C-Suite Strategies – The Secrets to Business Growth

Have you wondered why some companies grow every single year, regardless of the economy, competition or other external factors? And have you wondered what the secrets to their success are?

Cynthia Pharr Lee, APR

There's no need to wonder any more. Inc magazine's March 2014 issue provides the answers.

Based on a study of more than 100,000 U.S.-based midsize businesses, INC's comprehensive section identified, then studied "...sustained growth champions," or those few companies which had added head count for five consecutive years, from 2007 to 2012. 

Only 1.5 percent of companies met the test. Through this first ever study, INC identified its first "Build 100" list.

The key finding, "The only statistically significant predictor of a company's future success is steady growth; short- and even long-term bursts mean almost nothing."

Gary Kunkle, INC's economist-in-residence and lead consultant on the study summarized, "Slow and steady wins the race. Incremental advancement, repeated over time, achieves greater results."

A few other findings: how employees are treated really matters if growth is a goal. Also, "…there is a direct connection between the sharing of financial success with employees and higher revenue growth and productivity."

Read the entire INC. section to learn how to sustain growth in your business. 

This blog was contributed by Cynthia Pharr Lee, C. Pharr President and Founder

C-Suite Strategies – The Secrets to Business Growth

'My Week as a C. Pharr Intern'

We have seen an increasing trend in internships this summer, but we’re not talking about college internships! High school internships are on the rise this year! Yes, you read that right – high school junior and seniors are now entering the internship arena. In fact, our client Capital One, partnered with the Plano Mayor’s office to launch the inaugural Plano Mayor’s Summer Internship Program this summer. As one of the largest employers and leading corporate citizens in Plano, Capital One has embraced the program as a great opportunity to give back to the community and invest in Plano ISD students and their futures!
 
Following in our client’s footsteps, C. Pharr recently served as a mentor to a high school senior as he began exploring his interests and options for his future career. Last week, the C. Pharr team had the pleasure of hosting a local high school student from Parish Episcopal School for a week-long internship. Our intern, John, got a taste of agency life. He learned about  media research, helped draft media pitches, observed client calls and he even had the chance to review a few award-winning public relations case studies, giving him an overview of how a PR campaign is implemented from start to finish. After getting his feet wet in the PR world, this is what John had to say about his experience at C. Pharr...

For the past week I've been interning at C. Pharr & Co. as part of my graduation requirements as a senior at Parish Episcopal School. I am required to complete a one-week internship in a profession I'm interested in studying in college. 

 

While high school internships aren't that popular, they definitely make a difference. I now understand what PR actually is; even when I was learning about C. Pharr, I constantly heard “marketing.” I now know they are not the same. But more importantly, I am probably one of the few students who understand what the communications department does at Parish and why that guy goes around photographing anything that moves. I understand why my school posts articles on its website. I understand the process that led Parish to decide to film my math class to use as background for a news segment the school was pitching. 

This week has been an expansion of my creative writing classes in a business setting with an entirely different subject matter, and a quick foray into the connections between business and media and how they affect the news. Both of which I have found extremely enjoyable and rewarding – even if the next time I read a magazine I'm completely disillusioned.

John C., graduating class of 2014 at Parish Episcopal. 

Thanks for spending the week with us, John! We hoped you learned a lot!

This blog was contributed by Kristen Crosby (@klcrosby25).

'My Week as a C. Pharr Intern'