As a third-generation business, our company’s success was built on reputation and business longevity. We have experienced significant growth over the past several years, but our operating model was completely reactionary to the “problem of the day.” Our operations and administrative capabilities were limited to people, not systems. We had a running joke in the office of wishing we could have an “undercover boss” come in and help highlight our flaws and point us in the right direction. And then, we were introduced to Cogent Analytics.

We were very cautious about the commitment to the project. Chris Polvado came in, gave us a grim picture of our business, and then explained how Cogent could partner with us to bring a much higher profit to our bottom line. We tried every skeptical excuse not to do it, but in the end, we knew we needed to make a change (or changes) and couldn’t do it alone. Our project began with our project directors, Travis Williams (lead) and Lamar Romero. They both began immediately identifying opportunities to focus on, which quickly turned into our business KPI’s that would measure our success through the project. Along with Harrison, Travis trained me on tools built to easily measure our cash flow, create a budget we have never come close to having before, understand our overhead rate and labor burden, implement a more accurate pricing model, and forecast our sales. Lamar helped improve our inventory and technician efficiency by setting up an inventory tracking system, helping implement pre- and post-job checklists, and creating a staging area to improve our utilization percentage. Alone, these things are possible, but Travis and Lamar not only gave us the tools, but they also trained us on their use and coached and encouraged our employees and us on their value. Travis, Lamar, and Rodrigo also helped with a transition of our accounting software and implementation of a new field service software, which was ambitious at best, but was executed within our time frame.

With real systems in place, I could stop there and tell you that we have already seen the value of Cogent realized in our business. But they don’t stop with just improving systems. They are highly invested in the people in the business. Though I won’t say this process wasn’t grueling, I will say every bit of the work we were required to do was worth it. We have been challenged with a new accountability framework that has become ingrained in our minds. Because of this alone, our employees have bought into the changes. At a recent meeting, one of our employees stated, “Because of these meetings, I feel supported, valued, and seen.” This was one of my biggest wins throughout this process. I very much appreciated Travis W and his ability to coach us through the behavior changes and mindset shifts we needed to make ourselves in order to have sustainable growth. However, I believe one of the most valuable things that he helped me work through that will extend through years of growth is an actual functional organization chart. Having defined roles, job descriptions, and KPI’s, and clear reporting relationships will be instrumental in our business going forward. This has also given us a clear ability to see the importance of working “on the business” and not “in the business.”

I truly feel that without Cogent, our growth would have become stagnant in the next few years. Because of this focused, intense time spent on improving systems, processes, and supporting our people, I can now see the business growing into the next generation. We are thankful.

Sincerely,

Mandee Lawlis
Office Operations Manager
Overhead Door Company of Lubbock, Inc.