We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Krystal Parker. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Krystal below.

Hi Krystal, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

While in corporate, I had an experience with implementing a leadership initiative in an organization. Initially, leaders, particularly those with engineering mindsets, were primarily focused on tasks, systems, and processes, often neglecting the human element vital for a thriving workplace. A prevalent sentiment among frontline workers was a wish for their supervisors to spend time understanding their work and challenges firsthand. Responding to this, I introduced the “Ride-Along Program” in the West Texas region. The program mandated leaders at all levels to spend ninety-six hours in the field, understanding various functions by directly engaging with employees across different departments. It was not about catching mistakes but enriching leadership with firsthand knowledge about the day-to-day operations and workers’ experiences. This led to improved employee engagement, innovation, and the establishment of several best practices and new safety initiatives across the region. The program was successful and achieved recognition, being featured in the ONEOK Quarterly magazine.

The idea for the Ride-Along Program came from a problem. When I became the Vice President of the West Texas region, 47 cities along the west side of Texas along with all of customer service for Texas Gas Service, I did not have any field experience. As I began my role as vice president, I was not an expert or even
experienced in the jobs I was responsible for. So even though I understood people, the budget, the
headcount, and the metrics, there was so much more to learn. The president, my boss at the time, told me I needed to get out and learn the business. So, I got my hard hat and personal protective equipment (PPE) and started riding along with all the departments. The first department I went with was meter reading. We started our day a little after 5:30 a.m. Jose, the meter reader I was with, wore a huge smile and carried a little backpack stocked with a small radio, binoculars, and a couple of waters for us. Since the meter readers walked the routes that didn’t have automated meter reading technology, it made more financial sense to load a group of meter readers in a single vehicle and drop them off in their respective routes. We were dropped off in a highly populated mountainous area in the city of El Paso and hit the ground walking.

We read more than 650 meters that day. We greeted people, dodged scary dogs, and saw interesting things like an empty piece of armor. As we walked, we talked, and I got to know Jose. He told me stories
about his life, his why for getting up every day and working in the job, and his talents, gifts, and dreams. He was highly intelligent, hardworking—a huge asset to the organization. He was loyal, dedicated, and had some innovative ideas for improving the meter-reading process with automation, increased safety, and more.
Those thousands of steps with Jose let me walk away with valuable knowledge about an important area of the business. Yes, I was tired, but more than anything, I was hungry to learn about another department and the people who made the business function. Next was service, then construction, pressure control and maintenance,
engineering, and collections.

I enjoyed my direct interactions and experiences with the frontline workers in various departments of the organization. During these interactions, a common theme emerged from the workers: “I wish my supervisor would come out and do this with me.” This expressed a desire for their supervisors to understand their jobs and challenges better. Additionally, the leadership team was primarily engrossed in paperwork and system/process-oriented tasks, with a significant deficit in people orientation. I recognized a need for leaders to connect with and understand their employees and their work to bring about a more harmonious and innovative working environment. Consequently, the Ride-Along Program was introduced, mandating leaders to engage directly with their teams, with a structured approach ensuring that the leaders, even those more task-oriented, could make vital human connections, fostering a culture of understanding, innovation, and mutual respect across the organization.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Krystal Parker is a former executive for a Fortune 200 publicly traded oil and gas company. She has over 25 years of experience in organizational
management, leading hundreds of union and non-union employees to
provide J.D. Powers, award-winning customer service to more than 2.1
million customers across the U.S.

A former college dropout, Parker advanced her education at Harvard
Business School for senior executive leaders focusing on innovation,
globalization, and leadership diversity. She earned an undergrad in
psychology and a master’s in marketing. As a certified DISC behavioral
specialist, trainer, speaker, and coach, Parker opened a boutique
consulting company, Intent & Impact, to help companies increase profit,
reduce turnover, and enhance employee engagement.

Krystal is a best-selling author and professor who teaches graduate and undergraduate-level courses. She is also the president of the U.S. Christian Chamber of Commerce.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

Near-Death Moments for the Business: I assumed the role of president at the Christian Chamber at a pivotal and challenging time — right at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and amidst personal challenges, such as my father’s passing. The organization was on the brink of extinction, with scarce income to cover the president’s salary, prompting me to pull from personal savings to make ends meet. The Chamber lacked functional departments and expertise, leaving me to navigate an unfamiliar industry without a structured team.

Learnings and Response to Crisis:

Relying on Faith and Focusing on Available Resources:
I drew inspiration and guidance from a message series, “Ridiculous Faith,” and the Biblical story from 2 Kings 4, which emphasizes focusing on what resources one does have and placing faith in God to provide what is needed.

Leveraging Community and Volunteer Help:
Understanding that I could not drive change alone, I leaned into the Chamber community and welcomed volunteers who were also passionate about the Chamber’s mission. Systems and programs were developed to harness this energy and encourage people to contribute.

Building and Utilizing a Knowledgeable Board:
A high-functioning board was recruited, providing access to experts across various industries and supplementing the functional areas I was previously navigating alone.

Developing a Member Onboarding System:
Recognizing the vital role of a systematic approach to member onboarding for retention and engagement, an onboarding system was established. It included multiple touchpoints like a handwritten letter, an email, an introductory newsletter, and invitations to specific programs (such as Kingdom Commerce University).
While invisible to new members in terms of its inner workings, this system answered their fundamental question of “What now?” by swiftly integrating them into the community and making them feel welcomed and valued, even in a virtual or distanced context amidst the pandemic.

Understanding and Minimizing Costs through Retention:
Acknowledging that retention is financially and strategically smarter than replacement, the onboarding process was viewed as a critical part of the organizational machine, ensuring that members are not merely accumulated but provided an environment where they can extract significant value from the Christian Chamber community.

Through faith, strategic onboarding, utilizing available resources, and community engagement, I steered the Chamber away from a path leading to extinction, transforming it into a growing, nationally recognized organization, even amidst global challenges. This underscored the importance of strategic engagement, community, and structured onboarding systems in organizational revival and development.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Service with excellence and ethics every time! Consistency in quality, service, branding, and communication across all channels paves the way for a sturdy and positive reputation within a market. It enables trust-building, customer loyalty, and positive advocacy, creating a stable and growing customer base while reinforcing the brand’s position in the market. Consistency is not just about maintaining the status quo but ensuring that the brand’s promise is continuously met, providing a stable foundation upon which the reputation can be built and sustained.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://intentandimpact.com/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/krystal-parker-mba-65962475
• Other: The U.S. Christian Chamber of Commerce – https://uschristianchamber.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/91720562/ https://www.facebook.com/USChristianChamber

Image Credits
Images by Landen Conner