telos

Business leaders hone their leadership skills and optimize their business tactics periodically, in addition to which they need to embrace change as a strategic advantage for transforming themselves and their organizations. It is incumbent for these leaders to step into a degree of accountability to move in the chosen direction. Based in Cleveland, OH, telos is where C-level executives turn up when they need assistance in navigating the dynamic aspects of a changing environment. telos is a leading global organization consulting firm that focuses on three primary areas: expertise-business strategy, leadership development, and change management. “We empower leaders with the ability to embrace and face the constant changes in a business that can be the real deal maker or a deal breaker,” says Rick Simmons, CEO of telos.

When it comes to change management, telos addresses issues and handles circumstances such as merger and acquisition (M&A), organizational change, and succession planning. In an M&A scenario, the firm creates smooth, efficient, and effective transitions by involving people from the process and product teams while ensuring that the entire idea manifests and works in real time. In response to market forces or any number of different things, an organization may choose to revamp and reconstruct its existing culture. telos thoughtfully addresses the critical levers which serve as the formative steps in creating true organizational change. The company has a lot of expertise in succession planning, and it is a common entry point when they engage with a client. telos understands that the transition of a senior leader opens up the window to do substantive change management work; to that end, they provide leadership development coaching to change the thought process or approach of an individual as it inherently has a ripple effect.

Change is driven by emotion, and our job is to pair the right model and the right approach with the right circumstance

Often, companies fail to achieve the desired results as they miscalculate the sequence in which the changes need to be executed. In the midst of this process, they approach telos that takes a different approach to provide its client a firm footing and assists people in understanding the diverse aspects while introducing a shorter list of changes which can be incrementally implemented. They introduce the appreciative inquiry (AI) approach and enable an organization to reconnect and liberate their resources. “Change is driven by emotion, and our job is to pair the right model and the right approach with the right circumstance,” adds Amy Simmons, co-founder of telos.

In one such instance, telos worked with a large sporting goods retailer in the U.S. from a succession planning perspective. In the last five years, the company had been attempting to identify the next candidate for succession and was unsuccessful in its endeavor. The board of directors approached telos and challenged them to take a holistic approach toward evaluating and identifying leadership competencies. Consequently, the client appointed a fitting candidate as the next CEO who was not even on their radar in the first place.

telos which means “with the end in mind” in Greek assists its clients in setting a destination—which is an elusive component—and the required direction. Due to its collaborative approach, telos has a long-standing clientele as it has acted as trusted advisors over time. The company has consultants around the globe including Vietnam, Spain, UK, and Israel to name a few and is working with a many MNCs, helping them in their change management projects through coaching and consulting. “Our business is far less commercial or financial, and it is more about liberating greatness within everyone we touch via our organization,” concludes Rick Simmons.