A PE-backed, family-owned manufacturing company with multiple plants was looking to consolidate its manufacturing operations without compromising customer service, increasing costs, or affecting revenue.

It’s the time of year again when experts everywhere get out their crystal balls and predict what’s to come in the year ahead.

They measure historical trends, tap into reams of data and try to sound very smart. While many of their insights seem credible, some leave us scratching our heads. Certainly we will all use our smartphones more.

When a $5B specialty technology company demonstrated signs of stress – including slowed services growth and uneven performance across geographies – the company sought a thorough evaluation of services strategy and performance.

We in the consulting world pride ourselves on giving good advice, hoping that our clients will heed it. If they don’t, shame on them. And if we ourselves don’t listen? Shame on us.

Guilty as charged.

To address immediate security and data issues, a $2B healthcare services organization needed a long-term strategic IT plan and a short-term action plan.

My partner at HighPoint, Sumeet Goel, addressed the issue of poor written communication in a recent blog post. It got me thinking about our reliance on technology, particularly the effects of messaging and email.

A PE-backed mid-size industrial equipment manufacturer sought to evaluate the potential of a new market and needed resources to review opportunities and provide recommendations.

I’m a die-hard Philly sports fan.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, I was indoctrinated at an early age, living, eating and breathing the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers and Flyers (much to my parents’ chagrin). I stuck with them despite a family move to the New York area, and got a second fix returning to Philly for college. And despite subsequent moves to other fan-fanatic cities like Boston, New York and now LA, I remain loyal to my teams.

When HighPoint Senior Advisor Jim Bennett penned a HighPoint InSights article last year on the importance of corporations building trust, who knew it would become such a hot topic in recent months? As Jim pointed out, trust isn’t just a nice perk achieved while growing market share and profitability. Trust can directly impact your ability to retain and grow your business.

I’m probably not alone in noticing that written communication has gotten, frankly, sloppy. We could chalk it up to any number of culprits. Maybe it’s the proliferation of instant messaging that’s forcing abbreviations, conjugations and the like to become the norm. Or maybe it’s voice-to-text messaging, an over-reliance on auto-correct, big fingers on little screens, the list goes on.