Megan Patton always was interested in a variety of subjects as a young girl and sought to learn as much as she could about each one. She studied religion At Kenyon College and joined the Peace Corps, where she taught English in Nepal.
After her Peace Corps tour ended, she continued to look for the “next best thing” and landed a job working in a start-up consulting company. Although she was not doing consulting work, as the manager of the office, she learned a great deal by watching and absorbing everything happening at that company. It was at this company where she developed a passion for consulting. That led to her pursuing an MBA from Case Western Reserve University. While working on her masters, she interned for a consulting firm specializing in working with early stage companies, and the passion continued to be developed! Two more gigs with consulting firms followed – the first with a strategic consulting firm focused on the steel industry, and the next a large multinational consulting firm where she stayed for many years.
Megan’s education and practical training has given her a strong background as a business strategist. She works primarily with the owners of a company to help them plan and ensure departments are working cohesively to keep the business heading in the right direction. Megan is a licensed affiliate with the One Page Business Plan™ and uses it to guide her clients through the business planning process.
Her passion is to help business owners communicate their dreams and objectives and turn them into tangible goals for the business. She helps create a road map for the staff to keep the business profitable, yet stay within the guidelines established by the owner.
In addition to running ODA Strategy, Megan was appointed Principal with CEO to CEO, Inc. and serves middle market clients in areas including: developing leadership operating systems, team effectiveness and developing the emerging leader.
Megan shares, “I love working with people and trying to pull out their passion, their best ideas, their hopes and their dreams for their company. The difficult part for business owners in implementing the strategies that will help them achieve their vision is that they get caught up in the day to day – there are fires to put out and sales to make and all those tasks that go into running a daily business. So what I help them do is to step aside for a minute, take a broader view and really focus on what needs to be done today and tomorrow to help achieve their goal. So it’s very today thinking. It’s very much about coming up with action plans that are implementable. They’re challenging, but they’re realistic and doable and that’s what I love. That’s what excites me.”
Megan has a vision for her own company. She desires to be a trusted advisor and accountability partner for small to medium sized businesses in her local area of Cleveland. Her excitement about Cleveland and helping businesses in the area grow and thrive is evident. In addition, her vision also includes providing a place for other coaches and consultants to join her and thrive in their own right.
It is all about the client’s needs for Megan,
“Ultimately I want my firm to be recognized as one that delivers excellence to their clients. Whether that means I’m personally delivering the service, or somebody else is, that’s okay as long as my client’s getting the best solution possible.”
She finds motivation from her clients when they are successful. A client that calls with a success story is what keeps her going, and she strives to help as many people as possible.
She said,
“That’s the fun part, when you can start to see some clarity after being stuck in the muck. You see the things that are wrong and create systems, the boring stuff, but when those come to fruition and the client looks back at their plan and says, “Wow I did steps 1-7 and I actually had success.” That’s really exciting and it motivates me to keep doing what I do.”
Megan maintains a busy schedule outside her own office and time management is a priority. She serves on several boards in the Cleveland area.
Megan is living proof that even the best coaches need some coaching from time to time.
“Time management is huge. I’ve had the opportunity to work with a wonderful time management coach, Lisa Crilley Mallis, with Impactive Strategies, who has really helped me get those building blocks in place and smooth out my foundation, so that I’m operating from a daily position of strength. It is so easy to get overwhelmed, with being a business owner, a volunteer, and a parent. There is so much that can derail you every day. I’ve been fortunate that I work with a great coach and believe every coach needs a coach.”
Megan’s one piece of advice for business people, Be a sponge! Take every opportunity to network, learn from others and even meet your competitors. Most people are willing to open up about their business, talk about their successes, as well as their failures, and offer advice. People love to be seen as mentors to someone who is just starting out. So, be a sponge and soak it all up.
Megan is very secure in her personal and business life right now and loves the flexibility working in her own business provides. She has control over what clients she accepts and still has the opportunity to help her community by serving on a various nonprofit boards. She can even take time to be involved with her children’s school activities.
She has two children attending college, and her youngest is in high school.
“It’s a very exciting time, personally, watching my kids turn into adults, the next stage in their lives. It’s been fun to be with them on that journey. My husband is extremely supportive of my career. He is my biggest supporter and advisor. He’s successful in his own right and in the evening you’ll find us talking about our business or other companies that we’re familiar with. It’s just a lot of fun right now.”
Megan Patton has accumulated a wonderful set of experiences and memories. Her business is growing and she can’t wait for what tomorrow brings, as she continues to “Soar to Success.”
To learn more about Megan and her business visit: www.ODAStrategy.com. To contact her directly, either email: mpatton@odastrategy.com or phone 440-655-4755.
