A team of HTG members have been on the ground here in Peoria this week performing a SWOT on HTG13 member Pearl Technology. Pearl is led by Greg Johnson and team and we have had a fantastic time interacting with the management team, execs and entire staff as we went through the process. I was joined by Jeff Howard, Jeff Wood, Steve Knutson and Peter Sorensen as we spent two very long yet productive days diving into all things from all angles and providing the team at Pearl with recommendations and suggestions for the future.

Each time we take a team to an HTG member company, the process is unique. While we all are in the technology business, each and every company serves a unique market with unique people. That keeps the SWOT process very fresh and exciting. We have a typical agenda we follow, but as is always the case, after the first couple hours it pretty much goes out the window and we make adjustments on the fly to provide the most value we can for our member company. That was no different this week.

The team spent time with employees but a significant portion of our time was spent with the management team focused on some of the core elements to their structure and market. Being in Peoria in this current economy - Caterpillar and all things associated play a huge part in how they go to market. You know it is a pretty important thing when the President of the US comes to town during our visit to speak to the folks at Cat. We thought that President Obama had heard about our SWOT and was coming to see us - but that didn't materialize. We did leave a long list of ideas and suggestions, and now the hard work begins for the team to tackle in order to drive Pearl to the next level.

A special thanks to the team that assembled here to do the hard work of performing the SWOT. Steve, Jeff, Peter and Jeff did a masterful job of turning over rocks and finding things that will make a difference for Pearl. They gave a few days of their life to serve, and they also all said they learned much themselves they can take back to their own company as part of the process as well. That is what happens when we give freely and serve - we are always blessed more than we feel we gave. Thanks guys, for sharing life and making a difference this week!