The Power of Partnering (POP) is a half-day event where women entrepreneurs, business leaders, corporations and procurement professionals come together to train, network and create matchmaker opportunities to help create and reach procurement and business goals.
Each agenda includes educational resources from thought leadership and subject matter experts and the opportunity to showcase your capabilities statements in a meet the buyer setting or matchmaker sessions.
Crystal Davis is CEO of The Lean Coach, Inc. She is an experienced business management consultant with twenty years of experience in the design, development, and implementation of Lean Business System solutions.
She has accumulated extensive domestic and international expertise in the design and implementation of solutions for automotive and healthcare manufacturing, and consumer packaged industries.
Crystal has assisted clients in formulating comprehensive business and logistics strategies and in re-engineering distribution and manufacturing operations to reduce costs, improve customer service and drive revenue.
With Crystal’s vast knowledge and experience she has played integral roles on several enterprise-wide Supply Chain Management projects. Crystal has also trained and coached globally in Operational Excellence at various organizational levels.
As a teacher, coach and speaker, Crystal uses practical techniques, innovative methods, and Socratic teaching to engage, captivate, and add value to those she encounters.
Connect with Crystal on LinkedIn.
This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.
Lee Kantor: I am so excited to talk to you about your business. Tell us about The Lean Coach. How are you serving folks?
Crystal Davis: Oh, great question. So, we are serving corporate clients currently looking to expand to govcon in three verticals, project and program management, lean and operations consulting, and leadership development training and coaching.
Lee Kantor: So, what’s your backstory? How did you get involved in this line of work?
Crystal Davis: My backstory is I started doing this work in corporate America for over 20 years in the automotive space, food and beverage, and life sciences, and decided that I wanted to expand and be able to serve on a greater level the work that I was successful at, leading inside of corporations.
Lee Kantor: So, where do you think the opportunity is for you to help corporates maybe get to a new level?
Crystal Davis: Great question. So, there are a couple of key verticals that I think are important now. So, we do a lot of work in the supply chain and manufacturing space, and so there’s still a lot of churn in that space from COVID around just supply chain issues and navigating that. And then, I think the second space that’s most important is workforce development. Workforce development with the advent of all of the online opportunities and businesses, a lot of people looking to exit corporate has created a huge challenge in the skills that will need to be developed as well as the skills that people will need for things like AI, predictive analytics, and so forth and so on.
Lee Kantor: So, what kind of is the pain that these corporates are having where they’re going, “Oh, we got to call Crystal and her team”?
Crystal Davis: The pain is that we can’t seem to go fast enough. And without having the skillset in-house, they’re looking more external for some of the subject matter experts to be able to come in and accelerate the pace of change that’s needed nowadays.
Lee Kantor: Now, what brings you to GWBC? Why was it important for you to become part of this community?
Crystal Davis: Well, one, as a certified woman-owned business, Roz always talks about showing up and being in the room, so I had to be here. And then, the second thing is I think it’s important the topic of today, how do small businesses do business with government contracting. And there’s so many opportunities for us to learn how to navigate that space, which operates very differently than the corporate space, I would say has been my experience, so it’s a challenge and something I want to learn.
Crystal Davis: And then, secondly, I appreciated the panel of government experts that are here locally, from the state, from the surrounding counties and the City of Atlanta to provide insights about how we can do business with them.
Lee Kantor: Now, are you looking at it from a coaching standpoint to get into the government arena to be able to help them maybe become more efficient or take advantage of some opportunities, like you were saying, that maybe they’re not moving fast enough on?
Crystal Davis: Yes, absolutely. That’s, you know, primarily what I’m trying to understand is what are the pain points of our local government areas where I can pitch and offer supports, where we have past experience. And then, the second thing, which was mentioned by the keynote speaker is, where should I be expanding our services, whether that’s through partnering or even through reflecting on my own experience of where I have past experience in corporate, but just may not be aware that that’s a service needed now.
Lee Kantor: Right. And did you learn anything when it comes to navigating kind of the complex web of bureaucracy there is in dealing with the government of just finding that right path through the maze so you can even get in front of the people that you need to get in front of?
Crystal Davis: Absolutely. They shared insights about a lot of programs and events that they put on. And so, going back to the point that I made about Roz saying being in the room, one is I need to do a better job showing up at those spaces and building those relationships. And then, secondly, I think that I will personally say that I find it very daunting, and so they made it seem much more personable and approachable.
Lee Kantor: Well, that’s important. Well, I think you hit the nail on the head in terms of relationships matter, and having the right kind of champion or Sherpa to help you kind of get through the maze can save you a lot of time, energy, and money when it comes to pursuing this type of opportunity.
Crystal Davis: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And I’ll tell you one other thing I learned today that I have heard, but I haven’t really thought much about. So, in WBENC and also in GWBC, they talk a lot about doing business together. And as the keynote speaker was talking, I thought, “You know what? There are a lot of services that we provide to large corporations that a lot of small business owners in the room could leverage to improve the operations of how they do their business, and I need to be building relationships with them as well.”
Lee Kantor: Well, that’s an important part of the community. I think a lot of WBEs don’t really leverage enough is to partner with other WBEs, and somebody is the primary or the secondary, but together you’re way more powerful and more marketable because now you’re solving more problems for the client. So, yeah, I think that’s a missed opportunity for a lot of WBEs that they’re not leveraging the other WBEs in the room.
Crystal Davis: Yeah. That was so keen.
Lee Kantor: That was an aha, right?
Crystal Davis: That was a real aha moment today, yeah.
Lee Kantor: Yeah. And it’s great that you’re around in the room today in events like this where you’re around a bunch of other people just like you that are like, “Hey. Why don’t we take this on together and be stronger together rather than individually?”
Crystal Davis: Yes, yes, yes. And as a small business owner, you get so busy, sometimes you think, “Oh, do I really need to go there? Is it going to be worth my time?” You know, I’m guilty of it. But I think that just those small little aha moments and the opportunity to be in the room and to network, it definitely could be game changing.
Lee Kantor: It could be game changing, right. And that’s the thing where a lot of the smaller folks that don’t have a team, really, they’re doing the marketing and they’re doing the work, and it’s just hard. You start doing the work and you forget about the marketing, or you’re doing the marketing and you’re not getting the work, and you get frustrated so it’s hard to kind of wear all the hats.
Crystal Davis: Oh, yeah. You just perfectly described our lives. We’re so busy working in the business that we forget to work on the business.
Lee Kantor: Right. And you’ve got to really be mindful about that if you want to get to a new level.
Crystal Davis: Yeah, yeah. So, partnering is key.
Lee Kantor: Good advice. And so, if somebody wants to learn more about The Lean Coach, where should they go?
Crystal Davis: They can go to www.theleancoachinc.com. And then, they can find me in my home on LinkedIn at Crystal Y. Davis.
Lee Kantor: Well, Crystal, thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.
Crystal Davis: Thank you for having me.
Lee Kantor: All right. Back in a few at GWBC Power of Partnering event.
