15 Years of Relationships

Dear Valued Partners,

2017 marks Horizon Leadership’s 15th year in business!

I recently ran into a fellow business owner who was coincidentally wearing a jacket with a logo on it celebrating her 15th year in business. It read “15 years of excellence.” I considered shamelessly stealing that tag line; however it just wasn’t working for me. I kept thinking about it and wondering what was holding me back from using that as our celebration tag line too. It’s certainly true, relevant, to the point and positively phrased—what’s my hang up? And then it dawned on me! While we clearly have been fortunate to provide 15 years of excellence, it has been our focus on building relationships that has allowed us to achieve success with our clients, partners and employees.

Therefore, this year we are celebrating 15 years of relationships!

I have heard others say that business relationships are tricky and are best built and conducted differently than personal relationships. In fact I have been counseled many times over the past 15 years by well meaning, business minded people to “watch your back”, “don’t get too close”, “protect yourself”, “don’t trust anyone”. On the occasions that I have been hurt or disappointed by others professionally, the common coaching I have received typically sounds something like: “It’s business Cindy, do what is best for Horizon Leadership!” Fortunately, that is not the way we have gone about building relationships for the first 15 years here at Horizon Leadership.

One of the definitions of the word relationship is “the way in which two or more concepts, objects or people are connected, or the stat of being connected.” For many, successfully connecting with others personally and professionally is critical. It is frankly what sustains me. At Horizon Leadership, we believe that connections and relationships come from continually demonstrating the following 4 attributes:

• Trust - we have each other’s back. One of the most important things to me is that you trust me as the leader; you trust everyone associated with Horizon Leadership, and we trust each other. We trust each other to do what we say we will, to be hones and ethical, and to always have each other’s best interest in mind.

• Authenticity - we know each other’s true selves. You are confident that what you see from us represents our true nature and beliefs. You find us to be genuine. We are genuine with each other.

• Kindness - the filter by which we make decisions. Frankly, if I had to pick one word that I would want someone to use to describe me personally after I am gone, it would be “kind.” Kindness takes strength, self-esteem and discipline. We try very hard to test our decisions against the question “is it the kind thing to do?”

In 2002, after many prayerful days and nights (should I really do this?…), I left a wonderful position at General Electric to launch Horizon Leadership, Inc. I vividly remember our very first week in business sitting in a planning meeting, with my one and only employee at the time, staring at a blank flip chart page (I still never go anywhere without a blank flip chart page) wondering what the future of Horizon Leadership would hold. Today, I honestly have no idea what we ended up writing on that flip chart, but I now know what the future held - the gift of many wonderful clients, partners and employees that have allowed us to connect and build relationships together for the past 15 years. I am truly grateful for everyone that has trusted Horizon Leadership to partner with you to drive mutual success. I don’t take it lightly, and I thank you. I look forward to many more years of connected excellence with you.

Thanks you.

Cindy Larkin

President - Horizon Leadership, Inc.

Horizon Leadership Among America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies

Inc. Magazine announced its 2013 rankings for the Inc. 500/5000, adding Horizon Leadership to the list of top U.S. companies for growth.

Atlanta, GA 2013—Horizon Leadership continues to find itself on top-company lists, most recently, Inc. Magazine’s 500/5000. For 32 years, Inc. has welcomed the fastest-growing private companies in America into this very exclusive club of fast-growing companies. Despite a very difficult economy, Horizon Leadership has grown an impressive 83 percent since 2009, a key statistic that landed the firm at number 3621 on the prestigious list.

“As an Inc. 5000 honoree, Horizon Leadership now shares a pedigree with Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Jamba Juice, Timberland, Oracle and more. You are in some pretty impressive company—which is exactly where you belong.” Eric Schurenberg, Editor in Chief of Inc. wrote to Horizon Leadership.

Horizon Leadership Founder and CEO, Cindy Larkin, was honored. “We are grateful for the outstanding relationships we have with both long-term and new clients, which have enabled us to grow, prosper and enjoy being recognized for the work we love to do.”

Horizon Leadership is an international Leadership Learning adn Development Consulting Firm based out of Atlanta, GA. Horizon Leadership provides Facilitation and Training Resources, Instructional Design and Development, Visual Communications Services and consults with global Learning and Development organizations from the world’s top companies.