Chris Deere

I meet with Chris Deere monthly to discuss current everyday work-life challenges and ways to navigate these as a leader of a team. We focus on professionalism in the workforce and more recently refinement of behaviors of my own, to ensure I am reflecting myself as a leader. Chris creates a comfortable space and delivers constructive feedback. I really appreciate the time I spend with him and his approach to helping make me a better leader and team member.

Chris has been an invaluable support to our business and to us as business owners. He is always receptive and available to discuss any issue big or small. We have learned to refocus our goals and get more out of our business not only professionally and with the bottom line, but also personally, gaining some balance and avoiding burn out. Whilst there are still challenges we feel supported and the group Board sessions also help to brainstorm, to gather ideas from others and just to know that we are not alone in the struggles of owning a small business. I highly recommend the Alternative Board to anyone who is wanting to take their business further.

I have been business coaching with Chris Deere since lockdown 2020. Chris’s service has been invaluable, he comes from a very calm space, digs deep and asks the right questions. I had unknowingly become isolated trying to run my small business with staff, as well as my own family and life. I was lacking confidence, treading water, juggling work/life, and constantly in survival mode which lead to fatigue and disempowerment. Chris has been a regular sounding board to help me put things in order. His coaching has empowered me to become a more effective leader, CEO and business owner in my office. I highly recommend Chris Deere as a top quality business mentor! nga mihi nui,

I have had the pleasure of knowing Chris for over six years now and cannot put into words how amazing a friend, colleague, mentor and overall person he is. I was beyond inspired by Chris many years back as he taught a class at IAAPA Expo in North America for the first year of the IAAPA Human Resources Symposium. He spoke regarding an extremely challenging situation he dealt with in his previous CEO role. After listening to him speak that day, I was amazed at how open and honest he was regarding the entire situation, his staff, the authorities, and most of all his own reactions and difficulties processing it. It was that day that I knew Chris would be a contact I wanted by my side for the rest of my career. He had dealt with the good, the bad and the ugly and was willing to help anyone through similar battles. 

Several years later, my business partner and I were looking for guidance to take our business to the next level, and Chris was there to open our eyes. Over the next year, Chris challenged us. He made us look at our business differently, but accurately. He broke it down into layers we had never thought of. The perception of the business to our guests, the employees, the way things functioned, the way it impacted our personal lives, the way our personal lives impacted our business, etc. Chris was an amazing business coach and mentor and has helped us with the direction of our business accompanied with the strategies to get us to the next level. 

His coaching and mentoring have become part of our everyday thinking as well as in the management of our business still to this day. We are extremely thankful and lucky to have had Chris as our Business Coach and highly recommend him and his services!

As a small business owner of 25 years, I was doing the traditional thing of working hard in my business and not hard on my business. As I want to retire soon I needed to get a succession plan and business strategy in place and for that I needed help. Chris Deere was recommended to me and just working through the process with him has made a huge positive difference to my business. As a result of the work we are doing together I have restructured the reporting lines, rebranded the business, have a marketing strategy and most importantly, I now have an engaged, informed, and happy workforce. My three-year retirement plan is now set in motion. If you need someone to help you achieve your business goals I highly recommend you contact Chris Deere.

I engaged Chris Deere in June 2019 for the purpose of providing support and guidance for myself and my team at Aussie World on the Sunshine Coast, Australia. Chris’ first interaction with us was a site visit where he met individually with key members of my Management and Senior Leadership team.  

Chris was able to create an immediate rapport with the team enabling him to quickly understand the challenges and opportunities that the park was facing at this time. Chris’ extensive experience and knowledge in the Attractions Industry, together with his innate ability to relate effectively to people in a seamless manner, provided us with a valuable and qualified third-party perspective.

Following the site visit Chris continued to work with four key members of my Senior Leadership team remotely for a further six month period. This enabled him to ‘coach’ these key staff in areas such as leadership and enhanced communication as well as opening their minds to different ways of improving their effectiveness in both their own roles and as part of the wider team.

I was seriously considering engaging Chris to do further work with us, focusing on resetting the Company Vision, redefining the Strategy, and then forming an effective Execution Plan.  Unfortunately, the advent of Covid 19 forced us to delay this for the short term.

I highly recommend Chris. His extensive and varied background enables him to offer valuable insights from both an Operational and Strategic perspective and he understands the significance and importance of people development to drive business performance.

Chris at TAB has been a great support during a very difficult year. His experience and professionalism has proven really valuable. I can highly recommend The Alternative Board.

If you are growing your business, The Alternative Board can supercharge your growth and make your business a marketable asset.

Chris from The Alternative Board is amazing! He is very knowledgeable, encouraging & down to earth. I have found Chris to be a huge asset to myself and my business. He goes above and beyond and continues to expand my ideas around how I can grow my business. I highly recommend Chris to anyone who is needing business advice or guidance. Chris, thank you for all the work you are continuing to do with me on my business, it is very much appreciated!

A chance meeting on Hahei Beach with Chris and Tammy proved to be fortuitous, professionally and personally. We engaged Chris to guide us as we sought to grow our business sustainably. Chris critiqued, advised and set goals to improve our operational processes, sales and marketing. Marked improvement in turnover, efficiency, delivery and profit resulted. Chris' experience, advice and ability to view our business from an outside perspective were of great value to us. Topping it all off, he's one of the 'good buggers' in this world...and he makes good coffee!

I found Chris Deere to be a highly competent and professional advisor. You know that he is there to find solutions that will help your business and it’s very ‘confidence- inspiring’ to have someone like him on your shoulder. It’s been a great experience that will continue for the foreseeable future as he is a real asset to our business.

Chris has helped my business for nearly a year now. His expertise and The Alternative Board system is fantastic to help you observe your business in ways you would normally not be aware of. With Chris' and the other members' help I've been able to better scale my business, manage staff and even reduce costs in areas to help improve my bottom line. I like the structure of the TAB system too. Everyone gets to talk, everyone gets to offer their advice. Chris has been there / done that, in a lot of areas which I think is important when growing a business, he ensures we are learning from actual experience, not a 'textbook'. So very highly recommended.

Chris Deere has been mentoring me for almost a year. During this time, I have expanded my business and I am currently dealing with the fall out of Covid. His support has been outstanding. His calm and honest approach is exactly what I have needed. An excellent sounding board, keeping me on track and focused. I can recommend the "Board" concept to any medium to large sized business. Every meeting has valuable teachings.

My wife and I have recently started a new business from scratch. The assistance and guidance we have had from Chris Deere at The Alternative Board has been nothing short of spectacular. There is no way that our new business would be at the stage it is now without Chris' involvement. We feel very lucky to have Chris as part of our team, we would recommend him to anyone.

Chris has helped our business go through a difficult time and helped us make some hard but necessary decisions. He is very friendly and very professional, and willing to help whenever he can. I cannot fault his service.

I have been fortunate enough to receive business coaching from Chris at The Alternative Board. Chris is an extremely knowledgeable, level-headed, encouraging, and supportive business coach. He is able to assist business owners in focusing on the important aspects of their business and guides you to measurable growth with accountability. Chris makes it easy to be open and honest when sharing details of your business. I couldn’t recommend Chris more highly to business owners. Whether you’re a one-man band or own a larger company with a team of staff, Chris is the business coach you are looking for!

Chris wasn't the best of salespeople with his first approach, but his timing was right, and his service turned out to be awesome. He keeps me on track to carry out the stuff that seems unimportant at the time but pays big dividends down the track. If you need a contractor for specialized HR or accountancy training Chris has all these areas covered for contacts (the kind that perform), that alone would be worth the reasonable monthly fee. Top bloke and the extra mile type of service a business owner needs.

Chris Deere, I am lucky to say, helped me navigate through business challenges with The Alternative Board. Chris has a real insight into the challenges business owners face every day whilst he was able to help me focus on the bigger picture. The Alternative Board is also a great place to discuss real issues with like minded business owners. It is good to know we all face the same challenges, and that success can be celebrated as well. What I appreciate most about Chris is his non-judgmental way of being a great advisor who can encourage you to achieve what we set out to achieve. If you get the opportunity to link into Chris's expertise, you will not regret that at all.

I have had the pleasure of knowing Chris for many years through our mutual association in the Attractions Industry, and our involvement in the International Industry Association; IAAPA. Chris is one of those great and rare people whose positivity and enthusiasm for what he does is infectious. Over the years we developed a mutually beneficial relationship where we would share ideas, successes and failures in the interests of improving not only the companies we worked for, but also the wider industry in our region. Chris was always so hospitable and generous in welcoming us to Rainbow's End when he worked there. The team that worked for him at the park shared his positivity and enthusiasm, and it was clear to see the impact this had on the business.

I had the privilege to work for Chris in the last seven years as one of his direct reports. Throughout our time working together, Chris has not only been an incredible manager but also a great mentor who I have learnt a lot from. 

Chris has always been professional, has incredible industry knowledge and is a good strategic thinker having developed and grown the Park over the last 10 years as CEO. 

He also has good project management and critical thinking skills as demonstrated by the successful launches of new rides and attractions for the Park during his time there.

More importantly, Chris is a great leader who always puts the well-being of his team as a priority. He is always humble and approachable and is well liked and well respected by everyone in the Park and in the industry. 

Chris will also not hesitate to go out of his way to help and assist those in need and has been a great career coach to me even after our time working together. Over the time that we have worked together, Chris has given me all the opportunities to develop my career and pursue various areas of interests beyond my initial job scope which has allowed me to hone my different skill sets, keeping me challenged and motivated in my job. 

Thanks again for all your guidance and support to date Chris!