Jeff Kelley is CEO of Chameleon, an IT services and support company whose philosophy is that there is a solution for every problem.
“As such, our process to address and ultimately solve a problem involves a team effort including an analysis of all ideas,” Kelley said. “Our team includes employees with specific strengths and experience that relates to the problem at hand. Sometimes, we solicit ideas from additional teammates to include outside vendors, partners or company professionals, such as attorneys and accountants. This collaboration of ideas ultimately leads to a successful solution.”
During the last year, post-pandemic, Kelley re-engineered the company’s sales model and organization. Chameleon’s sales process focused on large procurements greater than $50 million. When the government started postponing or canceling procurements during the last two years, Chameleon sales decreased dramatically.
To mitigate those lapses and reductions, Kelley changed the sales goals to include smaller procurements of $5 million to $10 million, shortening the sales cycle and opening up new market opportunities. To improve overhead and find efficiencies, Kelley promoted three employees to focus on information technology, finance and human resources.
“These changes represented a significant departure from our previous model, which had proven effective for the past 18 years,” Kelley said. “I considered these moves as a complete reboot of the Chameleon operation. I consider these rapid changes to be my greatest accomplishment over the last year.”
Before those changes, Kelley said Chameleon had evolved into a large business with too many resources and a lack of focus on organizational roles and responsibilities. “We were focusing too much on redundant organizational roles that seem necessary to continue to support a growing large business,” he said. “What I’ve learned since then is that by consolidating roles and giving more power to individuals, we have vastly increased our effectiveness and our ability to grow sales.”
Chameleon will soon celebrate over 20 years in business. The evolution of the company included creating new C-level and executive-level positions. “New titles and new responsibilities require my perpetual leadership to help the executives understand their role and impact on the sustainability of the company, as well as the company’s continued sales growth,” Kelley said. “I continue to provide ongoing support to help our key employees understand how their involvement will develop and continue to align with my personal vision. In addition, I’m building an organization that lends itself to a succession plan that will foster new titans of industry at Chameleon within the coming years.”
