Headwaters Marketing and Innovation, LLC - Biz & Markets In Flow, Fort Collins CO
Bill Van Eron from Headwaters Marketing and Innovation, LLC - Biz & Markets In Flow

Bill Van Eron

Headwaters Marketing and Innovation, LLC - Biz & Markets In Flow

About Us

Companies and traditional marketing firms talk about the customer journey, but I can attest customers have been waiting for decades to recognize which companies meet their now higher criteria and full transparency. My own journey expanded the value of design & design thinking from its office bound walls, to immersing myself in customer facing environs across sales, channels, media, analysts, research and R&D. That ability to leave our comfort zones to expand our relevance, only made my sense of conscious design a powerful strategic value that even surprised me. I am not an ego-centered guy and was fortunate to have embraced early in life diversity, values, open dialog, new thinking, trust and stimulus, initially as a core requirement in life & to win design jobs in highly competitive NYC. Now as a shared advantage for all stakeholders and the definition of true we-powered leadership.

Today those conscious skills are proving even more vital for business, yet understandably few have had the luxury to do what I did. Today I see better ways to become, encourage, recognize, reward & leverage your internal market champions. I was touched and excited that my work was the catalyst or the strategist to inspire trust and purpose across global internal teams in every function internally or externally. To elaborate; the trust we created with customers, channels and influencer's created a foundation of growth and values that were inseparable for over a decade.

Today with advanced systems thinking, critical and possibility thinking, and seeing the HUGE value that affords professionals, leaders and all organizations, my insights reveal what most miss. We started shaping strategies & solutions that address the challenges all businesses face as markets & employees now control your success through total transparency. I could not retire on top of my game and was reminded of that pleasantly by Brian Solis, a highly recruited and top regarded digital transformation guru as he implored me to stay active knowing I have rare and extended experience applying the principles in action that define winners today...that so few have figured out yet. I also received authentic advice from an ex HP and Agilent executive that said "Just tell people that you challenge the status quo to serve markets better, while earning trust, impassioned teams and a s#*tload of money".

Unlike others who push invasive sales & marketing agendas, we take a genuine interest in your success and the foundation it requires with the people that determine your relevance - customers, channels, influencer's, employees. The path we offer starts with a collaborative discovery session and the array of value we can pass on is only limited by your hunger for more as once people discover the real thing, they want more. Our growing & current value-aligned strategic alliance team each brings a passion, competency & a shared belief that values-connected business & markets become interdependent in their support which then helps to sustain those values through competition & change.

Together, my experience-fueled vision and a variety of current day competencies many will soon desire, we now shaped a fully integrated, customizable, scalable digital solution that integrates just what you need to make every day an infusion of new thinking, tuned solution advice and coaching to get you on your journey to be your best & part of a phenomenal team as a natural, self & outside-in motivated passion.

Our work integrates internal culture, competencies, inclusion, diversity, innovation & conscious thinking with the needs, values and hidden opportunities most businesses only realize once or twice, now far more frequently. We understand why this has been difficult for you as change affects everything, yet the answers are not chaotic once you embrace the value tenets driving change internally & externally, now as your success ecosystem. We integrate the best thinking across achieving business agility, purpose, open innovation, social conscious and business creativity. We (my virtual team of incredible professionals) and I are designed to enlighten companies and all types of organizations in ways most fail to comprehend when trapped in business usual patterns.

As we collaborate with you to create a stronger sense of what matters, our goal is to help companies self manage their future as soon as they feel they are ready. We work to earn trust while challenging status quo with a track record for unprecedented success. This is a time for both personal and business transformation that requires a new breed of advisory services so you and your business can soar above obstacles.

How We Got Started

Creative thinking, once combined with insight, an eye for value, a sense of the full ecosystem and proven abilities to get to the heart of what matters to customers have enabled me, and soon you, to focus, inspire, expand and enable teams to do their very best work. What I did for HP & Agilent in years past, has proven out as decades ahead of conventional marketing and repeatable. But tapping into what markets have long wanted and valued, while also inspiring employees and all functions remains an under-utilized advantage. Why wait? You too can evolve and grow. Microsoft and several others have confirmed that while leaders now nod yes to factors such as trust, inclusion, diversity & culture, too few know how to implement and where to go. They then confirmed anyone with deep experience applying what is new for over 95% out there, is rare and of the highest value.

I have the good fortune to share much with you so you too can enjoy success that others support with contagious regard.

Products & Services
Most companies define their customer by buyer patterns as if buyers are on a journey. In truth, the journey is on the company to then earn buyer an...
Leaders and professionals all strive to make a difference, yet how that needs to happen has greatly changed for the better. Many hold on to fears o...
Innovation, Revenues Growth, Customer Experience, Employee Dedication, and most human factors on your CEO's Top Ten Priorities are no longer "pick ...
Recommendations Given (36)
"It helps when a search group aligns its services with new skills versus just conventional. I look..." Read more "It helps when a search group aligns its services with new skills versus just conventional. I look forward to working with Michael as also one who models the future-now attributes all leaders have to own up to,"
"Amy and Rachel are a pleasure to work with or even just discuss options. It is interesting to see..." Read more "Amy and Rachel are a pleasure to work with or even just discuss options. It is interesting to see how a real estate firm in Tuscon, AZ can now effectively list and sell homes in Colorado and elsewhere. All businesses will be challenged in this pandemic to put earned values and humanity ahead of overdone sales pressures. I expect technology to soon lower the cost and time required to sell a home while acknowledging those that invest in relationships as Amy and Rachel do, as well as a few in Colorado that we also like a lot."
Recent Activity

Bill from Headwaters Marketing and Innovation, LLC - Biz & Markets In Flow Answered this on June 27, 2022
I see PR as a higher  path  to  credibility  and relevance. My first  4 years  doing it  for a small HP startup,  accounted  for 65% of  all HP's global coverage. I see networking as a path to relevance that  needs more attention to  a system of inclusion, testing and reasoning. (more) I see PR as a higher  path  to  credibility  and relevance. My first  4 years  doing it  for a small HP startup,  accounted  for 65% of  all HP's global coverage. I see networking as a path to relevance that  needs more attention to  a system of inclusion, testing and reasoning.

Bill from Headwaters Marketing and Innovation, LLC - Biz & Markets In Flow Answered this on November 29, 2021
We all need more conscious integrity in government and business as when both fail to do the right thing, within reasonable agility, we experience the impact. Many shortages that now drive prices up, could have been  avoided with reasonable foresight. The more we the people stand united on... (more) We all need more conscious integrity in government and business as when both fail to do the right thing, within reasonable agility, we experience the impact. Many shortages that now drive prices up, could have been  avoided with reasonable foresight. The more we the people stand united on issues, the sooner we will see actions. Our government is under attack and yet those responsible need to account for it and those in power need to raise that red flag and raise the bar on what civil service truly requires. We are better than this. More are starting to see that this is a time of change. Many fail to understand what is driving positive change, thus they continue in their status quo trappings.  Innovation is a vital part of  our future, yet it is often blocked by those standing to lose the most. I respect their concerns and that inspired the need for more conscious innovation so  all win.  Case in  point: As we look at AI eliminating jobs or job repetition, we should be realizing ad preparing people for jobs with a higher reference to humanity, trust and earned relevance.   

Bill from Headwaters Marketing and Innovation, LLC - Biz & Markets In Flow Answered this on April 20, 2021
I appreciate the article herein. I am used to clear benefits driving Biden after 4 years of denying us from them. I also spoke with a political group yesterday and they were all about helping us. That said, I see the opportunity for a major shift, which will be key to making all work more... (more) I appreciate the article herein. I am used to clear benefits driving Biden after 4 years of denying us from them. I also spoke with a political group yesterday and they were all about helping us. That said, I see the opportunity for a major shift, which will be key to making all work more compelling. It is under most people's radar, but my work for HP for 25 years building trust through diversity, inclusion and greater relevance, showed mass market receptivity. Mid to large companies as resisting this shift, as in hoping it will go away, so greed, control, risk aversion and superficiality rules the day. If small businesses unite and apply the approaches I did, maybe even shape alliances, that relevance will shape higher success and greater attention to others, purpose and adaptability. I'd personally be surprised and disappointed if Biden's organization see's what was reported herein, as their true goal here. For the previous administration, it would just be another day of lies and false promises. I am disappointed how not one politician got back to me after my efforts to shape a stronger constitution, ethics and relevance in government were offered as a system all could trust and desire to be accountable to.

Bill from Headwaters Marketing and Innovation, LLC - Biz & Markets In Flow Answered this on April 13, 2020
While staying virus-free is priority one,  we all should reflect on the impact of the last few decades, today and how we the people can shape a better future:  We have been in a deepening trust crisis regarding business, government & technology focus on income over integrity, inclusion, all... (more) While staying virus-free is priority one,  we all should reflect on the impact of the last few decades, today and how we the people can shape a better future:  We have been in a deepening trust crisis regarding business, government & technology focus on income over integrity, inclusion, all things human. Conversely, as one who grew up in adversity, our humanity always rises up to matter the most. Why not let this help lead in biz, gov. as the force for significance it really is? While creativity, conscious attention to others as a connected system of humanity, have been key to trust, relevance, empathy, values and more, too many with these attributes tend to live in a box, we all need to break open, as I did to counterbalance outdated management with a left brain dominance to connect people beyond our superficial labels & status quo limiters, to champion trust, inclusion, diversity, values, as vital factors to earn greater significance as that matters as much or more than just what product a company makes. The outcomes remain unprecedented in the technology industry and Fortune 100 companies helped, so why all the indifference at a time when we all can shape lives, careers, businesses and governments more accountable to enabling us. We see the need to keep humanity first, through better reasoning, soft skills, enlightenment, systems thinking, creativity - all stuff attributed to  a more enabling leadership moving forward. So as values now matter more as stakeholders with 100% transparency determine who is worthy or not, why not inspire, help, learn and challenge more of us to rise above our obstacles to show our "we" collective, as more of us have these attributes to rise up in adversity to shape actions that matter?    

Bill from Headwaters Marketing and Innovation, LLC - Biz & Markets In Flow Answered this on January 27, 2020
Three factors: So work, health & play are integrated.                - What is the nature of your work?  Mine was weighted on creativity.  Meetings ate up my day & I had to work late evenings at home, to synthesize and solve creative challenges. Management approved me working mostly at home to... (more) Three factors: So work, health & play are integrated.                - What is the nature of your work?  Mine was weighted on creativity.  Meetings ate up my day & I had to work late evenings at home, to synthesize and solve creative challenges. Management approved me working mostly at home to enable me greater latitude. Doing so, my performance ranking went up and I exercised as needed. At work, many small meetings were done while walking.                             - Is the culture one that enables or stresses people? Too many inadvertently become closed, internal, time-stressed cultures that lower trust & objectivity. One issue I have been exploring with health professionals is how to assure the mental health of any org. structure. Employees all thrive when a culture enables them. Management often resists the need to adapt to 21st century values in evidence.                         - What is your purpose? What do you stand for? A growing proportion of younger gens prefer working in entrepreneurial environs and score larger corporations as a worst case scenario. Increasingly biz with a social footprint earn greater internal & external regard. More outperform biz models that assume you live for their product, so they label you as on that journey. Wrong, the real journey is closing the gaps between greed, control and investing in earned significance across any orgs stakeholder relevance ecosystem. I have worked for and advised startups, SMB, on up to 8 Fortune 100 corporations, often to a huge collective advantage, too few saw then or even see today . I have seen small local companies earn high regard internally & externally by investing in the community & earning trust. With that, we all gain the flexibility to integrate health - mental and physical - with work that is also healthy in an inspirational, enlightening way.                         Regardless, of current managements resistance to invest in others that define all biz & orgs stakeholder ecosystems, this is shaping a new playing field that rewards those that step up to synthesize and act on what matters beyond corporate norms. What we have within us personally and collectively is the power to shape lives and work that matters, which is why I advocate more conscious design & leadership so we all rise up beyond obstacles that stopped us for decades.  

Bill from Headwaters Marketing and Innovation, LLC - Biz & Markets In Flow Answered this on January 09, 2020
There are some good answers here but start with an updated view as to why most go into "get the Hell out of Dodge" mode when they think they are being sold or marketed to. Sales, marketing, HR and leadership are suffering a steady erosion as the absence of trust, a social footprint, an open... (more) There are some good answers here but start with an updated view as to why most go into "get the Hell out of Dodge" mode when they think they are being sold or marketed to. Sales, marketing, HR and leadership are suffering a steady erosion as the absence of trust, a social footprint, an open culture and soft skills makes all near obsolete. Flip that around as I did for HP when I left my HP brand and design position to immerse myself in customer facing and customer influence environs, wow...no  wonder on my first day a sales person greeted me as a "Converted Factory Puke". Even designers have to break out of our own status quo, even if it means leaving our comfort zones, as I did.  Having a great values-compass, being able to invest in others enough to synthesize what really matters, doing it where it benefits your brand and enjoying the continuous effectiveness that more participate in shaping. My sales force and HP Reseller's led the world in 3X quota growth each of two years and our reseller's that I branded way back in 1990's, recorded and sustained the fastest and strongest growth through today. Back to sales: When a name that started as a value becomes entrenched in that category's mistrust, you may have to change the name from sales to a range of progressive advisory roles. As a creative person, I know what to look for yet I see how others idea's are squelched without any review and they are written off as "they are not creative". I treat this different and advise firms suffering with relevance, innovation, culture, inclusion to learn what to look for, so orgs benefit from 1000 points of light to infuse the seeds of ideas, needs and values. Sales people that are skilled at empathy, attention to others and relationships can also add value.  What I did for HP since 1990 was to create value across different parts of their ecosystem well beyond any corporate agenda yet truer to contagious brand relevance. I LOVE all the talent out there as one that excelled at design. The foundation I see for a better sales, marketing, HR and leadership high bar, is something I hope to share with a few who want to matter as you want to connect all jobs to a value and a purpose that earns internal & external regard. Since then, I connected all things human into a living model of agile insight, integration, innovation, enablement, inclusion, and organizational models that raise the bar on outdated approaches & resistance to something all celebrate with pride & shared value. 

Bill from Headwaters Marketing and Innovation, LLC - Biz & Markets In Flow Answered this on December 28, 2019
1. For decades management valued the practice of isolating a problem or need to fix it. That is obsolete where the needs are human, such as; culture, greater employee enablement, a true stakeholder-wide system of accountability, how diversity and inclusion are applied and more.  Two highly... (more) 1. For decades management valued the practice of isolating a problem or need to fix it. That is obsolete where the needs are human, such as; culture, greater employee enablement, a true stakeholder-wide system of accountability, how diversity and inclusion are applied and more.  Two highly visible examples: A. How many decades innovation has been on most CEO's Top Ten List without realizing it is connected to whether you have an open, diverse, enabling culture. B. The majority of large companies state employee recruitment as a top priority, while a huge percentage of younger and talented candidates strongly prefer being or working in entrepreneurial environs.         2. Too few leaders have yet to care to see, enable or master systems thinking and creativity, as everything human is interconnected. I created and applied a values-based model across key examples in HP's stakeholder ecosystem as far back as 1990. Each application was seamless,  not the "totally disruptive" concern many leaders still have about transformation. Revenues well exceeded all the highest expectations.                        Why? Because the work I was able to synthesize with a conscious designers view, earned the highest internal inclusion, invited additional ideas and it also earned the highest stakeholder regard - channels, market analysts, editors, customers. 3. The historically entrenched value about All-knowing CEO's has long shifted to the greater reality that only people-powered firms succeed. Yet, we often hear how today's CEO's are paid over a thousand times more than the average employee. I hear firms state they "pay for performance" and see how they equivocate each employees cost against how much they return in revenues. When you fail to assess all contributing value the same way, the system is broken. When I worked in HP across a wide variety of creative  & relationship positions in marketing and brand I  cared to apply trust, credibility & emotional, logical relevance. As internal & external teams got behind the values I was able to put forth, the  contrast between that and how Gallup states 70% of today's employees are emotionally detached, clearly shows success follows significance. As I reflect back at my 25 years helping HP and spinoff Agilent, while I was paid reasonably well and content, my employee ROI was at least $50M each of years as a designer and easily over $2B a year each of my last 13 years there. Had they cared to master my methods before I left, I am positive they would still be a top 3 ranked company.  4. With great respect to technologists and scientists, I see way to many orgs allowing their core left brain skills to dominate their culture. So yes, they inadvertently become closed, internally focused cultures. I totally embrace the value engineers provide and understand why they get the brunt of the rewards as expected. But in times of exponential change, we all have to understand what matters beyond our own longheld beliefs. Right brain contributions often create that bridge of greater trust, and on up to contagious relevance we earned repeatedly to create a living brand. 5.As one that left my beloved design comfort zones to immerse myself into the HP Stakeholder ecosystem, my invested depth to what matters well beyond corporate agendas, revealed far greater contributions a conscious designer can make than waiting for others to see that need, which was and is truly rare. I risked leaving design, marketing & PR as I knew my long term success created a foundation that is essential to enabling the best from a wide array of talented people I respect. As we all run when we think we are being marketed or sold something well before any trust or relevance has been established, I also saw the same with HR. I have since remodelled my own success so more can emulate it at the top with a Chief Stakeholder Strategy Officer and within the ranks as 1000 points of contributing lights in effect. I lament, as a practitioner of continuous enlightenment amd self challenge, that even the top headhunters, workforce of the future, consultants, experts and core functions - leadership, sales, marketing, R&D, HR - all hold on to the past versus embracing the future to shape it as true leaders should. That may be the possibility thinker in me as I have great faith in the decency within all who feel connected to a purpose, values and new realities we all can make positive forces for beneficial gains to all. Let's make 2020 the year of  "woke" systems.
1 Reply

Bill from Headwaters Marketing and Innovation, LLC - Biz & Markets In Flow Answered this on December 16, 2019
Hi Rich, I will answer your great question from the perspective of one who helped very complex and advanced technologies to achieve far greater relevance across the stakeholder system now vital. My mix of design think, brand, conscious leadership and ability to synthesize what really matters to... (more) Hi Rich, I will answer your great question from the perspective of one who helped very complex and advanced technologies to achieve far greater relevance across the stakeholder system now vital. My mix of design think, brand, conscious leadership and ability to synthesize what really matters to employees, leaders, customers, channels, and market influencer's proved as a perfect counter-balance for HP, Agilent and Keysight Technologies to achieve greater significance, as a precursor to success. I admire and respect the strengths technologists and product development folks bring, while also seeing how important it is for other stakeholders to also deem an org as worthy. thus it has to be earned. I loved design as it required me to invest in continuous enlightenment, and both synthesize and shape value many miss, yet appreciate when it connects to things they value. Things I wish I knew then as well as I do now: We all  have things we love, yet we have to see the whole system to apply our strengths in ways that really matter. I got tired of winning every design award I entered as I cared more about outcomes. So when I studied systems thinking and immersed myself in customer facing & market influencer environs, my employee ROI value easily quadrupled to between $100M to $300M per year for the next 11 years at HP...all because I cared to understand what really matters and seamlessly add it in. A handshake used to be enough to seal a deal. Today we are in a trust crisis that affects everyone. Attention to earning trust, credibility, applying inclusion, diversity in open dialog is a path to significance that earns the highest significance, and success. Get out of your comfort zones to connect to greater needs and greater value. Rich, technology companies are evolving technology faster than most conventional thinkers can interpret its value. The promise of "people enabling technology" and "digital transformation" suffers the reality of digital addiction eroding our soft skills (reasoning, relationships, creativity, and more). Leveraging how I helped various technologies to achieve greater relevance, I now will look to help assure better attention to the human systems of work, need, innovation, purpose & accountability along with killer solutions as that will define the next gen of tech significance. If you have some things to understand more so you can apply them or just collaborate, my goals are mutually beneficial. Good luck in any case. Bill

Bill from Headwaters Marketing and Innovation, LLC - Biz & Markets In Flow Answered this on December 10, 2019
Hi Mari-Lyn, I have enjoyed the quality within clients that honestly want to create shared effectiveness internally & externally. The top 188 CEO's only this year announced that stakeholders will now get their full attention versus decades of focus on shareholders. I am fortunate as one that has... (more) Hi Mari-Lyn, I have enjoyed the quality within clients that honestly want to create shared effectiveness internally & externally. The top 188 CEO's only this year announced that stakeholders will now get their full attention versus decades of focus on shareholders. I am fortunate as one that has done all of what seems new to these CEO's for HP and others as far back as 1990, and consistently earning the highest internal and external significance which only then, created still unprecedented revenues growth. I feel badly that recent biz news (WSJ) shared that they sense CEO's were just saying what people want to hear versus committing to it. When I chose to help HP as far back as 1978 through 2001, I was drawn to the MBO (Management By Objective) and HP Way that founders Bill & Dave created. Dave Packard loved higher Education thus when I figured out a way to get HP back into it, despite most feeling that was impossible given the long sales process and ultimately a lowest price decision, I was thrilled when Dave sent me a letter thanking me. True leaders may reside in any of us as we all have greater attributes to tap into than the obstacles we all faced when a culture was fear-based, or closed. I have no competitors while respecting those that try to help leaders who honestly commit to doing what matters versus just lip service. So, while I may be focused on helping mid to large corporations and orgs (Government, Education, Industry-wide functions) who need more help than they may own up to, the characteristics I look for (and more often see in women of all ethnicity's) are attention to others, integrity, purpose, attitude and open mindedness.   I feel, we are at a crossroads as a nation and as a world. We are at risk of seeing everything we valued, hoped for or saw as overdue attention is at severe risk. Conversely, I see a Weconomy that respects and enables our interdependencie's as now vital to earn & achieve significance, as only that leads to success more contributors should share. It pains me that we witness more CEO's getting compensation in the high millions while the working class - who are vital to create people-powered relevance - have seen little financial advancement.  So whether you are a small biz owner on a growth track, or a mid to large org that has experienced serious drops in revenues, employee performance, market & brand regard... or even on a growth path you would like to sustain and expand, it's time to invest in your foundation as a Values-Based Business Model.
2 Replies

Bill from Headwaters Marketing and Innovation, LLC - Biz & Markets In Flow Answered this on November 24, 2019
Will look at your show tomorrow. Ironically, I conceived a better way to launch and prepare startups to align to today's exciting growth markets. I like what it seems you have as they all need help and we all win. I volunteered in a local incubator 8 years and while they do help somewhat, it... (more) Will look at your show tomorrow. Ironically, I conceived a better way to launch and prepare startups to align to today's exciting growth markets. I like what it seems you have as they all need help and we all win. I volunteered in a local incubator 8 years and while they do help somewhat, it still falls well short of what is needed. Will get back to you but after I meet with a major resource in a week or two.

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