Elevating the Vantage Point at the Corporate Helm
Chief Executives have a unique and singular role in every organization. They require information and collaboration that is focused, timely, and accountable. Unfortunately, people tend to avoid telling a CEO the raw truth.
HelmVantage provides flexible information solutions specific to the CEO role that automate key processes, such as ensuring accountability and timeliness in what is reported to the CEO.
Over the past two years, HelmVantage has designed and developed a software platform dedicated to facilitating the CEO’s role. Several applications are being developed and in the process of being released from this platform.
Main pain points addressed
- Low trust in numbers
- Low accountability
- Late Information
- Delayed corrective measures
- Missed goals
- Unproductive meetings
- Cloud storage sensitive data risks
Main pain points addressed
- Missed opportunities
- High turnover
- Eroding trust
- Low morale & collaboration
- Too many compromises
- Organizational silos
- Unproductive meetings
Main Pain Points Addressed
- Inadequate Communication
- Lack of trust
- Unmanaged Expectations
- Blindsided at board meetings
- A drain on time and energy
- Cloud storage sensitive data risks
Our Made-For-CEOs Platform
Despite the critical role of the Chief Executive, meeting the needs of this unique function is often overlooked. To extract critical information, Chief Executives are all too often left to sift through biases, clutter, and pieced-together reports from sources meant for other roles or functions.
The HelmVantage Made-For-CEOs Platform was developed to support a suite of task-specific applications that facilitate the CEO’s role in real-time. Each application draws from this platform to provide consistent core functionality, benefits, and user experience.
Return On Investment
Since time is as critical a resource in business as capital, each HelmVantage application is designed to substantially reduce the required number and length of team meetings. As a rule of thumb, the subscription price of each application is approximately equal to the cost of a half-hour of meetings per month.
As soon as a HelmVantage application makes at least one half-hour of meetings per month unnecessary, it has already paid for itself.
Even though the financial returns from seized opportunities, timely course corrections, and effective collaborations are difficult to quantify, the early warning-focused HelmVantage applications offer undeniable opportunities for earnings growth and responsive resource allocations.
Average Meeting Cost Estimate
The e-commerce platform company Shopify has invested considerably in reducing meeting costs and has developed a meeting cost calculator as part of this initiative.
They estimate that the average cost of a 30-minute meeting with three employees can run from $700 to $1,600 ($2,000 if a C-Suite executive is included).
Identity & Data Security
It was clear from the start that there was no point in building Helm Vantage unless Chief Executives could, on their own, gain confidence in the data security and the protection of their corporate identity. Therefore it was incombent on us to develop the platform with a data security and privacy system that CEOs could trust. This system does not, at any time, transfer or store corporate identifiers on the cloud data servers.
- Since the data stored on the cloud servers and in transition is deidentified, no unauthorized person can attribute the data to the company even if decrypted.
- If someone obtains a user ID and password, they will not be able to run the application unless they have the most recent PLF file (Private Label File) controlled by the CEO.
- Staff who contribute data to the application (e.g., sales person) are limited to the data submission part of the applications for the line items assigned to them.
- Former employees will not be able to login unless their credentials are left active and they have access to the most recent PLF file.
- Since none of the identifiers are transfered to the servers, even the HelmVantage staff cannot identify the data unless the CEO provides the PLF file.
Product Roadmap
HelmVantage’s CEOseries platform provides a common framework and codebase for a more efficient application development process. The platform allows for a more consistent suite of applications tailored to CEOs.
Each application, meticulously designed to address specific areas of the CEO function, shares common features that guarantee a superior user experience and an intuitive interface.
CEOtally is the first application to emerge from this platform, while others are currently in different stages of development.
By sharing this roadmap, we aim to generate interest and receive valuable feedback from the CEO community to ensure that each application launches as useful, beneficial, and flexible as possible for all CEOs.
Earliest Indicators & Trustworthy Forecasts
Profitability • Risk • Value
CEOtally ensures that keeping the Chief Executive informed becomes a regular part of the organizational routine. This helps make meetings more productive and reduces the need for them. Unlike other business information systems that have a poor record of success, CEOtally ensures better compliance because the team becomes directly accountable to the Chief Executive.
Key Projects Pace & Progress
Innovation • Scaling • Competencies • Competitiveness
CEOtempo keeps tabs on the progress of important initiatives within the organization. This is not a project management tool but rather a project status monitor. When projects fall behind, it alerts the Chief Executive and remedial measures can be considered.
Organization-Wide Shared Insight & Drive
Collaboration • Opportunities • Synergy
The Chief Executive is expected to set the tone, direction, and vision for everyone in the organization. CEOtandem facilitates conversations and an exchange of ideas with the Chief Executive on these topics and enables others to join in the conversation. The application serves as an efficient means to align all efforts and identify new opportunities, challenges, or risks.
Integrative Decision Support
Superior Solutions Without Compromise
The integrative process embraces complexity, tolerates uncertainty, and manages tension in searching for creative solutions to problems. Rather than choosing between conflicting alternatives, the integrative approach creates an entirely new and superior solution that seeks to combine the positives from each alternative. The AI-enabled Decitive application put this robust process to work at solving the organization’s most complex challenges.
Timely Key Performance Indicators
Financial • Risk • Value
Effective governance requires timely and targeted performance, risk, and value measurements. Yet, Board-specific measurement tools are glaringly absent. BOARDkpis fills this gap with key performance indicators that will keep Board members in lockstep with the CEO and the opportunities and challenges facing them.
Secure Documents & Communications
Sensitive Compartmented Information eFacility
BOARDscif prioritizes security by avoiding sharing sensitive information on platforms that also target the general public. This application reduces the necessity for face-to-face board meetings. The term SCIF (pronounced “skiff”) originates from the US national defense and intelligence industry, where secure rooms are utilized to handle sensitive data and communications. BOARDscif applies this concept to the virtual boardroom.
At the Helm
Dan Pelletier
Helm Vantage Founder
After careers in sales and marketing, Dan spent several years in venture creation for a large portfolio of technology ventures. Impulsively striving for superior product-market fit, he expanded his efforts into product/service design and development.
Dan has solved complex problems through an integrative process, marshalling conflicting positions into superior solutions rather than settling for compromises. This process is at the core of the Decitive.AI application currently in development.
Helm Vantage was born out of decades of working directly with many CEOs in various sectors. During this time, Dan gained a thorough understanding of the role’s unique needs and the daily challenges faced.
Our Approach to Application Development
Helm Vantage is a young company steeped in decades of application development, process design, and data security. The Helm Vantage team designs and leads the development of a suite of applications focussed exclusively on providing value to the CEO role. The company leadership has experience in software development using in-house, external resources and hybrid teams. Given the wide range of expertise required to develop the suite of applications, finding an external development partner was considered a better fit.
Mantrax Software Solutions
After interviewing several software development firms in North America, Helm Vantage retained the services of Toronto firm Mantrax Software Solutions (mantrax.io), a leading custom software solutions provider serving clients worldwide. It was clear from the start that transparency is one of their key differentiators. We get more straight talk with Mantrax management and developers than we have often experienced with in-house teams. Their developers are excellent and expertly vetted and managed. Mantrax provides flexibility and scalability that is difficult to do efficiently with in-house teams, and its ability to draw from its arsenal of top-level experts to quickly address specific development issues is also a game changer.
Chinkal Patel
Business Development & Co-Founder at Mantrax
Ex-Deloitte Consultant with 20+ years of cross-functional experience in diverse industries. Over 10+ years of experience implementing software systems and delivering large-scale digital transformations. Chinkal collaborates with clients to develop pragmatic project management and change management strategies for digital transformation projects.
Kalyan Chatterjee
Solution Architect & Co-Founder at Mantrax
An experienced and passionate software engineer with over 15 years of proven record in developing applications for nonprofits, retail, services, sports and automotive sectors. Kalyan has designed and built applications for start-ups to large Canadian public corporations. When he is not at work, he indulges in dark sky photography and off-road (mis)adventures.
If HelmVantage interests you, let’s talk.
We welcome questions or suggestions from Chief Executives; therefore, we want to hear from you. You may also register for the Helm Vantage CEO INSIDER PROGRAM below.