AN INTRODUCTION TO HARTLEY & ASSOCIATES

Who We Are

Hartley & Associates has provided staffing, organization building expertise, and professional services to the High Tech community since1984.

What We Do

Hartley & Associates assists corporations grow through a recognized series of lifecycles that are caused by the changing requirements of expanding business. Within these lifecycles, which are virtually the same within every corporation, all elements of the business are impacted. Hartley & Associates experts serve as a temporary expansion to the corporation's management team so that it can successfully react to and handle the transition to each new lifecycle.

The Transition Periods

It is during these transition periods that a corporation is most vulnerable because the existing management team usually is not able to recognize, or know how to handle, the changing conditions in time to respond in an effective manner. They are focused on dealing with daily operational issues and do not have the time or the necessary expertise.

The solution is to bring in the Organization Building Experts (OBE). Hartley & Associates OBE's have previously experienced these transitions with multiple clients and know how to successfully take a corporation into the next lifecycle of its growth. These experienced professionals' function as interim managers to direct the re-engineering of business processes during transition periods. Upon completion, the existing management team again takes control of the corporation.

Corporate Lifecycles

Dr. Ichak Adizes introduced the concept of corporate lifecycles in his book, titled "Corporate Lifecycles - How and why corporations grow and die and what to do about it". Dr. Adizes described corporations as being parallel to living organisms in that they are born, grow, age and die. Organizations that are not able to recognize and adapt to these changing phases, or lifecycles, often fall victim to well-documented traps and fail to reach their full potential, sometimes even going out of existence.

New Corporations

New corporations are launched on a daily basis, especially in the high tech industry. All that is needed is an idea for a new product or service, a receptive market, and enough money. Achieving success with the venture is another issue. The key to success is a comprehensive business plan that describes the goals and objectives of the proposed business and presents realistic revenue projections.

Hartley & Associates believes that the business plan is the most important document the new corporation produces because most funding decisions are based on its contents. For this reason, the OBE's first task is to create the anticipated sales and marketing strategy with required staffing needs to reflect the profitability of the start-up. After the plan has been accepted and funding has been authorized, the OBE directs the implementation activities. These include development of initial sales distribution channels, creating marketing programs and building the corporate infrastructure.

Upon completion, the OBE turns over the ongoing management responsibilities to the new management team. Early business successes, like early personal achievements, can cause people to become overconfident. In the case of founders, this can cause a reluctance to listen to others, delegate or to micro-manage. This fact accounts for more stunted or failed startups than any other single dynamic.

Expanding Corporations

There are two major considerations a corporation must constantly keep in mind as it grows through the lifecycles. The first is continuing to deliver a competitive product or service. The second is maintaining an effective corporate infrastructure. Failure to meet these two considerations has traditionally been the most significant factor in the failure of corporations to meet their full potential.

The OBE meets with the existing management team to identify the changing conditions and develop a plan to take the corporation through the transition into the next lifecycle. During these growth lifecycles, this often means re-structuring the organization to better utilize the management team and balance the workload. Other major considerations at these times are market analysis, sales strategies, strategic partnerships, internal reporting systems and development funding.

How We Do It

Management

As a corporation is founded and rapidly achieves business success, it is faced with dynamic conditions that impact all areas of the organization. At startup, the founders must set business strategies, build organizations, create sales and marketing programs and arrange funding. As the corporation grows, new problems arise that concern product direction, management capabilities, infrastructure growth, and the need for additional funding. The transition to each new lifecycle, as a corporation grows to its prime level, is critical to this continued expansion. If the management team does not effectively move through these transitions, the business will be negatively impacted and can even lose its market position and have to close the doors. These dangers are well documented in business publications and cannot be ignored. Hartley & Associates OBE's understand this and work with the existing management team to lead the corporation in a successful direction.

Human Resources / Recruiting

Start-ups often bring people in based on referrals, first from the founders and then from the initial staff. At some point in time, the referral activity runs out and the company must hire people they do not know. This is the time to bring in contract recruiters to help staff all the key areas and assist management in what we call, "Talent Balancing".

Established corporations will need to find key staff for new projects or products. Hartley & Associates provides the short-term solution in contract recruiting on-site to support your in-house HR department. Once the hiring push is over, the contract is over and the corporation can return to the previous size HR department without incurring additional staff. Contract and Retained recruiting can save time and money.

Marketing / Advertising / PR

Hartley & Associates can assist you in any of your marketing needs whether you are a new or expanding corporation. We pride ourselves in the creativity and customized approach we give to each project. All Marketing projects can be based on an hourly, project or retainer basis depending on your budgetary preferences. Corporate branding or re-branding services are also offered. In addition, market research and product concept testing services are available.

Sales

Most High Tech corporations sell their products and services through a variety of distribution channels. The selected sales channels are key to the success of the corporation as it dramatically impacts net profit. Hartley & Associates has the expertise to be able to create successful strategies that use the most effective sales distribution channels tailored for each corporation. When completed, these strategy plans serve as road maps for staffing and partner recruiting. Once the sales strategy has been completed and approved, Hartley & Associates is prepared to serve in the role of interim sales management to begin implementation. Initial steps include development of necessary business processes for greater sales efficiency. These include commission plans, CRM applications, sales tools and reporting systems.

As corporations continue to grow and expand, new products are introduced that require a review of current sales programs. In such cases, Hartley & Associates has the capability to come in and make necessary changes to existing sales strategies in order to create a cost effective process of distributing the new products.

The Conclusive Step

Whether you are a start-up or expanding corporation, Hartley & Associates can assist your organization in a controlled growth with a keen eye on profitability. We have a number of informative articles on our web site written by the Hartley & Associates staff, which reflect our opinions and philosophy. Your next step is to contact us at your earliest convenience and we will do a free analysis of your situation and prepare a detailed proposal to achieve your organizational goals and objectives.

HARTLEY & ASSOCIATES STAFF BIO’S

Mr. Jim Stedt, Founder & President, has been in the computer industry since 1969. He has held positions with Varian Associates, Pertec Computers, GTE, Microdata, ACT & other Hi-Tech companies. These positions were in Engineering, Software QA & development/Management, Sales & Marketing, Customer Service, advertising/PR & Corporate Management. This background lays a solid foundation for the analysis & problem solving based on multiple corporate viewpoints. Mr. Stedt has assisted numerous startups and the expansion of established companies. He holds degrees in both Electronic Engineering Technology & Computer Science.

In addition, Mr. Stedt has achieved the following:

  • Current monthly columnist for "MicroTimes Magazine"
  • Authored “The Micro Computer Dictionary” & “Re:Organize, Computer

Management" college textbooks

  • Written numerous articles for Business, Computer and Technology Publications
  • Presentations and seminars given to Irvine Valley College, Westwood College of Technology, Rotary groups, WorkNet, Borders Books and Music and local Chambers of Commerce
  • Founder of the “Orange County Meeting Of The Minds Forum”
  • Past President and board of directors member of Human Resource Independent Consultants Association of Southern California (HRIC)
  • Completed A.I.R.S. Internet Recruiting Classes
  • Member of Tech Ventures Association
  • Co-Inventor of “Computerized Controlled Pulsed Ultrasonic Wafer Cleaner”

Patent #6,027,246

  • Awarded “Best Ad of the Year” – Digital Design Magazine
  • Produced front covers for Data Sources and Digital Design Magazines
  • Serves on the following Boards and Committees:

California Statewide Business Education Advisory Committee

California Community Colleges Professional Development Advisory Committee

Computer Information Science Advisory Board for Irvine Valley College

Program Advisor for Westwood College of Technologies

Ms. Joan Ramstedt, President HR Division, is a highly experienced and creative professional with a solid record of accomplishment in national recruitment both on and off site. She has recruited multi-level technical, management and executive level professionals for companies in the computer, electronic, telephony and peripheral industries.
Since 1984, Ms. Ramstedt has been an independent contract recruiter and human resources consultant specializing in emerging and Fortune 500 Companies. She has a proven ability to provide hands on tactical as well as strategic thinking for complex and difficult recruiting assignments and facilitation of human resources issues during difficult times of transition.

Joan Ramstedt has given presentations for numerous public and private institutions and has current and past memberships in NHRA (National Human Resources Association), HRIC (Human Resources Independent Consultants of Southern California, OCEMA (Orange County Employment Manager's Association), Southern California Software Council, and (TCVN) The Tech Coast Venture Network.

Partial list of clients Ms. Ramstedt has consulted:

  • ACT Networks
  • Archive
  • Broadcom Corp.
  • Ethentica
  • Entrega
  • Fujitsu
  • ICL
  • Inacom
  • Infodetics
  • Targus International
  • Volt Delta Resources
  • Western Digital Corporation
  • Phoenix Technologies
  • Who?Vision

Ms. Ramstedt graduated, with honors, from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a degree in Sociology and has attended California State University, Long Beach working on an MBA. In addition, she has taken numerous on-going professional development courses through the UCI Extension.

Mr. Jim Getzinger has over 30 years of experience in the information technology industry. He has a diverse background and has been involved in various functions of business including:

  • Creating and managing international sales distribution networks
  • Building strategic partner relationships for business development
  • Writing comprehensive business plans
  • Staffing and infrastructure building
  • Designing innovative marketing promotions
  • Developing comprehensive product marketing programs
  • Managing internal company operations

Mr. Getzinger has the capability and the balance of experience to provide interim management for growth companies that need to build strong foundations in order for them to reach expansion goals.

Accomplishments

  • As interim general manager for a German subsidiary of a computer software supplier, worked on site to set up office, hire staff and build sales network
  • Co-founded software company that developed translation products for migrating proven applications into the Unix environment
  • Established concept of a business partner directory for computer hardware company, resulting in first year sales increases of over 15%
  • Created award winning marketing promotions
  • Served as charter member of Orange County chapter of Software Council of Southern California

Career Experience

  • Hartley and Associates –
  • Miva Corporation – VP Marketing
  • Trilogy Technology – General Manager
  • MITI – International Sales Director
  • Bull HN Information Systems – Marketing Director
  • POINT 4 Data Corporation – Director Sales and Marketing
  • Software Manufacturers, Inc. – Co-founder and VP Sales/Marketing

Education

  • B.S., Mathematics, California Coast University
  • M.B.A., California Coast University

Mr. George Carson has been a dynamic force in the advertising and PR arenas for over 30 years. He has successfully developed unique concepts, themes, designs and corporate campaigns for a variety of local, regional and national clients.

He founded his own agency in 1980. Since that time, he has provided the services of design, advertising, public relations and marketing to a wide range of clients. Some of the high tech clients include:

  • OPTICON Inc.
  • Hewlett Packard
  • Togai InfraLogic Inc
  • Elpac Electronics Inc.
  • Nakayo Telecom, Inc.
  • Emulex Network Systems
  • Extreme Business Solutions
  • Space Applications Corporation
  • Concorde Peripheral Systems, Inc
  • HARRIS Digital Telephone Systems
  • Memphis Memory Components, LLC

Mr. Carson has continually kept a diversity of clients. This allows the creativity to be fresh and bold as he introduced different concepts to various industries.

Some of Mr. Carson'sclients who have benefited from his wide range of experience are:

  • Orange County Federal Credit Union
  • Jeep vehicles (Jeep Corporation)
  • Uniden LPGA Golf Tournament
  • Laura Scudder's Snack Foods
  • Bell Brand Snack Foods
  • Sir Speedy Corporate
  • ASICS Tiger footwear
  • The City of Orange
  • Universal Studios
  • Yamaha Sports
  • CBS Radio

Prior to forming his own company, Mr. Carson was the corporate Vice President & Creative Director at another agency. His talents were called upon to develop materials and campaigns for US Suzuki Motorcycles and Outboard Motors, Kawasaki Motorcycles, Sachs Mopeds and Bel-Ray Lubricants. As a Graphic Designer in LA, he was a partner in a studio where he created materials for a variety of television shows and movies such as "The Sting", "Lombard and Gable", and "Kojak". Mr. Carson developed campaigns for Kenny Rogers, The Osmonds, The Jackson 5, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Budget Rent-A-Car, and Transamerica Financial Services. He continues to be in contact with many of the film and motion picture industry producers, placing client's products in television and movie scenes. An alumna of Cal State University at Long Beach, Mr. Carson received his Bachelor of Arts degree in graphic design with a minor in English and photography.

Mr. Rick Rawson has been a technical/Engineering recruiter since 1989. He has worked for numerous high tech companies in the Southern California area. His ability to quickly understand complex and difficult assignments is critical to his unique success in “hard to find” positions. Rick has the distinction of placing 38 technical positions in only 36 weeks.

He has recruited for the following areas:

  • IT
  • Internet
  • Telecom
  • E-Commerce
  • Software Engineering
  • Hardware Engineering

Mr. Rawson has spoken at numerous associations, colleges and private companies on Creating Resumes, Finding Jobs, Careers in the Year 2000, and How To Interview.

He is very computer knowledgeable working with Resumix and iSearch programs and, in the last six years, has become very Internet savvy. He has a B.A. Degree from the University of Nebraska.

Mr. Rawson has recently provided staffing for the following companies:

  • ACT Networks
  • Aristos Logic
  • Broadcom Corp.
  • Entrega
  • Fujitsu
  • Inacom
  • HomeBase
  • Ingram Micro
  • Targus International
  • Volt Delta Resources
  • Western Digital Corporation
  • Phoenix Technologies
  • Who?Vision

Mr. Richard Daugherty has been a software developer since 1980. A team-oriented professional, his excellent communication skills and determined attention to detail has enabled him to consistently create easy-to-use application software.

Mr. Daugherty's extensive experience in software development has included use of the following software tools and platforms:

  • PHP
  • MySQL
  • JavaScript
  • Dreamweaver
  • Flash
  • Fireworks
  • HTML / XHTML
  • C
  • Basic
  • Assembly
  • CSS
  • ASP
  • VBA
  • VBScript
  • C++
  • COM
  • OOP
  • UNIX
  • OS/2

Mr. Daugherty has developed in excess of 50 complete software applications for major international computer manufacturers, for use both in-house and by their customers. Emphasis on high quality of work has resulted in ultimate end-user satisfaction in all cases. He has worked for such companies as:

  • Symbol Technologies, Inc.
  • MSI Data Corporation
  • SysCal Consulting
  • Pertec Computer Corporation

Mr. Daugherty has a B.S. degree in Computer Science and Engineering, Cum Laude, from Cal State University, Long Beach. He has continued his education and training in the areas of: Pascal, dBase III+, data communications, systems analysis, accounting, Win32 System Services; Microsoft IIS; TCP/IP; Palm programming; ISO 9000 auditing; networking; Symbol's ObjectWave; Zetes' MCL; and Symbol's UBASIC.

Mr. Daugherty is an active member of Toastmasters International, currently serving as his Club's Vice President of Public Relations. He is a continuing member of the Area, Division and District Councils, regularly acts as a judge for Area and Division Speech Contests and has achieved the highest level awarded by the organization, that of Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM).