Business Concept Sketches

Key business ideas visualized with sketches made as simple as possible but not simpler.

Gallery

red cube surrounded by five bars that represent business frameworks

GroundSwell’s Business Ownership Platform℠ combines the essential business ownership knowledge, skills, frameworks and technology in a one-of-a-kind platform for owner-managers looking to stabilize, grow or exit their businesses. To learn more click here.

red cube surrounded by six bars that represent business ownership frameworks and direct ownership

GroundSwell℠ partners with limited partners to lower general partner costs and increase net returns. To learn more click here.

An x and y graph with "risk" on the x axis and "return" on the y axis

Organizational Alpha℠ is the combined incremental returns and decreased risks in an organization relative to its peers attributed to its infrastructure and the decisions and skills of its management team. To learn more click here.

An X and Y graph with "size of organization" for the Y axis and "time" for the X axis

Changing Pains℠ typically occur when a company’s revenue is growing rapidly but also exist when a company’s infrastructure no longer meets the needs of the marketplace/customer and revenues are actually declining. To learn more click here.

Illustration of a disorganized, and chaotic company transforming into an organized and structured organization

Proactively managing your people, things, processes, plans and key decisions is the best way to create peace of mind and accomplish your goals. To learn more click here.

An illustration of three business flywheels that are interconnected and make up the keys to leadership effectiveness. This image also demonstrates how using these business flywheels will result in sharing 20 percent equity ownership in your company.

Own a smaller piece of a bigger pie with a long-term partner with the repeatable knowledge and skills to get you where you want to go. To learn more click here.

Image of a table that describes how GroundSwell's long-term partnerships are different than offerings from investors, consultants, managers, or CPAs

How we stack up against other partner and advisor options. To learn more click here.

bridge with a little money on one side for value today and a lot of money on the other side for value tomorrow

Do you have access to capital but it’s too expensive? Or are you struggling to get the capital you need? Our Valuation Bridge Plan℠ provides a clear path to get you capital at the valuation you deserve. To learn more click here.

An illustration of a blue bridge that is crossing a moat of water to a company headquarters. The bridge has an off ramp, or exit, to retirement on the left hand side which leads to a beach with lawn chairs and bags of money. This image depicts an exit plan for business owners where they can enjoy retirement while their business continues to thrive in the future, under new ownership

We facilitate and execute a plan to exit your business when and for how much you want. To learn more click here.

You can simultaneously exit your business & have a second $ bite of the apple - often for with less risk and more upside. To learn more click here.

illustration of five business ownership concepts and how they are connected via a web of knowledge

The ability to use integrated business ownership knowledge and experience to make good decisions and accomplish objectives. To learn more click here.

Chart that outlines the strategic focus and competitive variables of postsecondary education

GroundSwell℠ trains business ownership experts. We teach you the critical integrated knowledge and skills to create wealth and peace of mind. To learn more click here.

An image of a table that highlights the pay ranges of professionals working in private equity, investment banking, business consulting, and general management

GroundSwell℠ trains business ownership experts. We teach you the critical integrated knowledge and skills to create wealth and peace of mind. To learn more click here.

Hand drawn complex black maze with hand drawn red arrow showing clear direct path up and through maze.

Draw a striaght line through the maze of organizational development miss steps that plague and stifle most owner-managers. To learn more click here.

An illustration of a business flywheel that highlights six key factors or “building blocks” that predict financial success across all sizes and types of organizations

Identifies the six financially predictive factors that drive organizational success and Organizational Alpha℠. To learn more click here.

A color-coded bar chart that highlights the levels of an organization that need to be developed as organizations reach their next stage of growth

Defines the predictive relationship between cash flows and the corresponding stages of organizational development. To learn more click here.

Defines the predictive relationship between sales and the corresponding stages of organizational development. To learn more click here.

Image of a human brain expressing ideas visually

GroundSwell℠ uses straight forward facilitated white boarding to answer hard questions and solve challenging problems. To learn more click here.

An illustration of a growing business that is built on a strong foundation

You need a Business Foundation℠ to achieve your goals. To learn more click here.

A flow chart that highlights six steps in GroundSwell's strategic planning process

A systematic and flexible six step process that underlies how GroundSwell℠ partners and invests in businesses and owner-managers. To learn more click here.

Integrated steps GroundSwell℠ completes during our onboarding process for long-term partnerships and/or capital investments. To learn more click here.

Clarifies the critical variables of an integrated brand and marketing strategy. To learn more click here.

A pyramid highlighting seven key components to developing technology resources in a business

Knowing and being able to decide what hardware and software you need is a daunting task. Unless you have a background in hardware or software, it’s tough to even know where to start. But it’s key you start, and the sooner the better. To learn more click here.

Multi level pyramid with callouts detailed the different aspects of GroundSwell's tech stack offering

GroundSwell's Pyramid of Tech Stack Development℠ is a detailed and systematic approach to assess, plan and implement the hardware and software your business needs. To learn more click here.

The Leadership Basics℠ framework exists in an organization when at least two people manage three core roles. To learn more click here.

A series of step-down boxes with connected arrows that tie an organization's mission to an individual's role and tasks

A key part of organizational development includes a role cascade that ties each individual's role to their organization strategic mission - where the organization is going. To learn more click here.

A chart that shows ten steps to documenting a standard operating procedure

Our Standard Operating Procedure Documenter℠ is a repeatable process to standardize key activities focusing on what's important without getting stuck in the minutia. To learn more click here.

Image of a survey that highlights work related activities that business owners do on vacation

You should be able to go an hour without your phone ringing or go on vacation without checking your email every day. To learn more click here.

An illustration of a stick figure holding a fire extinguisher to put out a fire that has business oriented items in the center of the flame

GroundSwell℠ provides a repeatable straightforward process to turn overwhelm into peace of mind. To learn more click here.

An illustration of a business flywheel that highlights six key components to management and leadership effectiveness

Based on over forty years of research and experience, our Fractal Flywheel of Management & Leadership Development℠ breaks down management and leadership effectiveness into five key factors. To learn more click here.

An illustration of four key steps to delegation. This image shows four separate blocks that cascade down the page in a sequential delegation process. Each block contains key information on things you need to do when delegating.

A repeatable sequential process to effective and efficient delegation. To learn more click here.

A stick figure individual surrounded by colored thought bubbles with images inside the thought bubles thinking abou8t who/what - a stick figure person and box with a question mark in it, how much - a table, where - a loction image from a GPS system , when - a calendar, how - a flow chart & why a y/x chart with different size and colored bubbles inside it.

Good SMART goals require answering six key questions before you even start - who/what, how much/how many, where, when, how & why. To learn more click here.

A color coded image depicting the elements of a SMART goal with specific images - a microscope for specfic, a ruler for measurable, a stick figure pointing both thumbs to themselves for accuntablity, a stick figure succesffully jumping over a hurdle & a red circle on specfic date on a monthly calendar.

SMART (specific, measurable, accountable/actionable, realistic/results oriented and time stamped) goals create a process orientation around goal setting that dramatically increase goal completion rates. To learn more click here.

An flow chart that visualizies how an organization can use integrated SMART (specific, measurable, accountable, realistic, and time stamped) goals to accomplish key organizational objectives.

One SMART goal is helpful but you need to be able to integrate them into a series of connected goals to accomplish major objectives. To learn more click here.

An illustration of a manager providing a subordinate with the things they need to complete a task including money, technology and physical things. After receiving the necessary things from the manager, the subordinate sits at a desk while giving the thumbs up to demonstrate they have what they need to complete their task.

Successful delegation requires providing the necessary money, technology and physical things to accomplish the task. To learn more click here.

An illustration of a manager on the left side of the image relinquishing responsibility to complete a project to a subordinate. However, the manager does not relinquish authority over the key decisions, money, technology and things that are required to complete the project.

Delegation starts with assigning a task to someone including giving them the necessary money, technology and things. Full or complete delegation requires the relinquishment of authority. To learn more click here.

An illustration of a manager on the left side of the image relinquishing authority of a project to a subordinate including control over the key decisions, money, technology and things that are required to complete the project.

Full delegation requires the relinquishment of the key decisions required to complete the task as well the responsiblty, money, technology and things. To learn more click here.

An illustration that shows a manager providing a subordinate with process and outcome feedback. This illustration has two stages: in stage 1 (on the left side of the image) the manager provides feedback while the task is being completed. This is known as process feedback. In stage 2 (right side of image) the manager provides feedback after the task has been completes. This is know as outcome feedback.

To successfully delegate a task you need to provide feedback during and after the completion of the task….not just after. To learn more click here.

An illustration of a red colored icon who is a business manager, relaying disorganized and unclear information to a blue colored icon who is the subordinate.

Nearly 90% of managers confuse their employees with unclear and poorly communicated plans, objectives and goals. To learn more click here.

An illustration of a red colored icon who is a business manager, attempting to communicate to a blue colored icon who is the subordinate. The blue icon listens to the red icon to ensure he understands his perspective; the blue icon then clarifies and reiterates the intentions, desires, needs, and priorities of the red icon while aligning his own actions and decisions to support the red icons objectives.

Even if you have a bad manager, it's key you communicate clearly so they (and you) understand what needs to be done. To learn more click here.

A formal written management letter confirms the listener heard what the speaker thought they said. To learn more click here.

An illustration of three business flywheels that are interconnected and make up the keys to leadership effectiveness.

Leadership effectiveness is the result of successfully integrating our customer and people focused fractal flywheels with our Leadership Basics℠. To learn more click here.

stick figure standing on a red block depicting a strong personal foundation

Your Personal Foundation℠ answers the questions who you are, where you're going and how you're different. To learn more click here.

A color coded flywheel with seven levels that depicts the key components to developing a personal foundation along with personal goals, skills, systems and culture

The essential elements that drive career and personal success. To learn more click here.

Your Personal Foundation℠ consists of your personal definition, mission and strategy. In other words, who you are, where you're going and how you're different. To learn more click here.

$A fractal flywheel that has six levels and depicts the key components to having a robust decision making process.$

Knowing about knowledge types including facts, fallacies, theories, dogmas and visions is essential to solid decisions. It's also vital to understand who makes the decisions, the different types of decisions, how they are made, the different types of results and feedback that exist as well how wisdom and judgement stem from explicitly knowing about knowledge and how decisions are made. To learn more click here.

A detailed color coded chart that details the specific concepts and terms in GroundSwell's Fractal Flywheel of Knowledge & DecisionsStages of Organizational DevelopmentSM

Clarifies what matters in your industry and ultimately answers the question: are you different than your competition? To learn more click here.

Boxes and connected arrows visualizing the key components of competitive analysis and value creation in an industry

Competitive positioning visualized. To learn more click here.

Illustration depicting the direct and indirect forces that put pressure on market profitability

Limiting industry forces such as regulatory pressure, supplier pressure, indirect competition and threat of entry impact industry price and market profitability. Direct forces such as competition and customer pressures also effect market profitability. To learn more click here.

Higher quality, better performance & lower risk allow differentiated products and services to charge premium prices and/or have large market share. Ideally you have both. To learn more click here.

A color coded graph that shows the cost advantages that a business can achieve by increasing its scale of production.

Economies of scale exist when making more of the same product or service leads to a reduction in the cost of the individual product. To learn more click here.

An illustration that depicts the evolution of a music class in three separate stages. In stage one (far left of the image) a music teacher is teaching one student how to play the violin. In the second stage (middle of the image) the music teacher is teaching four students how to play the violin. In the third stage (far right of the image) the music teacher is broadcasting the music lesson over the internet to dramatically expand its market reach. The image is meant to demonstrate how you can achieve economies of scale.

Economies of scale exist when making more of the same product or service leads to a reduction in the cost of the individual product. To learn more click here.

An illustration of an X/Y graph that demonstrates how an increase in the number of units shipped allows businesses to lower their shipping costs per unit and achieve economies of scale.

Economies of scale exist when making more of the same product or service leads to a reduction in the cost of the individual product. To learn more click here.

An illustration that shows three separate stages of a manufacturing processes and the relative cost per unit of each stage. On the far left side of the image there is one person manufacturing one product, this stage represents the highest cost per unit. In the second stage (middle of the image) there are five people involved in manufacturing multiple products, this stage is less expensive per unit than the first stage. On the third stage (far right of the image) a manufacturing plant has been created to streamline the manufacturing process. This image is meant to demonstrate how economies of scale can be achieved by investing in manufacturing infrastructure.

Economies of scale exist when making more of the same product or service leads to a reduction in the cost of the individual product. To learn more click here.

An illustration that is broken into two sections. On the left side of the image, there are three different types of food (hamburger, corn on the cob, and baked potato) along with three different ways of cooking, or preparing them. The three different cooking methods are charcoal grill, an electric stove, and a microwave. On the right side of the image the same three types of food are all prepared on one propane grill. This image is meant to demonstrate the efficiencies that are created when you leverage production or manufacturing equipment and processes to create economies of scope.

Economies of scope exist when it's less expensive to make or deliver multiple products or services together versus separately. To learn more click here.

An illustration of two different company headquarters. The company on the left side of the image has three separate trucks leaving their dispatch center to deliver three separate service offerings. The company on the right side of the image has one truck leaving the dispatch center. The company on the right uses one truck to deliver all three service offerings. Both companies provide the same service offerings but the company on the right has achieved economies of scope by leveraging the costs associated with their service trucks.

Economies of scope exist when it's less expensive to make or deliver multiple products or services together versus separately. To learn more click here.

A colored box with four quadrants that depicts how a business can create value with positive economics and competitive positioning

Value creator organizations combine positive industry tailwinds with sustainable organizational differentiation quantified by equity spread - the weighted average cost of capital (debt & equity costs of an organization) less an organization's return on equity (net income/equity). To learn more click here.

A chart that shows three steps to conducting a strategic industry focused white paper.

GroundSwell's industry white paper process clearly defines your customer, competition and cost structure through a rigorous strategic industry analysis. To learn more click here.

balanced scale with input, time and people on one side and efficiency and profit on the other side

GroundSwell’s time-driven activity-based costing budgeting utilizes time series analysis, or time drivers, to analyze a company’s historical financials as well as to create monthly and annual projections. To learn more click here.

A series of boxes, the letter x's and arrows breaking down the steps completed in time-driven activity-based costing budgeting & analysis

Time-driven financial analysis takes the time to do something multiplied by the things completing during a period of time and how much labor actually costs to calculate your total actual labor costs of doing something. To learn more click here.

A sketched mannequin employee completing a task with scissors being watched & timed by a sketched mannequin manager with a clipboard with a time driver monitoring sheet on it

A time driver is the amount of time it takes for an individual or team to consistently complete a recurring task. To learn more click here.

Two different sketched mannequins working on similar tasks with one being effective (working 80% of the time) and the other not (only working 20% of the time) and how much each actually works in an hour (80% utilization equates to 48 minutes worked in an hour) with 20% utilization equating to 12 minutes of actual work in an hour

GroundSwell's TDABC utilization rate calculates the percent of time actually worked based on the number of known tasks completed during a period of time. To learn more click here.

A sketch with two different hands with arrows above them representing worker A and B respectively with $10 dollar bills in them representing an employee's hourly pay rate plus two additional hands under them same arrow holding bags representing the typical 20% benefit load employers pay in additional to an employee's state pay. The two different arrows end on the right side of the image with a column depicting the different effective labor cost rates of worker A and B ($15 and $60 respectively) because worker A has a 80% utilization rate and worker B has a 20% utilization rate

GroundSwell's TDABC effective labor cost rate calculates the actual cost of labor including known employee benefit costs and utilization rates. To learn more click here.

Three connected hexagons with stick figures in them each visualizing the following key intelligences: inner, people and systems focus

The majority of personal and organizational financial success stems from the flexible focus of individuals and teams that consistently demonstrate emotional, social and systems intelligence. To learn more click here.

stick figure with visible color coded organs

Interoception is a lesser-known sense that helps you understand and feel what's going on inside your body. GroundSwell℠ teaches business owners to control their gut reactions and make better decisions. To learn more click here.

An illustration of a stick figure that is managing their visceral system to create an optimal state

We teach business owners to manage their gut reactions and make better decisions. To learn more click here.

The vagus nerve, otherwise known as the “wandering nerve” oversees a vast array of crucial bodily functions, including control of mood, immune response, digestion and heart rate. Bringing awareness to your vagus nerve helps you regulate your stress-response-system and trigger a relaxation, rest and recovery response. To learn more click here.

A diagram of a box that depicts the flow state which is achieved by finding the right balance between level of challenge and level of skill

Flow is “a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter." To learn more click here.

x and y graph depicting an individuals response to external triggers

Our interoception training is a systematic repeatable way to be objective and measured in response to most if not all mental and emotional triggers. To learn more click here.

An illustration that shows three separate blocks that cascade down the page and depict motivational needs that we all have. The first block is blue and is titled Need to Influence. The second block is yellow and is titled Need For Achievement. The third block is red and is titled Need For Affinity. Each block has bullet points listed under the title to give more information on that specific need.

All managers and leaders have motivational needs. The key is knowing what they are, how they go awry and being on guard so they don't. To learn more click here.

An X, Y chart that depicts the flow state cues and focus area.

Our Inner Optimization℠ training allows you to be asleep and awake simultaneously, enabling peak performance, open awareness, targeted focus and relaxation - all at the same time. To learn more click here.

Increase your visceral awareness by smiling at your primary organs and enhance positive emotions and increase emotional, social and systems intelligence. To learn more click here.

An illustration of three sperate stick figures with viable color coded visceral system who are managing their circulatory and digestive systems to achieve optimal health.

GroundSwell's TranSwell℠ proprietary interoception practice integrates the best of traditional meditation (targeted focus) and mindfulness (untargeted self-observation) with specific visceral system directed focus to proactively create an optimized state of thinking, feeling and doing associated with better decisions and increased inner and outer equanimity. To learn more click here.

stick figure standing on red cube surrounded by five key components to peak performance

GroundSwell's Intrapersonal Tensegrity℠ - A peak performance framework. To learn more click here.

Illustration depicting tensegrity with a stick figure surrounacded by nutrition, positive alignment & movement, inner optimization℠, objective self-talk, and biofeedback & entrainment

Based on over fifteen years of extensive research into peak performance and biohacking, we’ve selected and curated the most efficient and effective options and integrated them into our Intrapersonal Tensegrity℠ framework and offerings for owner-managers. To learn more click here.

A pyramid with 7 levels that depict the seven key components to living a performance lifestyle

Based on over ten years of extensive research into peak performance and biohacking, we’ve selected and curated the most efficient and effective health and peak performance options and integrated them into our Pyramid of Self-hacking Development℠. To learn more click here.

An illustration of a pyramid that has seven levels and depicts the key components to family development across generations

Does your family collectively know who you are, what you stand for, where you're going and how you’re different? To learn more click here.

$A fractal flywheel that has seven levels and depicts the key components to family development across generations$

GroundSwell℠ has over forty years of data and frameworks that predict success in organizations and has applied that knowledge to families with repeated success. To learn more click here.

$A fractal flywheel that has seven levels and depicts the key components to family development across generations$

The Fractal Flywheel of Family Development℠ provides your family a clear path to develop a long-term family plan including heir training. To learn more click here.

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