As principal of Gray Suit, an Austin- and San Miguel de Allende-based consulting group, I connect the dots between business, communications, and actionable solutions—helping to build and grow brands. I have a strong background in business, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy, and as a behind-the-scenes source for major news organizations. I also invest in business models with strong, differentiated value propositions.
I am a discreet resource but do best to introduce an irreverent, hopefully endearing, and sometimes amusing discourse to professional relationships.
I'm driven by the logic of “what can be” and the magic of storytelling and design—affording strategic vision and pragmatic tactical solutions and building blocks for clients—start-up and established businesses, nonprofit organizations, and philanthropic ventures.
My approach tends to be more commonsensical than whiz-bang.
- Find clarity—identify the right end objective(s), then define the problem or challenge in getting there. Get crystal-clear about where you want to go, what you want to achieve, and why.
- Figure out your targeted audiences—those you must engage, influence, and motivate in order to achieve your end.
- Work backward to your starting point, then develop a strategic plan, assessing available resources, in context, so you can efficiently and effectively engage, influence, and motivate your targeted audiences in order to achieve the desired end(s).
- Set a course of action to achieve the desired end(s). And, if you prefer, help you get there.
I work independently on a handful of select projects, with an alliance of talented resources—some of whom Gray Suit has partnered with since 1998. I collaborate with your senior management and project teams —and will embed with the right organization—whatever it takes to curate and optimize resources and make one's short-term project or long-term campaign a success.
-Brett Holmes