The GovCon market is constantly changing and evolving, with new prospective competitors and partners taking the stage regularly. Just a little over a year out of the gates, we caught up with Chad Thyes, President of Adonde, to find out how he applies his nearly 20 years of progressive responsibility in business transformation and experience executing, leading, and supporting mission critical programs to drive for success for this new entity focused on helping organizations chart a path from where they are to where they want to be. Here he shares some key lessons as a start-up, the biggest mistakes in CX, and why he is the perfect partner for large small businesses.
From Zero to One: Lessons as a Startup
Coming from the perspective gained with several leading GovCon firms, Chad says the biggest lesson he had to quickly learn is that as a one-man band, no detail is too large, or too small, that it can escape your notice. “You quickly develop a deep and profound respect for the hustle that small businesses need to do and the amount of networking that becomes part of the focus.”
Another challenge that must be quickly learned: understanding your worth. “Thanks to some of my earlier clients and mentors who shared that lesson and helped me understand the value they saw in Adonde, how that translated to the marketplace, luckily I got those answers fairly quickly. It is important to have those kinds of advisors, people you trust who can help you find what value you bring.”
The Secret to Networking
A self-described introvert, Chad is both strategic – and not – in how he approaches networking events. Knowing it can be difficult networking, “Sometimes I try to seek out events that might have a group of people I know. That helps me feel I am not swimming alone and can result in a lot more introductions.”
That being said, he says you have to not be afraid to go to an event that on first glance you assume may be completely useless. “Sometimes that will be where you find that one person you connect with and who you end up working with. As long as you are authentic, the lasting connections you make can come from anywhere.”
Focus and the Future
Leveraging an extensive background in federal healthcare, and a deep interest in helping citizens navigate life changing events, Chad is applying his business savvy, his foundation in CX, to opportunities that are aligned with customer and citizen facing services that include HHS, CMS, Census, IRS and commercial healthcare..
“There are some amazing companies out there that love IT and do it fantastically. My focus will always be service delivery and helping to improve the delivery of critical services.”
The Large Small Business
While there are certain advantages to small business partnering with small, for smalls to partner with larges, Chad has found one of his greatest advantages has been supporting graduated small businesses. “Just as I had to understand my worth as a small, these larger small businesses now have to understand their value as they go up against the big guys.”
“There is something empowering about bringing perspective to a company on a similar but different journey. Just as I am navigating my way in new waters, so too are they and there is a lot we can offer each other in that regard.”
He notes a large number of companies either recently graduated or about to graduate and is excited to be part of the new wave moving into the space.
“I’ve met so many small business and recently graduated small business entrepreneurs over the past year who have provided me with invaluable perspective on their growth, on their journey, and just knowing where they felt the most success and the most struggle. That insight into those lessons on growth is the single best thing you can have as you’re out there in the world. Adonde is excited to partner with them and looking forward to the next few years and getting to meet a number of new friends.”
A Foundation in CX
With Customer Experience taking stage as one of the latest buzzwords, and many companies laying claim to CX as a capability, Chad leans on his 20 years of experience to bring a deep understanding and perspective. “CX has to come from the mindset of how you rebuild trust in government, interaction after interaction. It must look at removing the administrative burden on citizens and stakeholders, so that frustration with government is decreased.”
Federal employees, and those in industry, must have a vested interest in CX as a way of delivering value for the money, a way of ensuring their work has meaning. “Making a system that helps people without causing frustration or multiple cycles is important. From a political perspective, understanding that we’re fragmented, CX is a way of binding us together that to say look, there may be many different viewpoints, but we can still make thing easier and better. This made things simpler for everyone.”
The Biggest Mistakes in CX
Skipping Change Management
“Whenever you change a customer experience, there needs to be some organizational change management involved. People make mistakes when they try to make a wholesale change without getting buy-in or the right understanding of stakeholder feedback. Without that you are simply making it better just from your view. The end-user may not agree it is better or understand the change.”
Look for the Friction Points: Don’t Solve the Wrong Problem
We need to constantly ask ourselves in implementing CX, what the friction point is – what is the reason for the change and how does it help our customer. “Why fix something if there isn’t a problem? If you can help someone, change it. If it doesn’t help anyone, if there was no friction, change just to make something look better just tends to create problems.”
Skip Metrics for Metrics Sake
“We need to think about only avoiding measuring services and instead implement metrics that help understand the outcomes. We overwhelm ourselves with numbers every single day. If you’re going to give someone a metric, give them the context that helps them understand the what and the why – then you have numbers that carry value. We need to ask ourselves, and our clients, “Are there better metrics based on understanding the outcome?”
About Adonde
Adonde is on a mission to repair trust in government, one customer experience at a time. From Customer Experience consulting to mission support, strategic communications, and program management services, Adonde works to increase transparency, improve outcomes, and deliver solutions for public sector clients and industry partners.
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