Be Great

What Be Great does

Be Great LLC (d/b/a BE GREAT LLC) is a privately held B2B professional services and consulting firm headquartered in Northern California (Mill Valley), founded by John Rovens (CEO) and Andrew Rovens (COO) prior to 2015. The firm specializes exclusively in evidence-based training and development for frontline people managers and team leaders, with its flagship program Leading with Autonomy® designed to reduce micromanagement and employee burnout by teaching managers to grant appropriate autonomy while maintaining accountability. Its core product portfolio includes the Leading with Autonomy® Program, an Assessment Tool that diagnoses frontline manager behaviors linked to employee performance, a modular Skills Training for People Managers curriculum (seven modules), Needs Analysis, and a suite of Organizational and Market Research services covering curriculum blueprints, evaluation research, strategic learning needs assessment, competency models, best practices, and customer loyalty/satisfaction research. The firm also maintains a dedicated Oil and Gas industry vertical offering.

The company is built on a proprietary research base spanning 900+ organizations, 2,600+ managers, and 30+ years of work in management, leadership, and sales force development, supported by a team that includes former senior executives from Zenger Miller, AchieveGlobal, AchieveForum, Learning International, and Miller Heiman Group. Revenue is generated through custom, quote-based enterprise engagements — needs analysis, curriculum design, training delivery, coaching, and research/consulting — sold via direct consultative sales to Fortune 500 and large enterprise clients across banking, oil & gas, technology, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, retail, telecom, aerospace, and food/agriculture. Notable engagements include a global sales management rollout deployed across 100+ countries for an oil and gas company, a 2,600-manager Meta research study, and project work for ExxonMobil, Wells Fargo, Microsoft, Cisco, GSK, BP, Northrop Grumman, US Bank, and Cargill. The firm has no disclosed venture or private equity funding and remains founder-owned and operated.

Name

Be Great

Legal name

Be Great LLC

Website

https://begreatllc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Be Great LLC is a privately held B2B consulting firm that delivers evidence-based leadership development — led by its flagship Leading with Autonomy® program — to frontline people managers and team leaders at Fortune 500 and large enterprise clients across multiple industries globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Mill Valley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Customized Training Solutions: Bespoke leadership development programs designed and delivered to address specific organizational needs. Includes curriculum design, training delivery, and follow-up coaching services.
2. People Manager Development Programs: Modular leadership development solutions for team leaders and first-line managers. Program modules include needs analysis, skills training, coaching, and performance management.
3. Research and Consulting Services: Organizational research including curriculum blueprints, evaluation research, best practices analysis, and market research services for customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Be Great LLC is a B2B professional services firm that delivers evidence-based training, assessment, and consulting solutions focused on frontline people managers and team leaders. Its flagship Leading with Autonomy® program helps managers reduce micromanagement and employee burnout by granting appropriate autonomy while maintaining accountability, supported by a proprietary Assessment Tool, modular skills training, Needs Analysis services, customized solutions, and organizational and market research engagements.

Product overview

Be Great LLC offers a suite of leadership development solutions centered around its flagship Leading with Autonomy® Program. The portfolio includes an Assessment Tool for evaluating frontline manager behaviors, modular Skills Training for People Managers (covering Your Leadership Strengths, Setting Up Employees for Success, Building Strengths and Cultivating Exceptional Performance, Managing and Appraising Performance Year-Round, Fostering Teamwork, Influencing Others to Adopt Change, and Developing a Flexible Problem-Solving Mindset), Needs Analysis services, Customized Solutions, and Research and Consulting offerings (Curriculum Blueprint, Evaluation Research, Strategic Learning Needs Assessment, Competency Models, Best Practices, Customer Loyalty, and Customer Satisfaction). The company also provides industry-specific solutions for the oil and gas sector. The products are delivered through evidence-based approaches focused on frontline manager development and reducing micromanagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Leading with Autonomy®: The company's flagship training program that develops managers' ability to reduce employee burnout by understanding micromanagement triggers and learning what autonomy is, why it works, what management actions support it, how to use it as a leadership method, and how to grant it while maintaining accountability.

Products and services

• Leading with Autonomy® Program Flagship training program that develops managers' ability to reduce employee burnout by understanding their own micromanagement triggers and learning what autonomy is, why it works, what management actions support it, how to use it as a leadership method, and how to grant it while maintaining accountability. Targeted at frontline people managers and team leaders in enterprise organizations.
• Frontline Manager Assessment Tool Diagnostic assessment tool that identifies which frontline manager behaviors are most important to employee performance, helping organizations evaluate manager effectiveness and prioritize development.
• Skills Training for People Managers Modular leadership and management skill development offering comprising seven standalone modules: Your Leadership Strengths, Setting Up Employees for Success, Building Strengths and Cultivating Exceptional Performance, Managing and Appraising Performance Year-Round, Fostering Teamwork, Influencing Others to Adopt Change, and Developing a Flexible Problem-Solving Mindset. Designed for frontline managers and team leaders.
• People Manager Development Needs Analysis Structured research process that collects and analyzes written and interview data to identify and prioritize frontline management performance needs, gaps, and priorities. Used by enterprise organizations to scope training investments.
• Customized Solutions Bespoke training strategy providing pinpointed alignment with organizational strategies, unmatched development within cultural norms, and integration of HR systems and processes. Designed for enterprise clients with unique requirements.
• Research and Consulting Organizational and marketplace research services encompassing curriculum blueprint, evaluation research, strategic training needs assessment, competency models, best practices, customer loyalty, and customer satisfaction research for enterprise clients.
• Evaluation Research Assessment of impact or effectiveness of training and organizational interventions, including ROI analysis and behavioral change measurement.
• Strategic Learning Needs Assessment Identifies critical skills required for successfully implementing the organization's strategy and defines gaps to determine highest impact areas for training investment.
• Competency Models Identifies and defines knowledge, skills, abilities, attitudes, and traits required for peak job performance, serving as a basis for integrated HR systems.
• Oil and Gas Industry Solutions Management and leadership development offerings tailored specifically to the oil and gas industry, including solutions for retailers, refiners, exploration, drilling, and oil field service companies.
• Customer Satisfaction Research Systematic customer satisfaction measurement to identify customers' needs and requirements for quality and satisfaction.
• Customer Loyalty Research Uncovers factors determining if customers will repurchase or switch to competition, improving predictions about customer behavior.

Quantifiable outcome

• 89% of HR professionals state their frontline leaders are ineffective in granting autonomy and not micromanaging
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers34 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• DDI (Development Dimensions International): DDI is a global leadership development firm with deep frontline manager programs (e.g., Frontline Leader, Interaction Management). It competes head-on with Be Great in the frontline leadership training category across enterprise buyers, with similar consultative selling and assessment-led methodology.
• Wilson Learning: Wilson Learning provides sales, leadership, and customer experience training delivered through a global network of consultants. It competes in the same frontline manager and sales leadership category as Be Great, with similar content-plus-services delivery and enterprise-targeted content.
• BTS: BTS is a professional services firm specializing in sales force and leadership development with a strong oil & gas and industrial vertical presence — closely mirroring Be Great's frontline and sales leadership focus and its enterprise field-sales GTM motion.
• Center for Creative Leadership (CCL): CCL is a research-driven leadership development provider offering programs, assessments, and coaching targeted at leaders at all levels including frontline managers. Comparable to Be Great in using proprietary research and evidence-based content to serve enterprise leadership development needs.
• The Ken Blanchard Companies: Blanchard is a long-standing leadership development firm built around Situational Leadership® and related programs for managers at all levels including frontline. Comparable to Be Great in serving enterprise customers with research-grounded management training delivered by practitioner-consultants.
• Zenger Folkman: Zenger Folkman specializes in evidence-based leadership development and 360-degree feedback, directly comparable to Be Great's competency-based, research-driven approach to frontline leadership. The firms share academic rigor and enterprise-led delivery models.

Emerging players

• VitalSmarts / Crucial Learning: Crucial Learning (formerly VitalSmarts) provides training in leadership, influence, and change with research-grounded methodologies. It overlaps with Be Great's frontline leadership training audience and competes for enterprise L&D budgets with similar assessment-led, evidence-based content.
• BetterUp: BetterUp is a digital coaching and leadership development platform that has moved aggressively into frontline manager development with AI-augmented offerings. It overlaps with Be Great's frontline-manager audience but competes via technology-enabled delivery at lower marginal cost.

Broad incumbents

• FranklinCovey: FranklinCovey is a broad enterprise leadership and execution-focused training provider (The 7 Habits, Leading at the Speed of Trust). It overlaps with Be Great's leadership training category but operates at much larger scale and across a wider curriculum than Be Great's frontline-manager focus.
• Korn Ferry: Korn Ferry's Leadership & Professional Development practice offers enterprise leadership consulting, assessments, and learning programs. It competes with Be Great in the enterprise L&D category but is significantly broader (talent acquisition, advisory, executive search).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Be Great