| Joe McKenna, Founder
and President of The KENNA Company |
 |
"My
goal is to help you, and your company, become a
magnet for talented, engaged, productive employees!" -
Joe McKenna
|
I believe most people like to know who they are working
with when they hire a consultant or coach. After all,
the relationship is one that has to be grounded in
similar principals and beliefs and trust.
To this end you have a right to learn a bit about
me.
I graduated with a BS in Biology from the University
of Nebraska. After graduation and some graduate school,
I went to work for Marion Laboratories; a very exciting
Kansas City based pharmaceutical company. I was based
in Newport Beach, CA as a sales rep. I was successful
in sales and advanced through the ranks. I won Salesman
of the Year my 4th year with the company and earned
the coveted 'Marion Ring' (for sales excellence) a
number of times. Marion, by the way, was one of the
extremely successful drug companies of the 80s and
90s with a very solid and positive culture and great
leadership (Mr. K - Ewing Marion Kauffman - was the
founder).
I accepted a promotion to the home office (Kansas
City) in 1980 to become the company's first sales promotion
manager. Because I was blessed with curiosity and perseverance
and skilled at blazing new territory, I also became
the first Key Account Manager, National Accounts Manager
and National Broker Manager. I also held positions
as product manager, Regional Marketing Manager, Southeast
Regional Sales Manager and New Business Development
Director. I won't bore you with all the other details
of my career at Marion. Suffice it to say, I have had
the opportunity to wear many hats and learn from some
very talented people.
I left Marion (it had gone from a small $30 million
company to a mega company and had merged with other
companies twice and been acquired once – it is
now Aventis Pharma) after a 23 year career. I had a
desire to do something on my own. I began as a consultant
in the areas of sales and marketing. The requests from
clients and prospects, though, often centered on helping
them with 'people issues'. This shaped
the future direction of the KENNA Company.
The KENNA Company's focus shifted away from planning
and more toward helping people in the work place get
along better and become more productive. This has included
work in the areas of selection, team building, and
conflict resolution plus leadership development. I
also have provided sales training support for some
of my clients.
I am very proud to say that my clients have included
some excellent organizations like Hallmark, Aquila,
John Deere, Erie Insurance, Brass Eagle Paintball,
Shell Oil, NKH&W Advertising, Alliance Water Resources,
Mr. Goodcents, Ivy Animal Health and lots more. I believe
I personally learn and grow with each company I serve
and become increasingly valuable to new clients.
In addition to my consulting, coaching and training
services, I also sell some of the very high quality
products that I personally use to help my clients.
I find that often the client needs the tools and perhaps
some training, but not the services of an outside resource.
When clients do purchase TeamTraks (a
team building product I saw the need for and, with
the help of a talented designer, Patrick Handley, PhD,
brought this product to market and , INSIGHT Inventory,
TTI products or other quality products from me,
they know that I will personally provide them with
all the support they need. These products share these
common characteristics: easy
to use - pragmatic - cost effective - practical - efficient
- flexible - results-oriented.
A bit more background, I helped build another company
called eHealthCoach which was founded by my wife, Dr.
Mindi McKenna. This business helps physicians understand
how and why to use the Internet in the practice of
medicine. I have also helped Mindi start a company
focused on Physician and Healthcare leadership. Mindi
helps me by teaching a number of the workshops offered
by The KENNA Company.
My family lives in Kansas City. Mindi (my wife) and
I have a Golden Retriever - Jordan. We have a son,
Josh, who is married to Rachel. They are expecting
their first child – a boy – on March 23,
2004. They live close by in Overland Park, Kansas.
We own a cabin at a lake south of KC and spend as much
time as we can at the cabin (our grandbaby may alter
our patterns).
I have a passion around strong work cultures that
are focused on both results and people.
Check me and my company out. Ask questions. Try our
products and services. I personally guarantee
your satisfaction. If you have questions,
call me direct at 816-943-0868 (fax - 816-943-0808).
Or, of course, you can e-mail me.
Thanks a lot for your interest in my company. I hope
I have the opportunity to serve you.
Cordially,
Joe McKenna
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| Vision: Helping Leaders (in our client
companies) Select and Engage High Impact Performers |
Mission: The KENNA Company (TKC) is dedicated to helping
its client companies improve productivity by helping
the companies select employees that are a good fit for
the job and the organization and by helping managers
become more effective at providing coaching and leadership
to these employees.
You've heard the saying "People don't quit companies,
they quit their managers." Over and over I have
seen this proved out. In fact, over 73% of all employees
who leave jobs leave because of their managers. Perhaps
it was a style conflict, or the manager was unavailable
to the employee or the manager just wasn't very good
at leading." Ask yourself, have you ever had a
'bad or ineffective' manager? Change this dynamic and
productivity and retention will improve.
The process of change is not always a straight line
and it is seldom easy. It involves having the right
person in the job, establishing mutual respect, developing
a realistic self understanding, establishing goals,
practicing open communication, being able to resolve
conflict effectively, time management, planning and
work/life balance.
There are a number of ways we can accomplish our mission
for our clients. Reading through this website – or
better yet, calling us to discuss your needs – is
the best way to find out if and how.
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