In Our Clients Words

 "I feel more empowered than I have in a very long time.  I see a vision, a path forward."

 “Allison doesn’t make promises she can’t keep – and she doesn’t lead a community down a path that isn’t truly a viable option." 

 "Best follow-up ever by a consultant.”

"I am absolutely pleased with TadZo’s process. At the beginning of the project, my expectations were that I just wanted change. Let me say, that’s happening and so much more evolved from the process. We have been able to engage people that were un-engageable prior to the process. I am very pleased with Allison’s way to bring all different entities together to sing from the same sheet of music.

TadZo does an amazing job of really getting involved in the community and getting to know key players so they can deliver the best outcomes possible." 

“It has been an energizing and enlightening experience working with TadZo on the Springfield Economic Look effort. Allison has facilitated an intentional process that created a road map of measurable action items, opportunities and partnerships for the next three to five years. Allison’s train-the-trainer style of consulting has empowered Springfield staff to not only implement the plan but continue to adjust and build upon it into the future.”   

"TadZo provided terrific leadership to help Redmond define our strategic priorities and a call to action. Allison is a creative thought leader and brings a much more global perspective on economic development that we would never find without TadZo. Redmond Economic Development Inc. and its partners have implemented strategies in numerous areas including workforce, internship programs, real estate, and product development resulting in significant business investments, jobs growth, and a GDP growth rate that eclipses the state of Oregon and the U.S. After completing her work with Redmond, Allison continues to drop in and volunteer to help with our local and state economic development."

"Allison's work has allowed OEDA to bring synergy to our economic development training curriculum and elevate the learning that takes place.  It has added deep value to our program and to those that participate in it."

"We hired TadZo’s Allison Larsen to facilitate a “launch” of a new business sector partnership.  Having never been through a new strategy such as this, and as the new Director of Business Services, I was more than a bit anxious.  Allison knew exactly what she was doing and ran our event with expertise and direction.  She promised to end on time and she did.  She promised to identify pertinent information and she did.  She promised to get industry talking and she did.  Subsequent conversations with those in attendance have proven this was not a one-day deal that would fade away after we parted ways at the end of our meeting.  Industry is excited to partner with many entities to accomplish the goals Allison help pull out of them.  I recommend TadZo and Allison Larsen for sector strategies facilitation of any size. She will help you get to where you want to be." 

"Congratulations, again, on your five year anniversary!  I am so proud for you and appreciate your friendship and mentorship over the years.  People like you only fuel my drive and passion for community and economic development.  I hope I can do the same for future generations."

"Through Allison's help, guidance and energy, we were able to devise a very concise and quick action economic recovery plan. We channeled the enthusiasm of more than 100 community members over a three-day period to rebuild Rockport and Fulton, Aransas County. She has started us on a path to recovery that I am not sure we would have made so much progress without her. She helped us cut through the disaster situation and see the opportunities. She did an amazing job!"

“With the help of TadZo, we were able to quickly drill into the needs of the industry. I, as an Executive Director of a workforce board, feel very confident in the information gathered and we are ready to move forward on providing solutions to industry’s challenges. I am very appreciative that TadZo worked with us to help identify the true issues, so we can make a difference in our community.”

“It was a pleasure to work with Allison Larsen for Yakima’s 2020 Strategic Plan. She has a good understanding of smaller communities, including a sense of projects that could be impactful and ‘rightsized’ for Yakima. Allison’s facilitation expertise and enthusiasm were very effective in engaging leadership of numerous organizations to come together, determine priorities and set the stage for implementation."

"I wanted to take this opportunity to thank TadZo for doing such a fantastic job on our latest strategic planning project, Katy Area 2020. Our Board of Governors is very pleased with the professional work and process which you led for the Katy Area and our organization. I have been through at least ten strategic plans in my career and this was by far the best and most innovative I have ever been involved with. Your firm goes above and beyond the call of duty and your follow-up is very refreshing."

“Allison has an uncanny ability to shake things up and challenge the status quo. It has been refreshing and she changed the mindset of some with certain opinions held for who knows how long. It was a fun process, and informative as well. Allison has a way to make things interactive.

If I simply wrote the plan in my office, I wouldn’t have received outside expert opinions which our leadership so desperately needed, as well as buy-in from our stakeholders. They felt like they were responsible for the development of the plan. Working with TadZo was invaluable.

Allison is a genuine person. She is the only consultant we have used that has come back to check in on how things are going.”

"TadZo listened to what "I needed" & then structured an approach that was tailored to my needs all the while offering the benefits of their insightful expertise to enhance outcomes and deliver a valuable experience and end product that gets used daily.

I attended a strategy session led by Allison Larsen and I was captivated by her ability to lead such a diverse group of individuals with such varying perspectives to consensus.  She also has a real knack for taming egos in a respectful manner to get to the end goal.

I would hire TadZo again because of their incredible depth of knowledge & expertise, their commitment to listening to their customer's needs and delivering the solution that fits, & the fact that I have complete trust in Allison Larsen & her techniques and methodologies."

"It has been a pleasant and productive experience working with TadZo and your expertise is valued!"

"Allison has equipped local elected and economic development officials with the tools to further develop our region by providing a professional, executable strategic plan as well as the necessary support to implement. She has provided sound advice that I have personally executed in my economic development efforts with excellent results. I would recommend Allison to any community looking to move your marketing and growth efforts to the next level."

"Allison graphically facilitated the Oklahoma Governor's Economic Development Marketing Team through a fun and extremely beneficial strategic planning retreat. Her innovative approach kept everyone engaged discussing a historical perspective of our 50 year history and created a vision for the future."

"I had the privilege of working with Allison on an IEDC technical assistance project. She volunteered her time as an expert panelist on an economic development assessment for a community in the Northwest. I wanted Allison on my team because she is a strategic thinker and highly knowledgeable of the realities of economic development practice on the ground. She knows what questions need to be asked, thinks creatively to find answers, and is committed to delivering a high-quality product. She was a fantastic asset to our team!"

“We really appreciated your efforts and organization as well. Overall, we have received very good feedback and accolades from the Council members in attendance as well as the participants. We really enjoyed working with you. It was a truly motivating and inspiring session.”

"Throughout the process we were impressed with TadZo expertise. Allison's industry knowledge and unique perspective in understanding the site selection process and community evaluation methods used by companies for expansion and relocation decisions.

With TadZo's research and guidance, we defined our target industries and enhanced our marketing methods. The Target Industry Analysis not only contained in-depth research and recommendations, but also provided detailed plans, outlines, and examples to help us take the next steps in effectively marketing to our newly defined targets.

Our work with TadZo was a good partnership. We valued the honest evaluation -- Allison told us what we needed to know, not what we wanted to hear. We never felt that we were being sold services and received continued support long after the project. I would highly recommend TadZo to other economic development organizations." 

“I was excited about the prospects of undertaking this endeavor and the benefits that I believed it would yield for our organization and the community, alike. Your [Alison’s] intellect, intuition and broad base of experiences, as well as your well-honed ability to pose the tough question, in a non-threatening/off-putting manner, was wonderful to behold. There is no doubt that you [Allison] were the right choice for this undertaking in Muskogee. Thank you for the great effort that you have invested in this very important undertaking, in furtherance of the economic development growth and prosperity of Muskogee. I could not be more pleased.”

“The TadZo team was very professional and well received by business and community leaders in the Tri-Cities area. Their competitive assessment of the area and insight on global trends were invaluable. TadZo’s recommendations on new economy target industries were “right on”. As a result, TRIDEC’s focus on attracting investment by companies in the sectors recommended has been very successful.”

"Allison provided a much-needed guiding hand as Northern Kentucky Tri-ED ventured into a new strategic plan process. She pushed us to explore and consider new approaches towards established efforts in our community, such as NKY's workforce development delivery system." 

“Allison did a great job facilitating our annual board retreat in Enid, Oklahoma. She has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to preparing communities for growth. We would highly recommend her services to any other community that is willing to do what it takes to improve.”