CSR’s Gifts to Me

I am wrapping up over a dozen years of serving CSR clients this month. I am looking forward to a different pace and focus in my professional and personal life, but I also wanted to say a huge thank you to CSR’s founders, my CSR team members, and to those many clients that I had an opportunity to serve. It’s been an unforgettable ride, and the gifts have been numerous. There have been four main areas that have really enriched my life – thank you for the space to elaborate on them. 

1. Professional development

   
   

Despite its relatively small size and, now,100% virtual workforce, CSR has done an amazing job over the years with putting professional development as a high priority for team members. With few exceptions, CSR meets every month for a team huddle that’s a quick-paced and interactive way of staying on top of things. In addition to sharing technical tips, delving into AI tools, and sharing how we’re applying our playbook to clients’ needs, we’re always actively discussing a book or program. These discussions guide how we better work together, give us ideas for enhancing our clients’ goals, and they expose us to important professional topics. 

If I had to pick my top three favorite books or tools, they would have to be these: 

1. Explore Everything DiSC – fascinating to discover more about my work style, but even more fascinating to see how it aligns with my team members’ styles and how our clients could benefit from the assessments and applications. BTW, I’m a Dominance style with a nod to the Conscientiousness. 

   
   

2. Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect by Will Guidara – at first, I was skeptical about how much a book about high-end restaurants could teach us about management consulting, but how wrong I was! This was such an interesting read with applications for ANY industry – service, manufacturing, non-profit, and government sectors. BTW, a gift card to Eleven Madison Park and a reservation would be an amazing retirement gift. 

   
   

3. The 6 Types of Working Genius: A Better Way to Understand Your Gifts, Your Frustrations, and Your Team by Patrick Lencioni – I liked this one so much that I made sure that my very next client and my husband received an assessment for gifts that year. This was another illuminating read that made it easy for us to understand why we worked best in certain areas and how we could interact with teammates and clients better after knowing their geniuses – and to give more grace around our own and their working frustrations. BTW, my two geniuses are Enablement and Discernment. 

2. The value of mission, vision, and values and staying true to our playbook

CSR definitely ate its own cooking in this important area. We consistently counseled our clients about the importance of a strong mission and vision statement and a short list of highly memorable and practical values. It was fun to see their eyes widen and light up when we helped them to the right formula, and it was really gratifying to see them start to apply their mission, vision, and values to their objectives, priorities, and varied issues. 

CSR lived out what it taught clients. In the twelve years that I worked with CSR, I witnessed only slight changes to the playbook language because they suited a growing set of sectors that we served. Otherwise, the mission, vision, and values were highly stable and foundational. And they were frequently consulted and discussed. 

During each monthly huddle meeting, a different team member presents an example in which our CSR playbook has benefited a specific client. What values were in play? How did we create greater happiness for the principal? How were their goals met? 

3. The freedom and flexibility to learn, explore, fail, and grow

I enjoyed a long career with a big corporation and a short stint with a faith-based nonprofit before coming to work with CSR clients. I grew and learned a lot in the finance, quality, and marketing functions. I worked for multiple sectors in multiple US cities. My husband and I started a family, and we enjoyed raising three children together. With the birth of our first child, we made the decision for me to scale back from a full-time role to part-time. I have maintained that even as our children are now all young adults. 

CSR has afforded me the flexibility to work part-time and also the freedom to continue to stay mentally and intellectually nimble. As CSR has grown and expanded, I have followed that trajectory into new services and have learned new applications and tools. The variety of clients that I have served has stretched me, and I’m eternally grateful. 

4. The personal connections and lasting friendships

   
   

This last section is the one that will stick with me forever – the important and strengthening relationships that CSR has afforded to me. Thank you to Alex and María Muñoz for the organization that you created and continue to nurture. Thank you to the amazing team members on board right now and all those I had the pleasure of interacting with over the past 12+ years. Through professional and social gatherings, we have had the opportunity to share things that many colleagues do not, and that has been such a joy. 

And a huge thank you to the CSR clients that I performed projects for – each and every one taught me something and allowed me to contribute to their goals. I’ll attempt to name them individually, and if anyone was overlooked, I know I’ll hear about it – another graceful gift! To Steve Heckler; Johanna Chapin; Tim Toomey; Neal Dodell; Kevin Caiaccio; Contente Terry; Wendy Guarisco; Jennifer Abshire; the principals at Arbor; Teresa Shell; Amanda Farahany; Kathy Harrington-Sullivan; Dontaye Carter; Stacey Felzer; the partners at Cash, Krugler & Fredericks; Mike Elmers; Chris Barkley; Tres Fromme; Mary Beth Lake; Shannon Goodman; Larry Freiman; the principals at MicroCorp; Jodi Ganz; Todd Poole; David Peters; Doug Bristol; Tom Shepherd; the principals at Sterling Risk Advisors; Shelly Donaldson; and you never forget your first love, TrainingPros (Steve Kapaun and Leigh Anne Lankford) - thank you, one and all! 

What’s next?

As I retire from this beautiful management consulting experience, I’m shifting gears to various pursuits – slower and quieter. 

Our Atlanta home of 29 years needs some serious TLC, and it’s finally going to receive it. That serious work will allow my husband and me to downsize and simplify and look to a new home near the ocean somewhere. That will be fun to explore! 

I’ll continue with my faith-based ventures: 

• Fourth Quarter coaching, retreats, and speaking engagements

• SoulCore (praying the rosary to exercise) as a small class leader and on retreats (my favorite pastime)

• Speaking engagements 

• Staying active within my local parish: facilitating small group scripture studies, serving on the parish council, helping with club programming, and generally lending a hand where it may be most needed

• Continuing to Mom-So-Hard with our three adult children and very adult rescue dog

I probably have a few more dreams to pursue, and some are just starting to form in my head.

Catherine Fuss