Why Burt Steingraeber is the Business Consultant You Need

In a business world that’s constantly evolving, finding the right partner for public relations and business consulting is crucial. Burt Steingraeber is the clear choice for companies in the Midwest and beyond, looking for a reliable, cost-effective partner. With over 24 years of experience in business accounting, branding, and general marketing, Burt offers a unique perspective on achieving success in today’s fast-paced marketplace.

The Burt Steingraeber Difference

Burt’s wealth of experience spans multiple industries, which equips him with a broad skill set that can benefit any business, whether you're focused on financial analysis, brand strategy, or growing your market presence. As a strategic business consultant, Burt leverages his battle-tested knowledge to help his clients achieve their business goals. He is dedicated to offering personalized, actionable strategies that drive results.

How Burt Works

It all starts with a complimentary 30-minute strategy session. This is an opportunity for you to discuss your public relations or business challenges and goals. Burt uses this time to assess what’s affecting your company’s growth, offering a high-level evaluation of your current strategies. From there, Burt will recommend the best next steps to help your business or personal brand reach its full potential. His recommendations are rooted in over two decades of firsthand business experience and strategic insight.

What Makes Burt Steingraeber Stand Out

When you work with Burt, you’re getting more than just advice — you’re receiving one-on-one service directly from him. Unlike larger consulting firms, where your file may be passed along to an associate or third party, Burt ensures you get his personal attention and expertise. With over 21 years of experience as a CFO, Controller, Realtor, and private business owner, Burt has the hands-on knowledge to deliver the results you need.

Ready to Talk?

Whether you're looking to solve specific business challenges or simply need guidance on your next steps, Burt Steingraeber is the consultant who can take your business to the next level. Schedule your complimentary business strategy session today to start turning your challenges into opportunities.

Burt Steingraeber -Global Business Operator

I pay attention to what business owners talk about publicly.

Feeling overlooked.
Needing exposure.
Uncertainty about next steps.

Those aren’t complaints — they’re signals of someone ready for clarity.

Burt Steingraeber

You built the expertise. I’ll build the audience. | Making executives impossible to ignore | Owner of @DirectSourceAI | Top 4% on LI

I’ve noticed something consistent over the years.

Most business owners who feel “stuck” aren’t failing — they’re unclear.
Their work is solid.
Their message isn’t.
That gap is where progress usually begins.

By 2026, AI stops being the headline…
and starts being the infrastructure.

The quiet advantage belongs to leaders who prepare now.

I don’t believe in hard selling.

The best professional relationships start with understanding.
When the fit is right, the conversation moves naturally.
No pressure. No hype

Scaling a business globally isn’t about chasing every new shiny tactic: it’s about doubling down on what translates everywhere: a system for repeatable wins.

The one constant I see: across all 50 states and every market, from Toronto to London to Auckland: is this: The businesses that grow consistently have a scalable process for identifying and acting on their edge. Not just what makes them different, but how they communicate, test, and refine that with every new client, culture, and channel.

It’s not glamorous. It’s not a hack. But it’s replicable. And it’s why my best clients outperform even when trends shift or markets cool.

Curious how others are building systems that scale in wildly different regions? Drop your hard-earned lessons or biggest questions below. Let’s start a real conversation about strategy, not theory.

#ConsultantsCorner #GlobalScaling #BusinessStrategy

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AI is changing the PR game, from media monitoring to smarter messaging. But the real magic happens when you make AI part of your everyday PR processes, not just a bolt-on tool.

Imagine: Real-time sentiment analysis, instant risk alerts, and tailored outreach: all faster and more accurately.

Ready to future-proof your brand’s communications? I’ve helped businesses blend AI with PR for impact (not overwhelm). DM me to discuss your next step toward AI-powered success.

Well thats not a good sign.. Sounds like UPS who's even worse at 30K..

The company mistakenly alerted some employees to the imminent layoffs after sending a "commiseration note" and calendar invites several hours in advance, Reuters reports.

What to do when you’re not sure what to do:
Get disciplined.

Make your bed when everything feels out of control
Hit the gym when motivation is missing
Follow up with leads when sales are slow:

Save cash when the economy feels uncertain
Build relationships when you don’t “need” anything yet
The world is full of talented people.
But talent without discipline becomes frustration.
Discipline turns small actions into a strong foundation.
And foundations are what hold you up when pressure hits.

So don’t wait for the perfect plan.
Stack disciplined days.
                  That’s how you become dangerous.

What to do when you’re not sure what to do:
Raise your standards.

                  Examples: 
Eat clean when your energy is crashing
Practice your pitch when you’re not closing deals
Write content when nobody is watching
Fix your finances when you’re “too busy”
Build your network before you need a favor

Confidence is nice.

If you’re great at what you do but prospects still “go with someone else,” it’s rarely a competence problem.

It’s a recognition problem.

I call it the competence–recognition gap:
You’re delivering real results… but the market can’t *see* it fast enough to choose you.

A simple framework to close it:
1) PROOF: Turn outcomes into receipts (numbers, before/after, named problems solved).
2) POSITION: Pick one lane you want to be known for (not 6).
3) PRESENCE: Show up consistently where decisions get made (content, podcasts, partnerships, earned media).
4) PATH: Make it easy to say yes (clear offer, clear next step, clear expectation).

After 30+ years in strategy + PR, I’ve seen this repeatedly: visibility isn’t ego: it’s leverage. And it compounds when you systematize it.

If you had to tighten your focus to ONE “lane” you want to be chosen for this year, what would it be?

No business is immune to crisis: product failures, viral complaints, or data breaches can strike any time. How you respond determines whether you strengthen or damage your reputation. Yet, while 54% of small businesses have faced major crises, just 23% had a formal communication plan. The difference between lasting damage and resilience is preparation. 

Crisis communications is more than reacting; it’s about strategic planning, decisive action, and consistent messaging. Build your plan: list top crisis scenarios, pre-approve messaging, assign one spokesperson, keep contacts current, clarify communication channels, and review with legal. Select key staff to fill crisis roles and empower them with training.

Your team must always be informed first; employees are your best advocates. Respond fast, be transparent, own your actions, and document everything for ongoing improvement.

Review your plan quarterly. Consult with  legal council before releasing statements. Delays and mixed messages are the quickest way to lose trust.

Leverage has evolved.

30+ years ago, most “growth” looked like brute force:
More calls.
More hours.
More hustle.

Today, the advantage goes to the businesses that build leverage on purpose.

Strategic automation isn’t about replacing the human element.
It’s about amplifying it.

When the repetitive work gets systemized:
• Your team spends more time on judgment and relationships
• Your marketing becomes consistent (not random)
• Your follow-up stops depending on memory and mood
• Your results compound instead of reset every week

The real question isn’t “What can I automate?”
It’s “What strategy is worth automating?”

Thoughts?

Efficiency is a trap if you’re moving in the wrong direction.

I see it often. Entrepreneurs installing powerful engines: AI, automation, complex systems: but forgetting to check the map.

Automation is the engine. Strategy is the steering wheel.

Without a hand on the wheel, you’re just accelerating toward a cliff.

After 30 years in PR and consulting, I’ve learned that speed without direction is just a faster way to fail. You can automate your outreach, but if the message doesn't land, you’re just scaling noise.

The real leverage is the "Trust Layer."

It’s the intersection of decades of strategic wisdom and modern efficiency. It’s the ability to land on FOX News or MarketWatch while keeping your back-end operations lean and automated.

I’m looking to connect with innovators building practical solutions in the automation space. If you’re creating tools that help businesses scale with precision, I’d love to explore potential synergies.

Complexity doesn’t scale.
It compounds.

And it’s quietly draining your profitability.

Not because your team isn’t smart.
But because every “custom exception” becomes:
- another SOP
- another approval step
- another tool
- another handoff
- another meeting

That’s not growth.
That’s overhead.

If you want to scale (without burning margin), simplify what you sell and how you deliver.

3 filters I use with clients:
1) If you can’t explain it in 10 seconds, it’s too complex.
2) If it needs a hero to run, it’s not a system.
3) If it can’t be repeated weekly, it’s not scalable.

Simplicity isn’t “less.”
It’s leverage.

Thoughts?

Most talented people are invisible.

It’s a hard truth. You can be the best in your field, but if nobody knows you exist, your impact is zero.

The numbers on the are staggering:

- Only 1% of users post weekly.
- That 1% captures 9 billion impressions.
- Posts with images get 94% more views.

The math is simple. By showing up consistently, you aren't just joining a platform: you're claiming a massive share of attention that others are leaving on the table.

Visibility isn't about vanity. It’s about leverage. 

Conversation-driven posts stay in the feed for 2-3 weeks. One good thought can compound for half a month.

Are you ready to stop being your industry’s best-kept secret? Then lets talk....

Change Leadership, General Manager PFA @ Batgroup & Member of the Board @ Putzfrauenagentur

Leadership isn’t about volume.
It’s about clarity, confidence and direction when the pressure is on.

I partner with HR leaders, GMs and Executive Teams across MENA & Asia to strengthen leadership capability from the ground up. My work sits where strategy, people and day-to-day execution meet in service-driven organisations.

Most performance issues in hospitality, retail and education aren’t about effort.
They come from three gaps:

❌ Leaders promoted before they’re ready to lead
❌ Executive Teams pulling in different directions
❌ No clear pipeline or succession to stabilise performance

So my work covers both sides of the leadership equation:

Strategy & alignment for senior teams
Facilitated Strategy Days that help GMs and Executive Teams:
✅ Agree a small set of must-win priorities
✅ Translate those into a 90-day execution plan
✅ Build the clarity and focus teams need to perform
✅ Name the leadership behaviours that sustain results

Leadership development for emerging & mid-level managers
Practical, human-centred programmes that build the skills to lead through others, communicate with clarity and coach across cultures.

Coaching & capability building
1:1 and group coaching, Train-the-Trainer, and tailored L&D that strengthen the pipeline and reduce turnover.

Across 25+ years with Apple Retail, Swissôtel, St. Regis and service organisations in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, one truth holds: engagement and commercial performance rise when leaders at every level know where they’re going and how to bring their people with them.

If you’re building your leadership pipeline or want stronger alignment at the top, I’m happy to explore how we can work together.

📞 Book a call: https://cal.com/jeffross

Jeff Ross

I’ve been quiet on LinkedIn for a few weeks.
Intentionally.

The end of 2025, especially early Q4, was demanding. Not just professionally, but mentally and emotionally too. So I chose to step back, spend time with family, and create some much-needed white space.

Here’s the thing we don’t talk about enough in leadership:

Growth doesn’t only happen in motion.
Sometimes it happens in pause.

Over the break, I did what I often encourage leaders to do, though many struggle to make time for:
• Reflect honestly on what worked (and what didn’t)
• Revisit priorities instead of blindly setting new goals
• Notice patterns in my own behaviour under pressure
• Ask better questions, rather than rushing to better answers

Self-awareness isn’t built in the middle of constant execution.
It’s built in moments of distance.

The leaders I see grow the most aren’t the ones who push hardest every quarter.
They’re the ones who regularly step back, recalibrate, and return with more clarity than noise.

As we step into 2026, my focus is simple:
Fewer reactions.
Clearer priorities.
More intentional leadership, starting with myself.

If you haven’t created space to reflect yet, consider this your reminder:
White space isn’t time lost.
It’s leadership work.

Here’s to a more conscious, grounded, and human year ahead.

Helping service brands align strategy, strengthen pipelines and deliver consistent performance | Strategy Days, L&D and coaching | MENA and Asia

People are not “human capital”.
And they are not “assets” either.

I keep seeing employees described this way in leadership, L&D, and wellbeing content.

I understand the origin of the term.
Historically, human capital described skills and capabilities built through investment, not the people themselves.

But the distinction has blurred.

Here is the line I think we need to redraw.

❌ People are not capital
❌ People are not assets

They are human beings who choose, every day, how much energy and judgement they bring to work.

Human capital is what grows through investment
Skills. Confidence. Capability. Leadership depth.

That growth comes from:
✅ training done properly, not tick-box
✅ coaching that changes behaviour
✅ managers who develop people, not just measure them
✅ time and safety to learn, practise, and think

That is where human capital lives.

Language shapes decisions.
Decisions shape culture.

If we want more human leadership, we should start by speaking like humans, not balance sheets.

Calling people “human capital” is already the problem.

If people are capital, then what are they?

Owned?
Optimised?
Written off when returns dip?

No serious leader believes this.
Yet the language sticks.

Here is a cleaner distinction.

People are not human capital.
People are not assets.

Human capital is the outcome of investment, not the object of it.

You build it when you:
✅ develop managers instead of promoting the best technician
✅ coach leaders instead of just reviewing them
✅ invest in learning instead of squeezing efficiency
✅ play the long game, not just the quarter

Strong organisations do not extract value from people.

They create conditions where capability compounds.

If your culture talks about people like inventory,
do not be surprised when engagement feels transactional.

Words are never “just semantics”.
They are shortcuts to how decisions get justified.

In fast growing organisations across the UAE, managers are often promoted quickly to keep pace with expansion.

What usually does not scale at the same speed is leadership capability.

New managers are suddenly expected to lead multicultural teams, absorb pressure from both sides, and deliver consistency under operational intensity.

With little preparation.

When that happens, managers compensate.

➡️ They over control.
➡️ They escalate everything.
➡️ They work longer hours instead of building capability.

❌ This is not a motivation issue.
❌ It is not a generational issue.
✅ It is a pipeline design issue.

Growth without leadership infrastructure creates silent pressure in the middle.
And silent pressure always leaks somewhere.

If you want scale without burnout, development cannot be assumed.
It has to be designed.

In the UAE and GCC, managers are expected to be decisive, inclusive, and steady, all at once.

When we don’t develop them for that reality,
pressure doesn’t disappear.

It concentrates.

Promoted for doing the job.
Stuck because you are still doing it.

The peer to manager transition is not a mindset problem.
It is a capacity design problem.

If nothing changes in how time, decisions, and responsibility are allocated, leadership never starts.

What I have seen work repeatedly is simple and structured:

✅ 30 percent doing the old tasks to stabilise
✅ 30 percent pairing and teaching to hand over
✅ 40 percent coaching, prioritising, removing blockers

For the first 60 days.

One rule makes or breaks it.
The handover must be scheduled.

If it stays informal, it does not happen.
Urgency will always win.

A promotion does not create leadership.
The moment you stop being the bottleneck does.

Question worth answering this week:
Which task will you stop doing by Friday, and who will learn it instead?

Training the peer-to-manager transition muscle

If a manager is still doing most of the work, you have not promoted a leader.
You have relabelled a high performer.

Leadership starts when decisions move down, accountability stays up, and capability is built deliberately.

Without that shift, organisations stay dependent on individuals instead of systems.

This is why middle management feels stretched in so many businesses.
The role changes, but the expectations do not.

❌ Titles do not create leverage.
✅ Design does.

✅ When leadership transitions are supported early, pressure reduces later.
❌ When they are ignored, problems surface quietly and expensively.

The question is not whether someone earned the promotion.
The question is whether the system changed enough to let them lead.

Coming up on one year since we moved back to the UAE.

So much has changed since we lived here nearly two decades ago, and a lot of that change has been really good.

I’ve seen owners of large companies walk the floor, greet employees by name, ask about their families, and mean it.

And then I’ve seen something else, in the same companies:
Middle managers who abuse power over the people under their care.

Not always loudly.
Sometimes it’s subtle:

❌ public shaming disguised as ‘standards’
❌ threats disguised as ‘performance’
❌ pressure passed down because ‘that’s how we do things here’

Here’s the part leaders don’t want to hear:

Culture doesn’t scale through the founder’s intent.
It scales through the manager’s habits.

And the numbers in MENA should make every owner pause:

Only 14% of employees are engaged, while 24% are actively disengaged.

46% are watching for or actively seeking a new job.

31% experienced anger ‘a lot of the day’ yesterday.

Only 25% are ‘thriving’ in life evaluation.

You can invest millions in brand, strategy, and service standards…

…but if a middle manager creates fear, distrust, and turnover, your business pays for it twice:

in retention + recruiting costs
in inconsistent service + customer experience

Gallup has a brutal line leaders should sit with:

Managers drive most of the variance in team engagement.

So the fix isn’t ‘hire faster’ when people resign.
The fix is slow down and build the capability that prevents the resignations in the first place:

✅ Train new managers before they ‘learn leadership’ by copying the worst examples.
✅ Coach existing managers on how to lead under pressure (without leaking it onto their teams).
✅ Make people metrics visible at leadership level (turnover, internal mobility, manager 360s, team climate).
Reward leaders who build trust, not just those who hit numbers.

Because in this region, trust is everything.

And owners should be able to trust their management teams to execute the vision, for the business and for the people.

Question for leaders in the Gulf:
Where is your culture breaking, in strategy, or in the middle layer where it gets executed?

In fast-growing organisations across the UAE and GCC, leadership gaps rarely show up at the top.
They show up in the middle.

High-performing specialists are promoted quickly to keep pace with growth.
Suddenly they’re expected to:

➡️ lead multicultural teams
➡️ balance global standards with local realities
➡️ deliver consistency under constant operational pressure

Without a leadership pipeline, this becomes improvisation.

That is not a talent issue.
It’s a development design issue.

Organisations that scale sustainably here invest early in:

✅ leadership transitions, not just promotions
✅ manager development as ongoing infrastructure
✅ clarity, coaching, and judgement, not just skills

Middle management doesn’t fail loudly in this region.

It absorbs pressure quietly, until it can’t.

Many first time managers say the same thing, quietly.
“I do not want to get this wrong.”

So they hold on longer than they should.
They delay delegation.
They avoid conversations they know are coming.

Not because they lack confidence.
Because they lack support.

Leading former peers, older colleagues, or more experienced team members carries real emotional weight.

When organisations treat new managers as finished products, people protect themselves.
When they treat them as learners, behaviour changes.

❌ Confidence does not come from the title.
✅ It comes from practising leadership with permission to learn.

If you want managers who act calmly under pressure, give them room to build judgement before you test it.

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The Battle

Burt Steingraeber -Global Business Operator

Jeff Ross

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taplio

The Battle

Burt Steingraeber -Global Business Operator

Jeff Ross

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Burt Steingraeber -Global Business Operator's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreBurt Steingraeber -Global Business Operator's LinkedIn Performance