CLG Corp. would be a rising star worth recognizing based solely on the merits of its growth. Founded in 1993, the human resources and leadership development company, which lists a number of Fortune 500 companies on its client roster, posted $22.5 million in sales last year and employs 180 people.
But CLG’s brush with near-failure just a few years after its launch and a dramatic turnaround that righted a badly listing ship make the company’s story and success that much more compelling.
By 1996, CLG’s President & CEO Leslie Braksick and her partners decided success might just be killing the company. Lots of lucrative contracts engaged the partners directly, but a lack of organizational structure was creating poor morale and threatening to tear the company apart. Long-time personal and professional relationships were at risk, and some key employees were threatening to leave.
All of this was happening while the company was executing a watershed contract with Chevron Corp.
Braksick and her partners gathered CLG’s employees at a retreat in Bodega Bay, Calif., where a facilitator squeezed the disillusionment and frustration out of them during an emotional two days. That proved a turning point for the company, initiating a process that would restructure its management and create clear lines of responsibility. More important, it would create an organization that was more responsive to its employees and, in turn, to its clients.
CLG survived and prospered, and today, after its sale to another company and a repurchase by its employees and a group of investors, it is poised for continued growth.
Braksick was selected as one of the Best 50 Women in Business in Pennsylvania last year, and despite a busy schedule, still finds time to volunteer with the United Way and Children’s Hospital. How to reach: CLG Inc., www.clg-online.com
