This is the result of 20+ years of learning
how to build a better business
(so you fast-forward to the good part).
Hello, I’m Dustin.
I’m a long-time business owner, leader, technology executive and consultant who helps other business leaders and owners go from idea to high growth, or get unstuck and get to the next level.
My clients are from all walks of life. They’re all exceptional people and very intelligent in their chosen profession. Most don’t have formal business training. They come to me looking for…
- A clear path and execution strategy for their business into the future.
- A clearer, “doable” vision for the future in the first place!
- The keys to getting “unstuck” and building momentum.
- How to re-ignite the energy and passion of a once-invested staff who has now lost focus.
- Measurable performance improvement that can be enjoyed all the way to the bank.
Really, a business is a delicate connection of individual human beings each with their own needs, quirks, and special features, who – somehow – have to agree to work toward the same end.
Is that what you’re looking for, too?
I’ve seen my own clients achieve this, and more.
It could be that your business has achieved a level of success that you’re very proud of, but now you don’t know what’s next. The old cliché “What got you here won’t get you there” feels all too real and it’s time for new answers. It’s time to take your business further.
Perhaps it is that you’re facing an entirely new challenge – even a new opportunity – that may reshape your business and you need to build strategic perspective and an execution plan to meet the need.
Or there’s the very real possibility none of this was ever your plan. That is, you never intended to be an entrepreneur.
But now here you are making your way in the world. And you have come to the realization that “a business” isn’t actually a thing. People say it like it’s a living thing – “My business is performing well.” Really, a business is a delicate connection of individual human beings each with their own needs, quirks, and special features, who – somehow – have to agree to work toward the same end.
And now you have the awesome responsibility to do your best not only for yourself, but for the lives of your employees and their families whose livelihoods depend on your business. It is both an amazing and frightening thing all at the same time, and you wish to do your very best.
And that is my story…
I never intended on being an entrepreneur.
But I’ve dedicated myself to learning how to be the best
and helping others achieve their best, too.
I didn’t intend on entrepreneurship or a business career, but my experience has given me a unique perspective to help leadership teams unite, execute, and outperform. Let me explain.
I grew up in an incredibly entrepreneurial family. I was part of several businesses as a young person including a convenience store, a landscaping business, appliance repair, locksmithing – I even sold greeting cards door-to-door when I was just 8 years old. From an early age I learned values around commitment and follow-through. Even so, I did not initially plan a life of business.
I went to grad school as a research psychologist, studying how people relate to one another and their motivations. This resulted in a deep understanding of group dynamics, interpersonal relationships, and motivation.
At that same time, the internet was just hitting mainstream and taking off. I spotted opportunity and learned absolutely everything I could about it. That learning led to incredible opportunity and before I knew it, I had left grad school and was working full time for my first client. I rapidly gained new internet technology clients from coast to coast and as I did, a hint of my actual super power emerged.
Although I was consulting in the technology of the internet my experience in psychology helped me see the issues in team dynamics in my clients. As a result, I rapidly got drawn into people and team management issues in my clients’ teams. Even as my company helped build technology infrastructure, I had the opportunity to help build human infrastructure for my clients. And I was hooked.
I had seen first hand how valuable combining psychology, technology, and business management could be.
And then 2007-2008 happened. Perhaps you remember. The bottom fell out of the economy and my clients went with it. In one week, more than 80% of the client base of my 15 person firm went bankrupt. Not long after, my first company followed.
That business may have ended, but the learning didn’t stop. I had seen first hand how valuable combining psychology, technology, and business management could be, but I needed to kick it up a notch.
Without a business to call my own, I found a veteran consultant who had helped grow hundreds of businesses and asked him to mentor me – to teach me everything he knew. It was effectively my own personal MBA. For 18 months I studied under him, learning more tools and techniques. Into that experience, I injected my advanced psychology training and my technology experience to create my unique perspective.
Fulfilling My Purpose
I’ve worked with companies in most industries, from solopreneurs to the Fortune 100, helping execute hundreds of projects. In that experience, the value I provide has clearly emerged:
My purpose is
building cohesive, high-performing teams
and enabling them to turn unformed ideas
into crisp, clearly executed avenues to the future.
My methods work for any team that has motivation and commitment, but little else. In fact, they may not even know exactly what they’re committed to. Lack of clarity doesn’t scare me – it’s my jam.
I have devised methods for helping teams unite and overcome the interpersonal – and intrapersonal – blocks that get in the way of getting the job done.
My step-wise system helps owners, leaders, and teams regain clarity and confidence in the vision, direction, and goals for the business and the team, re-energizing teams weary from frantic directional shifts, or equally weary from no action at all.
Finally, I bring a system of professional management with which to run the business, tuned to the business. No management training or knowledge necessary. Everything is simple in its complexity. The result is a team that knows what to execute, when to execute, how to execute, and that has each other’s back in the process.
Is that what you’re looking for?
If you’ve been looking for how to create a united, high-performing leadership team focused on a cohesive vision that energetically and predictably drives towards known results, I invite you to review the different ways I work with clients.
Dustin’s Bio
Dustin Walling is business strategy, execution, and leadership team consultant focused on small-to-medium businesses who wish to achieve breakthrough results.
He has helped clients from solopreneurs to the Fortune 100 develop strategy, learn and implement simple professional management, or solve tactical and technical problems, resulting in multiple clients that outperform industry peers, several mergers and acquisitions, and most critically, people and teams that achieve new potential.
His methods begin with creating highly effective leadership teams that understand, trust and collaborate effectively with one another. Into that environment he injects simple management systems that foster continuous clarity and enable improved results.
Over his career, Dustin has worked with companies like Microsoft, Warner Bros., Vitamins.com, Hollywood Video, Allied Telesis, and numerous small-to-medium businesses and non-profits across industries. He resides in the Puget Sound with his wife and two sons.
