelphia-based IT services provider that specializes in enterprise resource planning (ERP) and cloud solutions, particularly for companies with large data components. Today CompuData has more than 40 employees and is approaching $10 million in revenue for the year. But during her time at the Birthing of Giants Fellowship Program, Angela says her fellow entrepreneurs suggested both expansion AND downsizing – and these perspectives gave her plenty to think about.
“Everybody has new, original thoughts – things that I hadn’t thought of before,” Angela explains. “And they’re not just pulling them from the top of their heads. They have experiences with these things and can tell you about them confidently.”
Testing Business Strategy Against the Minds of Your Peers
Angela’s conversations with fellow business leaders proved especially constructive when she joined us for the Gathering of Giants (a post-graduate program exclusively for Birthing of Giants Fellows) at West Point in January 2018. The previous September, she had set herself the one year plan of rethinking the different verticals that her company targets. Since then, opportunities for acquisition have caused her priorities to shift. She was pleased to be able to talk frankly about this with her peers, since such discussions are not always possible with employees.
“Some of these things, like mergers and acquisitions, aren’t things that you talk about with a lot of people,” she says. “So it’s really good to be open and honest here, and everybody gives you good feedback.”
Thinking Big For A Better Future
She calls it “Bigthink” – the act of visualizing your business in a big picture way with an eye not just for today but also for years into the future. She admits that this kind of thinking can be thin on the ground within her company, since most of her employees are charged with more tactical, day-to-day functions. According to Angela it can be difficult to get out of a tactical mindset – even for her – and focus on a business strategy that has clear goals and leads the company into the future.
“When I talk here with [fellow entrepreneurs] , they can look at [my challenges] objectively. They have ways to see all these opportunities that maybe I hadn’t thought of.”
Ultimately, Angela says that the Birthing of Giants Fellowship Week and her conversations with the other Fellows have allowed her to look at her business with a fresh set of eyes. Her perspectives have been challenged and that, she thinks, is a great thing. Bigthink business strategy at its finest!
Birthing of Giants is a gathering of business owners of fast growth companies focused on advanced education via strategy-planning programs lead by a team of leading entrepreneurs in American business. Our programs, including the One-Day MBA and the Birthing of Giants Fellowship Program, allow business owners and entrepreneurs to gain from the wisdom of thousands of top business leaders. We help you implement proven strategies for sustaining and enhancing business growth.
