excerpted from Petra Post: A Magazine for Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs

Two years ago, unexpected corporate changes brought Beth Sachan, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and Laurie Spradley, Vice President of Operations and Brand Development, to the helm of the Goo Goo Cluster company. Feeling ‘unorganized’ and ‘distracted’ in managing every aspect of the candy company’s retail and wholesale operations, they sought out the strategies of Petra Coach.

Turning Reactivity to Proactivity 

“We had so many great ideas, but we never seemed to have time to tackle most of them because we were so caught up in the day-to-day,” says Sachan. “We were constantly putting out fires,” Spradley adds. Spradley recalls the first coaching session with Petra Coach Marshall Martin and Accountability Coach Taylor Brown—the Goo Goo Shop walls painted with sticky notes, each with relevant facts and figures showing what makes Goo Goo Cluster such a successful and fun candy company. Sachan and Spradley credit ongoing work with Martin, Brown, and the Petra Coach team with helping them prioritize. 

Narrowing the Focus

Spradley notes, “Working with Petra helped us realize that focusing on a few tasks at a time makes a big difference. Instead of attempting to tackle everything at once, we’ll establish five or so tasks to be completed within the quarter. It’s much easier to manage.” Petra Coach has given the Goo Goo team the tools they need to work through production issues and make data-driven decisions. 

Defining the Culture

Valuing the quality of business as well as the quality of employees’ personal lives has inspired sweet rituals at the candy company. “The culture truly impacts every decision. It’s important not only for staff morale but also for our customers. If your team and your customers aren’t valued, you won’t get far. Our 'Daily Huddle' communication rhythm is a great reminder that every department is equally important to the people in them. It helps put things in perspective and promotes accountability,” Sachan describes. 

With these new business tools acquired from Petra Coach, Goo Goo Cluster has positioned itself to continue its long-standing success into the future with the help of every team member. After all, one of Goo Goo Cluster’s core values is “We stick together.”