It’s been a very busy season here in the MAC⁶ offices.

Our whole leadership team has done a lot of soul-searching for the last year as we look to the future of our company. Change is in the air, and I’m excited to bring you all into our vision for the future.

To frame what I mean, let’s look back a few years.

The Origins of MAC⁶

In 2011, I was working at a nonprofit and my dad (Scott McIntosh) had been retired for a couple of years after selling his engineering firm, McIntosh Engineering. At that time, we explored the possibility of founding a business together as father and son – a business that would build better communities and elevate humanity. As firm believers in Conscious Capitalism, we were both looking to eliminate poverty and create a place where people loved their jobs, creating true value for all stakeholders.

Having worked together in the real estate arena, with several commercial properties in our portfolio, we began exploring the idea of other investments (particularly in early-stage companies). That concept determined what would become MAC⁶.

Over the next years, we became investors. Active investors, not passive ones.

We began looking at business through the Conscious Capitalism lens, and we contemplated the types of companies we wanted to do business with. As investors, we learned to look for the traits that make businesses successful (and for things we could do to help them break through ceilings).

• What training did they need?
• What factors were the biggest players in growth and success.
• What were areas of strength and weakness?
• What connections would ensure success?

This investing, combined with our knack for real estate, put us in the incubator space in no time.

As an incubator, we learned a lot.

The first and biggest thing we learned: It’s the people in an organization that make the difference between success and failure. That’s something we found ourselves discussing in every investor meeting – every check-in.

Ideas are a dime a dozen, but a cohesive team that can work together towards a common goal? That’s what can make any organization both amazing and sustainable.

The bigger question was this: How do you apply quantitative measurements to what (by all outward appearances) is an intangible “X factor” in teams.

As we set out to answer that question, two culture-focused leadership development tools stood out.

• TTI Success Insights, which exists to reveal and harness the potential of teams via behavioral and skills assessments.
• EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System®) from the book, Traction, which is a system for helping entrepreneurs get what they want out of their business.

Actually, as we took our own MAC⁶ team through the Entrepreneurial Operating System®, our whole team was able to give input and buy-in to the vision and the values we developed through the EOS process. We’ve always had defined values and general direction for the future. However, going through this strict process, which at the same time was completely people-centric, allowed us to create a foundation to truly engrain our clear vision and values in everyday business for every employee.

As we began to curate this intellectual capital, we started to realize: This is what we love and this is where we can create the most value! Our whole team was passionate about building strong teams and communities (whether by solidifying company cultures, or by providing physical spaces), so we felt a shift in the making.

And that brings us to today.

We have spent over a year discussing, brainstorming, hashing, rehashing, and finalizing a new direction for MAC⁶. We’ve made the shift and now we’re excited to bring you into the process.

At our core, we’re less focused on startup investments as an incubator, and more interested in helping businesses grow and succeed. Although we still do work with some early stage businesses, particularly within our spaces, we continue to enjoy providing value to later-stage businesses who are experiencing similar issues at a greater scale and realize that the best way to break through ceilings and get what they want out of their business is through their people.

We know that even the most growth-oriented businesses hit a ceiling at some point in their journey. We provide the collaborative space and culture-focused leadership programs that push conscious leaders to conquer the complexities and scale their business.

In the next weeks, I’ll expand more on our specific service areas for those of you who are curious.

To our supporters and our community:

We are so grateful to all of you. To our past clients and our current clients: you are the reason we do what we do. Your businesses will change the world for the better.

Your feedback, love, and support have been key factors in our process of determining vision and mission. Thank you for believing in us. We’re looking forward to what’s next.

Kyle McIntosh

P.S. If you’re interested in posts that will unpack our refined purpose in the next two weeks, follow us on social media! @mac6leadershipacademy