In today's Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur Spotlight, we're excited to introduce Lori Fisher, the mind behind the PLS Management Framework. Lori's passion for improving efficiency in small-to-medium-sized enterprises through effective employee engagement and cutting-edge management practices sets her apart. With a unique approach that blends AI, robotics, and continuous improvement initiatives, Lori has revolutionized how teams think and collaborate, resulting in immediate and transformative outcomes. Dive into our interview to discover Lori's insightful experiences, practical advice, and the unconventional strategies that have propelled her success in the entrepreneurial world.
Hi, Lori! Thanks for joining us today. Tell us about your business. Who do you serve, how do you serve them, and what's the impact that your business and work makes?
Our PLS Management Framework addresses the age-old problem of inefficiency in growing small-to-medium-sized enterprises. Since the nature of work has changed, inefficiencies in thinking and collaborating permeate the entire business because it is prevalent in higher-level, non-task work. How we think and engage with each other impacts all initiatives including AI, robotics, automation, safety, and continuous improvement initiatives like Lean and Six Sigma. We show managers and teams how to systemize powerful and efficient employee engagement in businesses for step-ahead outcomes. This transformation is so practical and self-propagating that it doesn't take months, it takes days to weeks to have a dramatic impact!
Tell us about the moment you finally felt like you went from wantrepreneur to entrepreneur.
I'm the kind of person who has an ego that runs well behind my accomplishments. I don't ever stop thinking about how I can make things better for others when it comes to work, and this feels like the purpose of what I'm doing. But if I had to pick a shift, it was when I started getting approached by people I did not know for mentoring and thought leadership in engagement and collaboration and when Cabrera Lab asked me to partner with their organization for operations, human resource perspective, and content generation.
Describe the moment or period in your life/career that motivated you to make the entrepreneurial leap.
I worked at two employers for well over 15 years each, then went to two different employers for short stints. Even without a history with these new teams, I was able to impact results very quickly and transformed thinking and business practices through decades of maturity in short order. Because this was a successful demonstration of my collaborative leadership in dynamic and differentiated environments, I formalized my operation management into the PLS Management Framework for implementation business-to-business, progressing people into high-performing teams, future-ready with emerging intelligence for step-ahead outcomes.
Describe a tool, service, or software that has been a game-changer for your business. How does it contribute to your success?
Thinking Up and DSRP from Cabrera Lab is a game changer for me. DSRP says that thinking isn't something we do, it is something we get from applying the distinctions, systems, relationships, and perspectives rules. Understanding that thinking is an outcome triggered my operations mindset and natural desire to help others and lighten the loads people carry. The demands of thinking are indiscernible no matter if it is home or work and this universality is emancipating. Work doesn't need to be stressful and draining! It can be fun and engaging!
We know that success is very often a non-linear path. Tell us about a failure, pivot point, or lesson that changed your course or direction and helped to get you where you are today.
When I first started, I thought I would set up my website and the customers would roll in if I tailored blogs to their needs. But if you look at why people read blogs, it is to find specific information or to fill time when they are browsing. Neither of these reasons is to find a vendor! So I beefed up my SEO through research and software assistance, decreased my blog post frequency, and looked for more ways to interact directly with my market. This approach reduced the time invested into blogging, which can be substantial, but increased impact through search engine optimization, and freed up time to put me in front of my client base.
What unconventional strategy did you employ that significantly impacted your business?
I reach out to employers with operations leadership job postings, particularly those that come up quickly since the last post (indicating a bad hire) or one that had been open for a while. I would point out this was a great time for a fractional leader and in-team training. This would maintain or accelerate momentum during the gap, give the talent group breathing room to find the ideal candidate, reduce stress and increase operations team morale, and prepare the staff for the new leader helping to make them more successful. As a practice, this had a high rate of direct cold contact.
What’s something you wish you knew sooner that you’d give as advice for aspiring or newer entrepreneurs?
That it is normal behavior for potential clients to reject you or seem uninterested in what you have to offer. I realized this when I took the time to go through the purpose, behavior, and thinking of my SQL at different stages of the process of conversion to a customer. In fact, at the front of this process, their objectives may directly conflict with my objectives! This helped me relax, and realize if I was going to help them, this started as soon as I became aware of them, and I would need to help them think differently, and better!
Want to go deeper into Lori's work? Find her following the links below!
- Visit PLS Management Consulting's Website purposeleapsurge.com
- Connect with Lori on LinkedIn: Lori G. Fisher, PMP
- Learn more about DSRP with Cabrera Lab
