How Strategic Planning Drives Retention and Growth in Multi-Location Operations
You put in communication, you put in training, you put in this intentional effort into your team—you could be flying a glider, but you just put an engine on your plane.
What We Did
Implemented the AOS framework and meeting structure to create alignment across four dairies.
Standardized communication systems between managers to ensure consistent best practices.
Facilitated leadership development and coaching to strengthen accountability and collaboration.
Built deeper talent benches by training employees across multiple positions.
Partnered through COVID-era challenges to stabilize operations and rebuild financial strength.
Key Outcomes
Communication between dairies became unified, eliminating inconsistent practices and aligning teams around a shared vision.
Turnover decreased each year for four years, improving retention and building stronger, more capable teams.
Financial performance rebounded after COVID, driving record-breaking growth and operational performance.
Table of Contents
Background
Tuls Dairies is one of the region’s largest dairy operations, milking more than 22,000 cows daily with the purpose of “making more milk to help feed the world and impact the lives of the communities around us.” As a family legacy, Todd Tuls took over the operation with the bold goal of multiplying his grandfather’s work tenfold—a vision rooted in his childhood, when at age 12 he saw the farm milking 2,000 cows. Driven by relentless innovation and commitment, Todd achieved that goal within 30 years.
As the company grew, leadership recognized that sustaining long-term success required more than scale. They needed a strategic system: a consistent cadence of planning, goal setting, and training to unify leadership, standardize communication, and establish consistent systems across locations.
Before partnering with Leadership Resources, each of Tuls’ four dairies operated differently, resulting in inefficiencies and inconsistent results. Leadership alignment was lacking, and there was no consistent forum for cross-location communication. These conditions made managing a multi-site operation especially challenging in a volatile post-COVID market.
Challenges
Aligning leadership and operations across multiple states was a challenge that was more complex than simply coordinating schedules or sharing updates. Without a shared framework for decision-making, efficiency suffered, processes varied from site to site, and communication broke down. This created confusion, slower problem solving, and inconsistent performance across the organization.
The COVID-19 crisis compounded these challenges. With millions of gallons of milk dumped nationwide due to market disruptions, the company suffered a significant financial setback that tested its resilience. Leaders recognized the urgency of aligning the organization and knew they could not recover without a clear, unified strategy.
Strategic alignment between each operation became more than a goal, it became a necessity. It was essential not only to restore operational efficiency but also to rebuild communication and trust among leadership teams, improve performance across each site, and prepare the organization for sustainable growth in a volatile market. This required both a structured operational system and a cultural shift toward alignment and collaboration.
By engaging Leadership Resources, Tuls Dairies began a transformation that addressed both operational processes and leadership mindset, creating a foundation for long-term success.
Results
Through its partnership with Leadership Resources and Strategic Growth Advisor Dan Sedor, Tuls Dairies implemented AOS (Accelerate Operating System), standardizing its leadership communication system and creating a unified process across all dairies. Managers now share best practices and operate with consistent standards, ensuring efficiency and accountability.
Employee turnover has declined each year, reaching record lows every new year. With stronger retention, teams are more experienced, better trained, and capable of stepping into new roles as needed. The leadership team is aligned around a clear purpose and vision, with employees deeply bought in to the company’s mission.
Most importantly, the company rebounded from its COVID financial challenges and soared to record performance. As CEO Todd Tuls explained:
“You could be flying a glider, but when you invest in leadership coaching, it’s like putting an engine on your plane… Not only have we recovered, but we’ve soared.”
By investing in communication, coaching, and intentional leadership development, Tuls Dairies positioned itself for sustainable growth, in the words of Governor Jim Pillen, to “go up like a rocket ship.”
The success of Tuls Dairies demonstrates the power of strategic planning in multi-location operations. By aligning leadership, standardizing processes, and building strong communication systems, Tuls Dairies not only recovered from COVID but positioned itself for sustained growth and success setting a benchmark for operational excellence in the dairy industry and beyond.
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