Meridith Elliott Powell is a business growth strategist who is committed to helping her clients learn to turn uncertainty into their competitive advantage. An award-winning author and Hall of Fame Speaker, Meridith’s expertise in strategic growth, sales, and leadership is rooted in real-world knowledge and a well-researched formula. She has shared her strategies for thriving in uncertainty with clients all over the world and seen the dramatic change her solutions have made in their business growth.
Company: MotionFirst
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Meridith Elliott Powell: Meridith Elliott Powell is a business growth strategist committed to helping her clients learn to turn uncertainty into a competitive advantage. A Hall of Fame Speaker, Award-Winning Author, and Master Certified Strategic Planner, Meridith travels the globe sharing her message and her research to help shift the collective mindset around change and disruption.
If you were in an elevator with Warren Buffett, how would you describe your company, your services or products? What makes your company different from others? What is your company’s biggest strength?
Meridith Elliott Powell: My company helps businesses not just navigate uncertainty but turn it into their competitive advantage. My ideas are built around a well-researched, proven 9-step formula that empowers clients to embrace disruption and thrive amidst unpredictability. What sets me apart? A proven formula, well-researched strategies, guaranteed results, and a highly engaging style and approachability.
Quiet quitting, The Great Resignation, is an ongoing trend causing many businesses to struggle to keep talent engaged and motivated. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued, and misunderstood in the workplace. In your experience, what keeps employees happy? And how are you adapting to the current shift we see?
Meridith Elliott Powell: As leaders and business owners, we have to realize this is not about a job; it is about culture. With employee engagement at an all-time low, you need to be able to answer the question: Why should employees care? Why should they commit? And why should they engage? What are you providing that would ignite their internal drive and motivation? At our company and with our clients, we are focused on three areas—purpose (more than a job, a reason to care), ownership (giving them a voice), and, lastly, performance (giving them the tools and resources to be successful).
Online business keeps on surging higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for the year to come and how are you capitalizing on the tidal wave?
Meridith Elliott Powell: This online surge will continue, and as a business owner, even if you have a brick-and-mortar store, you need to jump on the online craze. Why? Because online is one of the most important competitive advantages with customers today—convenience. How easy are you to do business with? So, in our business, we are going to continue to look at our online offerings and enhance, improve, and look for consistent ways to make it even more convenient for our customers.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating growth opportunities. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?
Meridith Elliott Powell: Uncertainty is the real challenge. Most leaders (one in three) have no plan for disruption and massive change, and more concerning than that, they fear it. The pace of change is increasing rapidly, and one in four employees are experiencing overwhelm and burnout. As a leader, you need to shift how you think about uncertainty—you need a plan to embrace it. Because if you do not, uncertainty will produce one emotion in you, your team, and your customers, and that emotion is fear. Fear will shut down your ability to engage, innovate, and drive results. But the flip side is also true—if you embrace uncertainty, it will drive innovation, engagement, and results.
In your experience, what tends to be the most underestimated part of running a company? Can you share an example?
Meridith Elliott Powell: The widening skill gap—hands down—and the importance of succession planning. More than 90% of employers say they are experiencing a skill gap in their organizations. Combine that with the silver tsunami (4 million baby boomers a year will be eligible for retirement in the next three years), and you have a serious talent deficit. You cannot underestimate the importance of talented individuals ready to move into positions as your company grows or as existing talent leaves or retires.
Last year, I was asked to work with a new client in a serious crisis. They had seriously undervalued the importance of investing in talent or succession planning. In a matter of 48 hours, they lost two key leaders—one to a heart attack and the other to embezzlement. Not paying attention to this trend cost them 32% of key staff members, who left due to fear, and 19% of their customers, who went to competitors.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Meridith Elliott Powell: Communication—it is the key to everything. A strong leader who can effectively communicate can engage, understand, motivate, and get their team to do the impossible—take action and get results.
What does “success” in 2024 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision
Meridith Elliott Powell: I am on a mission in life to help my clients and society as a whole learn to see disruption and uncertainty as their greatest competitive advantage.
