What Clients Say about Sloane Communications
Clients Served Include
Abbott (Abbott Park, IL)
Accenture (Chicago, IL)
American Express (New York, NY)
American Society of Anesthesiology (Chicago, IL)
Bank of America (Charlotte, NC)
CHOICES Worldwide (Wheaton, IL)
CNA Insurance (Chicago, IL)
Comcast (Philadelphia, PA)
Deloitte (New York, NY)
Exelon (Chicago, IL)
Garrett Theological Seminary (Evanston, IL)
Grant Thornton (Chicago, IL)
Hollister (Libertyville, IL)
Kittleman & Associates, LLC (Chicago, IL)
Legal Marketing Association (Chicago, IL)
LBL Strategies (Chicago, IL)
Navistar/International Truck and Engine
(Chicago, IL)
Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (Chesterton, IN)
PepsiCo (Purchase, NY)
Plante & Moran (Ann Arbor, MI)
Purdue University Northwest
(Hammond and Westville, IN)
University of Indianapolis (Indianapolis, IN)
Wintrust (Schaumburg, IL)
W/M Display Group (Chicago, IL)
"Purdue University Northwest recently underwent a merger with two campuses located 35 miles apart. The campus community found itself immersed in significant change, which left students, faculty, and staff very uneasy, during the unification process. We brought Sloane Communications to campus to work with our administrators and staff to review the ever-evolving environment. Sloane Communications offered expert, unbiased input into situations that administration may have overlooked or not been aware. Jackie and her team provided insight and beginning steps for an intervention to ready everyone for the inevitable changes that the campus community would undergo.
Jackie and her colleagues worked to collect data and share it with the senior level administration to measure the pulse of the University. The good, the bad, and the ugly were uncovered, which allowed Administration to work through the concerns. Sloane Communications conducted meetings, conversations and workshops to unveil pent up feelings and concerns and focus alignment and engagement around enrichment of individual roles and how they contribute to the campus community as a whole. The process was used as a way to share widely held points of view with the entire administration and staff. These truths led to dynamic discussions, which provided a sense of trust in the Administration among the campus community. These conversations led to new ways of looking at issues, actions and practices which made the intervention a success. We have enjoyed Jackie Sloane’s expert consulting skills, and would highly recommend Sloane Communications to other company leaders. We will keep our ties open with Sloane Communications for future endeavors at Purdue University Northwest."
— Thomas L. Keon, Chancellor, Purdue University Northwestt
"A key mission of my role at PepsiCo was to develop a global internal engagement and communications strategy tied to my firm's most visible and important business strategy. You worked with me to crystallize my vision, and develop, articulate and document a powerful strategy I could communicate simply and was enthusiastic about implementing. We also worked together to develop strategies to gain the buy-in of peers and senior leadership, to prepare for my presentation of the strategy to top leadership, and to develop, with my team, engaging program elements that were essential to the successful launch of the initiative. Your expertise, insights, and collaboration were invaluable to me, as I directed an important initiative while still new in my role. Working with you was rewarding and enjoyable and I was very satisfied."
— Mary Viola, former Vice President, Communications, PepsiCo
"Our work with you helped our team to gain greater clarity around the challenges our customers are facing and how what we offer to our clients can help them be successful. The work we did with you helped develop alignment and clarity of our team's purpose and vision, which helped us communicate in a simple, yet relevant way. You have the unique ability to listen to a lot of information, sort through the complexity, and get to the heart of the matter. You help people slow down and reflect, in order to broaden their scope, see things differently, discover blind spots and see new possibilities."
— Tim Foley, Navistar/International Truck and Engine
"As a result of our work together, I’ve become a stronger leader. I’ve become a better coach, and as a result, my people are stronger and more successful. My team and I are doing extremely well. We now not only lead Chicago, we lead our division in sales. My one-on-one meetings and sales meetings with my people have become more productive. Sometimes you have to have that hard conversation, but it can be a really good thing. What opened it up for me - I was a little afraid of hurting feelings - If you have the right conversation, it won’t be as hurtful. People appreciate honesty. I’m planning my conversations, versus just winging it, since each person is different. Now I have a process I use. You can lay it out in a more collaborative way. I ask them to come up with strategies, versus being more authoritative, telling them what actions to take. People are empowered to make the decision to make the change themselves. Until they have taken ownership of the improvement they have to make, I don’t think they will make it. There’s a greater level of commitment from them to the changes they need to make. And, I have much better relationships with them now. I’ve become more highly regarded by my peers and superiors for my ideas and methods. I’ve been asked to serve on a task force on how to conduct more effective sales meetings, and have shared my techniques with peers."
— Steve Miller, Sales Manager
"I highly recommend Jackie as an executive coach. I was extremely satisfied with our work together, and its impact on my visibility, recognition and effectiveness across the organization. In fact, we had this pivotal conversation that is probably why I was promoted to VP.
I found myself in a complex situation, given various organizational dynamics and the changing status of my immediate superior. A senior colleague I respect had said, 'Well, you weren’t invited,'- to a critical planning meeting with senior leaders at my firm.
'If the (C-suite leader) had wanted you there, she would have invited you.' Jackie asked, well, would it be important for you to be there? Would you make a contribution? Decisions would be made at this meeting that would impact the organization. As the subject matter expert on the topic, I knew that no one attending had my grasp of the issues involved, and the consequences of various choices they would consider. Jackie asked how that leader responded to taking initiative. I realized she responds well, and, as a result of my taking initiative in this instance, I was invited to attend. I led much of the discussion, made a significant impact on the decisions made, and on the impression of my leadership and ability on top leaders at my firm. I got a lot of recognition for the difference I made, and learned I was being considered for this significant promotion. I already had the skills, knowledge and ability, and, reaching out about attending that meeting, and my contribution was a turning point, resulting in my winning a promotion I had not anticipated when we began working together."
— VP, Fortune 100 firm
“I’ve gotten my drive back. A visitor recently remarked on how good it was to see the enthusiasm in me and my people.
As a result of our work together, I’ve broadened my scope of vision of things, and have a better understanding of myself and others. In some respects I became more in tune with my inner self. You helped me see things from a different angle. Looking at situations a little differently takes you in a whole different direction. It caused me to be more open-minded. Little steps can have a profound effect. You do something, then all of a sudden, the effect is compounded. Things that have seemed trivial have a much bigger effect.
A lot of my goals centered around being a little more introspective, having more control of my own reactions to other people’s actions. The work with you made me think a bit more before I spoke: Think before you present something – so it is perceived how you truly meant. I’m asking questions and taking a softer approach. In retrospect I see that I needed to be a little more accepting of change. I’m accepting the fact that I have to let go of things.
There’s a subtleness to what you do and how you do it. Little things you said or suggested at the time I didn’t realize would make a difference but they did.
I do and did look forward to our conversations. I don’t think at any time had you been judgmental. “
—Greg Yovich, Chief Mechanical Officer, Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District
"Our work together has provided me with a way to slow down the pace of my worklife and put some methodology into achieving my goals. I have experienced huge growth as a result of our work together and the impact has been recognized at my firm. I’ve improved significantly as a leader, I work more effectively with other partners at my firm and I’ve learned the importance of taking time to plan for important or challenging conversations in creating the relationships and results I want to produce."
—John P. O'Connor, Partner, Plante & Moran, PLLC
"This was the first time I worked with an executive coach and quite honestly did not know what to expect. The process and the approach you took helped me to develop tools and skills that supported me in strengthening my leadership ability. These skills have helped me achieve my potential in a lot of areas, including staff development and being a better client advisor. I believe I have become more strategic in my approach and in general have gained a better appreciation for being a life time learner. My eyes have been opened to seeing the world differently. The shadowing exercise was a huge eye-opener for me and provided feedback that I wished I had received earlier in my career. The role playing exercises have provided me with a tool that I continue to use today in terms of helping my own team as well as to prepare myself for difficult discussions. The entire process has far exceeded my expectations."
—Dave Misura, Executive Director of Accounting and Attest Services, Philip+Rae & Associates, CPAs
"Working with Jackie Sloane in group and individual settings empowered me and fellow employees to communicate professionally by openly verbalizing each other’s needs so the entire team would prosper. The tools I learned and currently use benefited my organization’s ISO program and let me openly verbalize goals, and close the meetings with clear and concise deadline expectations. The wealth of knowledge learned has decreased our Project Management execution times, which resulted in quicker new product releases. I would highly recommend Jackie and her succinct way of communicating to people from all walks of life, and the empowerment it brings to an organization regardless of size."
—Greg A. Bigus, Packaging Compliance Manager, Accord Carton
"Jackie’s ideas on shared leadership were very helpful to us. We went from a style of working around and behind several more dominant personalities to working with these personalities through direct requests and other communication tools. Her methods helped us to create a more harmonious working environment. I would recommend Jackie to anyone looking to better themselves through leadership and communications."
—Sheryl Winger, Recruiting Manager
"Originally, my goal in working with you was to generate more business. I wanted to have more powerful conversations with people that moved them to act. I experienced a real breakthrough in that area. I’ve been able to attract and deliver on high-level executive coaching. Now I know I can do that well, providing real value. Our work together helped me to become more honest with myself about what really matters to me. I’ve become clearer about my goals, including specific outcomes I want to achieve in particular situations. My goals have shifted to focusing on what is truly important and satisfying to me at this point in my life. I’ve learned a lot about the value of listening and reflecting from experiencing your coaching style. I’ve appreciated your ability to fully experience what I am saying and then reflect it back to me with an intensely opening question. The kinds of questions you have asked me have lingered in my mind and become part of my thinking as I plan what I want to achieve. Working with these questions has opened up possibilities and freed up time. I have learned to listen more effectively and employ curiosity to a greater advantage. I’ve become more effective as a consultant, and opened up new ways of working with people. Working with you has been very enjoyable and engaging."
—Kathleen Flanagan, President, Leadership Communication Inc.
"As a result of what I’ve learned, I’ve become much more productive in dealing with challenging situations and finding creative solutions to complex problems. I’ve learned that our mind-sets and emotional perspectives – my own and those of my clients, team members, and supervisors – are often central components of both the challenges we face and the solutions we can achieve. In fact, I was very surprised that the executive coaching experience was so multi-dimensional. As a consultant, I’m part of a culture that tends toward “cerebral” solutions to complex problems, while the executive coaching sessions helped me better understand the human and emotional dimensions of leadership. At times, I was surprised at just how valuable an outside perspective can be in finding opportunity and possibility in difficult circumstances. Although this approach was somewhat new to me, it felt very natural, and I greatly enjoyed Jackie’s style. The coaching sessions, readings, and exercises provided an appropriate mix of informative commentary, thought provoking questions, and practical direction. Jackie adjusted well to my needs, balancing background and context with concrete action plans and specific steps. There’s no question that the executive coaching experience has helped me to become a better leader. I’m more aware of my own mindset and reactions and much more able to focus on the present. I’m more optimistic, focused, compassioned, reasoned, and, perhaps most importantly, productive!"
—Neil Okonak, Senior Director, Transformation, Health Carousel
"Sloane Communications helped us to reposition our company. As a result of working with Jackie, we realized that we were much more than a manufacturing firm. We are actually a service firm that helps clients increase retail sales – as much as 30% throughout a major mass-market chain. Working together, we analyzed the time it takes us to develop more of the larger, creative projects we excel at, re-evaluated our sales process, worked with our sales team to refine our sales conversation and created literature that our sales staff is proud to share with potential clients. Our sales are up 25% annually. We have added a third shift to keep up with production."
—Paul Scriba, President, W/M Display Group, Inc.
"The only regret I have about working with Sloane Communications is that I didn’t do it earlier. In our work together, we clarified and more clearly articulated and documented the value my firm provides clients. As a result, we booked a year’s worth of business in a single quarter. The income of my business has continued to increase steadily. Clients and potential clients stopped asking us to lower our fees because they clearly understood the value we provide."
—Allan Price, President, PMG Consultants, Inc.
"My work with you was invaluable to me. It was a very good process that helped me to value what I do more and to articulate it. I now have better tools to present myself and all that I offer to my clients. I feel more prepared for meeting with new clients. I’m busier and have more work in the Chicago area. I also learned how I needed to improve from an objective point of view. I’ve become more proactive in the way I manage my client relationships as projects evolve, to support them in thinking through what they want as it relates to what they feel comfortable spending."
—Cinda Berry, Principal, CJB Design Associates