The President

Ten Questions with Kevin S. Smith

Kevin S. Smith has spent the majority of his career assisting organizational leaders in finding opportunities for improvement within their business processes.  After a nearly fifteen years of Information Technology and Quality Management work, the transition into management consulting was a natural choice.   His entrepreneurial spirit and genuine interest in helping organizations improve  fuels his desire to train, support and inspire organizational leaders and managers.

Shortly after receiving his honorable discharge from the United States Marine Corp in 1994, he earned his degree in Computer Information Systems and became a Certified Database Administrator through Oracle Corporation.  Enjoying  the business analysis side of his duties, Kevin earned his auditor credentials for Quality Management Systems including those for  Manufacturing, Automotive and Aerospace processes.   Further developing his insight into business mechanics and organizational development, Kevin returned to Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA to earn degrees in Business Management and Business Finance.

In addition to his experience working with other business owners, Kevin is no stranger to entrepreneurship.  He is the founder and President of Vie Associates, a strategic planning and organizational development firm in Erie, PA.

Kevin is also the Director of a nonprofit Leadership Development organization, The Drucker Society of Western Pennsylvania and a member of the Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission.

Kevin  can be contacted anytime by calling the Vie Associates office at 814-806-3030.  Vie Associates is located at 3823 West 12^th Street in Erie.

Q: Many business owners would say that strategic planning does not work, what would you say to that?

A: I would say they are right! Strategic plans are helpful, but they don't cure anything. I can plan a trip to California tomorrow - but I still have to get there! I still have to execute, adjust and manage the trip.  Organizations have to implement a system of strategic management.  An ongoing system that doesn't stop - but becomes the way business is done.  Strategic plans are one part of strategic management and the great companies operate with that in mind.  Organizations that work with our company don't get a strategic plan - they implement a strategic management system that will be with them long after the project is complete.

Q: Would it be fair to say you help make businesses more efficient.

A: It would be more accurate to say that Vie Associates can help make organizations more effective. Efficiency is doing things right.  Effectiveness is doing the right things.  Before an organization utilizes any efficiency tools (six sigma, lean operations, etc.) on processes, they should make sure those processes should even be done. Making irrelevant processes or products more efficient just means that failure comes more quickly! Effectiveness is about making certain everything an organization does supports the mission and strategic objectives...it is about doing the right things.

Q:  You help businesses deal with challenges every day, what is a challenge that you face that some may not be aware of?

A: I would say the challenge of overcoming the notion that age determines competence.  I started this company when I was 36 years old - very young for this type of consulting work. Many partners in firms went to school for 8 years or so, then hit the workforce for a period of time and subsequently became a consultant.  After leaving the Marine Corps. back in 1994, I have been working and educating my self in parallel, which has distinct advantages.  Either way, after sitting down with a business owner for a short amount of time; it is usually evident to them that I am more than competent in my profession.

Q: What kind of advantages does that have?

A: Well, If you have been in business any period of time after going to college, you realize that there is a vast difference between academia and business.  In my career, I have worked my way up from running a machine, to supervising a shipping dock, to auditing quality management systems for aerospace suppliers.  The entire time I was able take the knowledge learned in academia and test its relevance in the "real world" - adjusting accordingly. That is education.

Q: How would someone know if they really needed your services?

A: I would tell them to get up from their chair; walk out to where their employees are working and ask three random employees the following questions. 1.) Using numbers and dates, what are the three main goals of the organization for this year? 2.) Specifically, how are we doing in our attempts to achieve those goals? 3.) How does your job get us closer to achieving those goals? Far too many business owners will receive blank stares, generalities, or nothing at all.  That is a problem.

Q: What about companies that have been successful without strategic planning?

A: Times have changed. Our workforce has changed. It is necessary now more than ever to be able to communicate the strategic objectives to those who make things happen.  Hubris is dangerous and can set in on the most successful organizations.  Overconfidence can mask sickness within an organization that will hide until it is too late.  Strategic Management is about always seeing the truth as it is now and using it to secure a sustainable competitive advantage.  To avoid this constant look at performance is like cutting expenses by not opening the bills - eventually things will cave in.

Q: Who inspires your work

A: I took some advice from Jim Collins and created my personal advisory list.  Many of them don't know they are on it, but when I am faced with tough decisions, I refer to "what they would do".  That list includes Peter Drucker, Jim Collins, Warren Bennis and some close relatives that I won't name here.

Q: Has leadership and leadership development been overly glamorized?

A: No. The need for effective leadership and leadership development within organizations cannot be overstated.  What has been glamorized is the individual leaders themselves.  In some ways we have been programmed to see leaders as heroic figures overflowing with charisma; storming in to save the day. In reality leadership is a day to day grind of consistently aligning people with purpose.  Leadership is about removing obstacles and clearing the path for others to succeed.  Many of the great leaders have never been heard of while many of the people we have considered great leaders prove to be otherwise.  Many times the quality of leadership can't be seen until after the leader is gone.  I agree with Peter Drucker who said that the sign of a great leader is how successful the organization remains after he or she is gone.  That is why Succession Planning is such a vital part of our service offering at Vie Associates.

Q: What makes Vie Associates so different

A: We don't consult in efforts to get our next job.  Many consultants will give "a little" so a client will call them later for "additional support".  That is not how we do business.  We will give a client 100% because if we help them produce results - they will call us in the future or refer us to a friend. We try to consult our way out of a job - meaning the client has the tools to manage their strategy on their own.  The next time they call will be to save some time or to make some improvements.

Q: Do you find it difficult to tell business owners who have been around for decades, how they should run their business?

A: No, because I don't tell anyone how to run their business! That would require an arrogance that is way beyond me! We show organizations how to develop strategic management systems and how to incorporate that into the way they do business. I don't make decisions for them; I provide them with the tools to make their decision making process more effective.