Who we are
You must make the complex simple, and then you must make it work.
— I.M. Pei, Architect
Danielle Stein
Founder & CEO
Principal Consultant
One Smart Thing, Inc
We simplify complexity and eliminate chaos.
We find that One Smart Thing which—when changed—makes all the difference. We do this for strategies, processes, systems, productivity routines, new and revised products, and business relationships. We figure out what’s special about your business and help you run it better.
About the founder
I’m an unusual combination: an enthusiastic big-picture thinker, I can see patterns rapidly in large amounts of data. I’m also a magpie relentlessly collecting details. I make sense out of information so it can make a difference for you.
I’m that veteran mechanic who has a garage filled with a treasure trove of tools and spare parts. In my “garage” are ideas that can be repurposed and reinvented to solve problems across industries.
I’ve worked in dozens of subject areas across a wide array of companies. I’ve built teams, built products, revamped broken systems, sold and developed creative plans, and stood up new departments. I’ve worked in the field, on the road, remote, and international—from Fortune 500 companies and high-growth startups, to nonprofits and pushcart road stands.
What this means for you
When you need someone who understands your business, sees it from a different perspective, and can help you make things better, fast, in a way that’s uniquely tailored to your company: you call One Smart Thing.
One Smart Thing provides strategy consulting to leaders of growing small & medium size businesses, focused on three main stages:
Internal Operations: revising processes to save time, improve accuracy, and free up staff energy
New Business Pursuit: preparing a company to pitch new clients, setting up their internal process, systems, and staff capabilities to take on new business when they win it
Contract Design: preparing a company to define all the expectations of its working relationship with a new client in the contract/SOW: deliverables, inputs, contingency management
Firm beliefs (with or without data)
1. We believe if you aren’t having some fun, there’s no point.
We’re irreverent and provocative, and delight in finding the humor that helps creativity flourish—so we can solve the weightiest of problems together.
2. We believe in the dignity of work.
One Smart Thing will not participate in downsizing, layoffs, and offshoring existing jobs. We believe this is always a shell game: an exercise in concealing costs on a different row on the balance sheet. We’ll help rearrange your responsibilities or your staff member’s, so they’re not drowning in administrivia and can work on higher-level projects. We’ll help you find the right talent for a new task, regardless of where that talent lives. But we won’t shuffle numbers and people around to make the next quarter’s balance sheet look good.
3. We believe in building for the long term.
Whether it’s a product or a service, we work with companies where you’re looking to make SOMETHING better for your community, your customers, your employees, and yourself. You know the market changes, and a decision one year may need to be changed the next. But you’re ultimately trying to make the best long-term choices so your business is resilient, adaptable, and keeps contributing.
Key Industries
At One Smart Thing, we have experience in a vast array of subject areas and industries. And we usually find it’s immensely valuable to get a fresh perspective from a parallel situation in a different business. So don’t consider yourself limited if your business isn’t in this list: contact us today to discuss your unique situation.
Finance and insurance
Real estate
Food, grocery, restaurant, and agribusiness
Retail: online and Main Street
E-commerce
Software, computer science, engineering, automotive
Fashion and garments
Education, skill upgrades, and online learning
And more…
What People Are Saying
“As a sole proprietor entrepreneur, the ideas sometimes come fast and furious, and like many other entrepreneurs, I don't always know which idea is genuinely the most viable; nor do I always have the brain space to work out the best way to put that idea into action. A call with One Smart Thing helps me focus, articulate the idea in concrete, practical terms, and build a path to move that idea from just a thought into revenue-generating action.”
— D.M.
“As the leader of a team of specialists in a highly regulated Fortune 500 environment, I had to analyze the details and compliance of various materials my team produced. One Smart Thing created a review process and a tracking form that was lightweight and effective. It helped me increase the quality of my team’s work while adapting to compliance requirements. When I transferred to lead a team in a different but related company, I brought it with me and have continued to use it.”
— L.G.
“When we started servicing a major retail brand, we were ill-equipped to handle the massive amount of volume—with tight turnarounds and ever-changing style and legal requirements. One Smart Thing brought order to chaos, creating tracking systems and processes that we still use six years later—streamlining our workflows and creating a scalable model that has allowed us to expand to four times the size of where we began. On top of this, One Smart Thing helped entirely rewrite our existing contract with the client, greatly enhancing our protections while improving the relationship with the client through a clearer definition of requirements and deliverables.”