Elise Mitchell

Elise Mitchell believes that her communications firm, Mitchell Communications Group, has one of the best challenges to have. The company, founded by Mitchell in 1995, has experienced rapid growth that has required some significant organizational change. “About two years ago, I really began to focus on a strategy for managing growth,” Mitchell said. “I needed to begin thinking about how to raise my game.”
It would seem that the president and CEO has come up with some answers. Last fall, Mitchell attended an executive education program at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. From that experience, she said, she developed four strategies for maintaining a successful business: “Operations, people, growth and culture.”
“We became very, very focused on recruiting and retaining high-level people,” Mitchell said. “We recruit very high-level talent to work for us.”
That talent includes 35 full-time employees working at the company’s office in Fayetteville, as well as 21 subcontractors located in 11 different states. “We recruit on a national basis,” Mitchell said. “If you have to stay where you are, you can still work for us.”
Regardless of where her employees are, Mitchell believes in making sure that they’re enjoying what they do. “We are a very fast-moving company,” she said, “but we are very intentional about enjoying the ride along the way. You cannot go so fast in what you do that you burn out or lose people along the way.”
Mitchell works hard to ensure that won’t happen. “I work very hard to build a unique corporate culture here. I’m very intentional and thoughtful about the culture we’re building here.”
It’s a culture that has helped the company establish long-term relationships with clients such as Wal-Mart, Tyson Foods and Southwestern Energy Co.

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