Modernizing Impact Strategy with Neelima Grover of Q2Impact

Speaker A: At a time of change and crisis. What I've learned is when you communicate with people and you're honest with them, they will understand. They may not be happy with what's happening, but they will understand. And when you don't do that, that's when you get into trouble.

Speaker B: Welcome to The Leaders of B2B Podcast, a weekly show where we bring you interviews and in the weeds Expertise with today's B2B experts and thought leaders. You can see more about today's episode and guest by visiting our website at, uh, leadersofb2b.com hey, leaders.

Speaker C: Welcome back to another episode of the leaders of B2B podcast. I'm Noah Tetzner, head of client strategy at content allies, a B2B podcasting agency. And I'm really excited today because I'm joined by Nelima Grover, founder and CEO of of Q2Impact, a trusted partner in helping governments and organizations worldwide enhance operational efficiency, readiness, and productivity. Nelema, welcome to leaders of B2B.

Speaker A: Thank you, Noah. Uh, it's really nice to be here.

Speaker C: It's nice to have you on the podcast, Nelema. You're doing some exciting work at Q2Impact. And today, what I want to get into in our conversation is, is this idea of transformation. We live in a world of uncertainty. The B2B leaders tuning into the show are very much aware of that. But before we get into these topics of agility and transformation and adaptability, I'd love to hear from you, from the founder, who is Q2Impact, and what is your organization all about?

Speaker A: Thank you, Noah. Uh, very excited to share with you some insights that I have gained on this very important topic here today. So Q2 impact is a, uh, management consulting firm that has been around for almost three decades. And we are the reliable data people. We are able to get the right information to the right people at the right time. That's sort of what we really focus on. And how do you use data to then make decisions to drive efficiency, to drive productivity, to increase your return on investment? Those are the areas that we are focused on. And typically, uh, data gives you the information, but then to be able to use that information effectively, you have to bring in other methods of adaptive management and organizational development to really get organizations to be able to use their data well and then to be able to work efficiently. And so putting those things together, putting the reliable data with the systems and the approaches and with the right incentive structures so that you can really drive efficiency and return on investment is what we do and what we've been doing for the last three decades.

Speaker C: I love it. And who do Q2 impact primarily serve and work with?

Speaker A: So we have been mainly focused on serving the US Government. And that too, within the US Government, we are focused mainly in areas that are in the foreign affairs domain. So working to support, uh, global programs that the US funds either through the State Department or through what used to be USAID or the Department of Defense. And so as these programs are being implemented, um, how do you really measure return on investment? How do you make sure that these programs are actually delivering what they said they were going to deliver? And how do they really serve the broader interests? Ah, national security interests. Those are the areas that we have worked in for a number of years. But then these are really drawn on commercial models of change management and organizational development and techniques and tools that are available with technology. So that's sort of what we've done.

Speaker C: Fascinating. Q2Impact is a relatively small organization that works in 96 different countries. Uh, that is no small feat. Can you tell us a little bit more about that and how you work across many different geographies, many different cultural environments and economies?

Speaker A: Yeah, we are a small business, but we are a, uh, very complex business because we have worked, like you said, in 96 countries. And in many of these countries we have had a long term presence. That means we have set up offices, we have hired local people, we have implemented programs on the ground with local organizations and we have sustained over years. In many of these countries we have been involved for just a short stint of time. But it's a very complex business when you're working across different cultures and geographies. And every country is different, every country has its own rules and regulations, but not only that, different cultures, different talent, different ways of governance. And so therefore entering any country has its own set of challenges and risks associated with getting in. And our infrastructure has been built to support that complexity. We have the right people here in the home office to support those operations. We have systems built around it. We have networks. You pick the country that you want to work in and we can identify the right people on the ground to help you do that. Because we have had networks that have been cultivated over years. And so through that, those networks, through those systems to manage risk, through that experience in having managed across complex geographies, we have, I guess, expertise in being able to do this work and being able to manage it and manage risk around it, which is no small feat. So, uh, and frankly always keeps life exciting.

Speaker C: Indeed. And along those lines, Nelima M One topic that we always explore on this podcast, because it never ceases to be relevant, is the topic of talent. Talent acquisition, talent management. How have you been able to manage and access great talent across these different geographies?

Speaker A: So this is a really important topic that you are addressing here, Noah, because we do live in a global economy and we have been successful in hiring talent across different geographies. But not always. I mean, there's a lot of learning that has happened as we have done this. So there is something called the CAGE model that people, people may or may not be familiar with. It's taught in business schools. C, A, G, E C standing for culture, A standing for administration, G standing for geography, and E stands for, uh, economic distance. And the idea being that when you are looking at a country, you really need to understand the culture, uh, you need to understand how things are administered, what are the challenges in terms of geographies and, you know, what are the income levels. And when you provide this framework and you look at talent in that framework, uh, you are able to identify, for example, where there might be opportunities to hire people. My one learning has been that if you decide that you want to hire people in a different geography, local labor law in that country is really important to understand. And often it doesn't make sense for a firm, unless you're very large, to go and set up shop in that country. Often it might be better to just partner with a local entity that perhaps does that for a living. So we identify, uh, employers of record, for example, that can hire that talent for you and, and comply with the local labor law. Or you can partner with a, uh, firm in country that uh, base and that, you know, can keep all the compliances in country and navigate local labor laws. But how we, we have ended up doing it is really looking at the CAGE model, identifying where there might be opportunities to bring in talent and then going and hiring that talent as needed through either our, uh, networks or through partners.

Speaker C: I understand that is certainly a complex issue. And another issue I'd love to get your take on, Nelima, is this concept of impact and ROI impact and ROI impact versus ROI. Q2 impact has done a lot of work with the United States government with foreign aid programs that perhaps a layperson wouldn't always think of in terms of, you know, return on investment. So could you just tell us your thoughts as to, uh, you know, is success always measured in dollars? And if it's not, how do you think about success metrics at Q2 impact?

Speaker A: So we are a mission driven company. Right. So we are always looking to make impact. And impact is about, in our industry, it's about changing lives. Okay. How do you make the lives of people better? We use data to do that because data is powerful. When you use data and information to design better programs, when you use AI to really be able to predict, for example, what is going to happen could happen if you were funding a particular program, we have something called Maverick. We have a new tool that takes 27 years of data on results from programs that the US government has funded in 96 countries. And now you can use that AI product to provide new insights. For example, you are changing the impact on the ground, essentially. And so when you design better programs that are going to create the desired impact, that is success for us. But we always have to look at the money aspect as well. So when we talk about return on investment is, as a business person, is, for every dollar that I spend, what am I getting back in return? Okay. And so for every dollar that's being invested in a program or an activity, uh, or a new business initiative, what is the dollar return that I'm getting back? And sometimes that return can be measured in dollars and sometimes it can't. In the government space, in the national security space, you can't always measure everything in dollars. Okay. But in the business world, return on investment is mostly measured in dollars, though I do think that's a myopic, uh, approach. I think we need to think about return on investment in a larger context because in an ever changing dynamic environment. And your topic podcast is transformation. Agility, the ability to be adaptive, the ability to be able to be innovative are, uh, things that companies should be really factoring in as part of their return on investment calculation.

Speaker C: Let's talk about transformation. Because global development often deals with uncertain, high risk environments. And this is something Q2 impact has been at the forefront of, uh, for a long time. Before we hit record in today's interview, Nalima, you, you and I were just talking about how, you know, over the last 30 years, Q2 impact has undergone a series of different pivots and is in the middle of a significant transformation right now. How do you think about resilience in teams within your organization? Tell us a little bit more, if you would, about the shifts that you're undergoing right now so that our B2B leaders might be able to pick out some strategies.

Speaker A: Thanks, Noah, uh, for that question, because this is very personal to me, as you can imagine. So, you know, we are in the middle of a huge transformation with a New administration. And if you had asked me this question in January, I had a plan to grow almost 25% this year. Okay. I had worked on certain deals for, for years that were. Some of them had come through and some were about to come through. And then we had, you know, a, uh, complete transformation and change with this new administration that basically 85% of my portfolio vanished. Okay. And that is a very difficult thing for a founder and a business owner to deal with. And this took us all obviously by surprise. It was unexpected. But, you know, um, and there is, there was definitely, as a business owner, I'll be honest, uh, you know, it was, uh, it was a, it's a moment of shock. But I took this moment to rethink about the work that we do and the opportunity that exists in the market. Because I think one always has to learn to be agile and adaptive and innovative. And that's something that we have had to do to survive in the market for the last 30 years. Not only because we have had different administrations, but also because the US Rules and regulations are constantly changing and we have had to keep ourselves relevant in an ever changing market which is very, very competitive. And so what. The transformation that we made when all of this happened and we lost 85% of our portfolio and, and I had to basically think about rebuilding the company with a different approach is that I decided to take a look at the moment that we were in. And the moment that we are in gives us an opportunity to think about what we are doing in a very different way. Because not only are we in a moment where humanity is being challenged in different ways with artificial intelligence, but also the entire geopolitical landscape is changing. And in the work that we do, this is critical for us to think about. And so what a perfect time for us to think about us and our work, given the fact that everything is in flux. And so as an entrepreneur, the opportunity to rebuild and rethink is very exciting to me. And, and so what we are doing now is we are transforming into an AI first and a data first company in a time when there's so much noise out there that it's very difficult to decipher what's good data and what's bad data. We are sitting on a lot of good data right now that we have had from the work that we have done over the years. Right. And so we are your reliable data people. We have always been that for the U.S. government, and we are now leveraging the tools that are at our disposal and artificial intelligence to deliver solutions in different ways. Why do we have to be thinking about doing things in the same way when you can hit a button and be able to leverage the power of that data to tell you what the impact of that's going to be in seconds? And instead of going to the big models that are out there, we are creating our own model that will give you useful and reliable information that can tell you, if you are wanting to invest in a country, what can be the opportunities there, where are there going to be risks and challenges, what population groups are going to be impacted, et cetera, et cetera. The opportunities are endless because at the end of the day, artificial intelligence is a tool. And what's really valuable is the data. And we have been the data people for so long. So it gave me the opportunity to really think beyond where we had been and really transform this organization. But transformation does not happen by me sitting and thinking of these things. Transformation, for me is a transformation that happens from within, and it has to happen from within the organization as well. So we are now in the process of, um, transforming this entire organization. We have a broader vision, which is what I have put forth. But then we have an entire company that's working towards that transformation so that people are brought along in the process. And so it is bringing our people along, upskilling them, transforming how we function, not only in what we provide to our clients in terms of solutions, but how we function as a company. How do we do thought leadership, how do we leverage technology? So we are going to continue doing what we have done for the last 27 years. We're just going to deliver it in a very different way. We're going to leverage artificial intelligence. We're going to give you platforms that clients can play with and be able to know before they act. And I think that's very exciting.

Speaker C: Nelema Q2 impact has survived and thrived across many different political administrations within the United States government, across many different cultural moments, recessionary economies and so forth. No doubt you've had to make pivots within the company before. Did you find any, like, solace or, uh, certainty and realizing where you had come through when you were faced with this unprecedented event this year?

Speaker A: So the solace comes from the experience of having, I guess, lived, uh, through challenges in the past and building community around it. Right. So I made a very conscious choice when my world came apart and with all the changes and everything, not to sit and wallow in my sorrow and to take a very proactive can do approach and to create a community around me. That are doing the same, because we do need that as human beings. And to create a very clear vision, which didn't happen immediately. Right. It took me a moment to sit down and think about, what are the pieces that are there? Where is the world today? How can I, uh. And by engaging with people that I knew to see where the opportunities are, and then trying a few small things, you know? So I started experimenting with a few things with even my clients that I had and creating some new solutions for them that. That they loved. That gave me solace that I was moving in the right direction, taking incremental changes, you know, and experimenting a little bit. Because when everything that you have built comes crashing down, you don't have much more to lose, frankly. And when you don't have much more to lose, that is a very liberating feeling. Because imagine the three decades I spent building my company and the hard, um, work I did in really building client intimacy and winning. The work that I won through years and years of investment suddenly came crashing down for no fault of mine. And that was a very humbling moment for me. Right. And so it's those things that give me solace, is when I start thinking, okay, what else do I have to lose? And then I always look for the positive, right? What. Where are the opportunities? Because it's not that the need isn't there. Right. Where is the need now? And how do we continue to be relevant in a world that is changing around us? And that's something that I've always taken pride in doing, is something that gets me very excited as an entrepreneur. And, uh, we've always been innovative, and so that's how I've sort of dealt with this big, big change and transformation recently.

Speaker C: That is inspiring. Nelima, thank you so much for sharing that with our audience today. What are some action steps that B2B executives could take? Or what are some things they should be thinking about when they're faced with a, uh, crossroads, Whether that is economic uncertainty or the loss of a significant account or hiring challenges, whatever that particular pivot is. What are some action steps or awarenesses that you would just kind of share with our audience of leaders today?

Speaker A: Yeah. So I think the first thing to do is to really take a deep breath and understand what is going on around you. Okay. It's very easy to hit the panic button. So you have to have a level head, number one, which is hard to do when you're dealing with a crisis. But I would also say, don't wait too long. The one thing that we did well is that we acted quickly. And I didn't wait for too long because I knew there was going to be economic consequences of what was happening around me. So I would say very quickly start looking at what are the economic consequences of what you're doing doing or what's happened and act because you want to stop the bleeding. Because despite all of this change, we came out on the other side because I was very conscious in how I was handling the finances of the company and the risk associated with everything that was going on. Number three, people. You always should be thinking about your people. I mean, we are a services company. We're in the people business. Right. I really value the people around me and the relationships that I've built over years. And so I have learned that it's very important to be honest with people and to communicate and over communicate with people at a time of change and crisis. And I think what I've learned is when you communicate with people and you're honest with them, they will understand. They may not be happy with what's happening, but they will understand. And when you don't do that, that's when you get into trouble. I think that having maybe a small team to really start working on things and identifying that team m early on and say, this is going to be my core team, this is going to be my firefighting team. And then concurrently, uh, start thinking about your team that is going to help you build and do the two things in parallel. Have your firefighting team and your building team. And you need to really focus on having that building team. Because what a lot of people tend to do, and I've seen that happen in my industry, is you're so focused on just dealing with the right now situation that you're not thinking about the building piece of it. And the building piece is very critical because that's your future. So if you don't keep investing in the future and the building piece, then you're going to be in trouble. And the other thing I would say is something I alluded to earlier when you asked me the return on investment question. Invest in building adaptive, resilient teams. That is critical because change is something that all businesses will face. That's the only constant. And when you have adaptive, resilient teams that can work in short sprints, because we are in the short sprint era with all innovation happening around us, that's what we need to do. So that would be my advice to business owners.

Speaker C: One of the things that Q uh2 impact is building is a podcast called Impact Point. Nema, I'd love it if, and certainly everybody tuning into the show, I, uh, would direct you to subscribe to that podcast on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast player of choice. We'll include a link to it in the description of this episode. But, Nalima, tell us a little bit about your podcast and kind of the inspiration behind it.

Speaker A: Yeah, so the inspiration. Thank you for bringing it up because I'm excited about Impact Point. We just recorded our third episode and so I, uh, would love for our listeners to tune in. And, you know, this is a podcast that really focuses on change and transformation and how to navigate a moment of change. And especially for people who are in the space of foreign affairs or national security, they would, you know, relate to some of the topics that we are going to be speaking about. But it's also broadly aimed at, you know, change and transformation. And every podcast that we have is going to have three impact points or takeaways, so that when you invest 20 minutes of your time listening to our podcast, not only will you have access to some real inspirational leaders and experienced people who will talk about topics like AI and humanity and how do you navigate AI and change around that in an effective way, how do you deal with challenges around teams and talent, and especially as industries like mine are changing so rapidly, things like that are going to be discussed in the podcast. And so we will have some three very practical takeaway points for people, people to go and implement or think about after each podcast. So very, very excited to have this podcast launched and now underway.

Speaker C: And we are very excited at Content Allies to be partnering with Q2 impact on it and Alima. So thank you for that and listeners, again, follow the link in the description of this episode and subscribe to the Impact Point podcast on your favorite podcast player, Nelima. This conversation has been rich with insights and inspiration and practical tips for our, uh, audience of B2B execs tuning in today. I'd love it if you could just kind of share one parting thought that you would leave our listeners with today.

Speaker A: So my one parting thought would be, every closed door has another open one. You just have to go find it. And so that's what I try and do. I always look for the open doors, so I would urge our listeners and others to look for those open doors, to look for those opportunities, and then go make it happen. The world's out there waiting, so I would really encourage others to think the same way.

Speaker C: I love it. Well, thank you, Nelema Grover, for joining me on leaders of B2B today. It's been a pleasure speaking with you and having you on the show.

Speaker A: Thank you so much, Noel.

Speaker C: All right listeners, thanks for tuning into another episode of leaders of B2B. Join us right here again next time for another episode.

Speaker B: Thank you for listening and we hope you enjoyed this episode of the Leaders of B2B podcast. And as always, you can see more information about this episode and all the resources mentioned@leadersofb.uh2b.com if you enjoyed the show, please give us a five star rating. This episode is brought to you by Content allies. We help B2B companies launch revenue generating podcasts. We schedule interviews with between you and your ideal prospects and strategic partners. You show up for engaging conversations. We handle everything else. Ready to build a podcast that grows your business in just one hour per week? Reach out to us at uh, contentallies. Com.