Testimonials

Working with Cleo Franklin has been amazing as his ability to dissect our business essentials to growth and put together an action plan to focus on doing the right things “right” for our business has been eye-opening. His approach to understanding the business and the people behind it to make things happen at the ground level is something we appreciate and look forward to developing as we continue to grow our business.

In my almost 30 years of career in comprehensive marketing, multimedia communications, and content development, I have met few people as talented as Cleo Franklin. His ability to synthesize messages with a high global impact can only be described as an immense innate gift on his part that allows him to engage audiences with fantastic concepts. It was tremendous working with him to build the Mahindra brand and business presence in Mexico and Latin America, as our strategy made a significant impact quickly in the market.

Cleo has the unique ability to access a situation, implement a plan, which leads to finding solutions to get the desired result. His strategies in marketing planning sessions are second to none. His positive attitude and thoughts make it a pleasure to work with him.

Franklin Strategic Solutions represents the epitome of professionalism, excellence, and service. The company exceeds expectations because the intentionally precise methodologies that Franklin Strategic Solutions implements yield results more than clients could ever imagine. Mr. Franklin is a joy to partner with as he seemingly has boundless energy to generously share with all of his clients, whether they are a global brand or a nascent small business.

Working closely with Cleo, I have realized that wherever he is involved, excellence is guaranteed. Every conversation with Cleo brings in a great deal of value and knowledge. He is extremely adaptable to changing market scenarios and is always equipped with ground-breaking strategies and skills. Despite his countless achievements, Cleo is one of the most humble people you will ever meet. I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity of working with him.

I have known Cleo for nearly 20 years now and have truly been honored to have such a long-lasting relationship with him. My relationship with Cleo began when we both worked together at John Deere. Cleo was one of the biggest supporters of bleeding-edge innovations when I worked with him. He had an amazing ability to understand the value of innovation while still viewing it through the lens of business fundamentals. Cleo and I have continued to interact with each other, having worked on some potential startup concepts together. I am lucky to count Cleo as one of my most trusted advisers and professional development mentors. Every engagement with Cleo has been filled with an insightful business perspective balanced with a personal perspective of how I can be a better business leader. I am privileged to know Cleo Franklin and to count him as a personal mentor.

Students are sure to walk away from a Cleo Franklin presentation that creates value for walks of life. Working through his engaging activities, Cleo brings to life his past experiences and illustrates the importance of self-awareness, learning from the past, and positioning yourself to embrace the future.

A few years ago, Cleo Franklin gave an interview where he described the differentiating qualities of the Mahindra brand as passionate, authentic and connected. I think the same three words also describe everything that Cleo stands for. He is deeply connected with his customers, his dealers, and with the organization. He is one of the most authentic people I know. And his passion for the idea of Rise has helped to shape our aspiration to be among the most respected brands in the world. One might almost say that Cleo has helped to build the brand in his own image. 

During his tenure , Mahindra Agriculture North America has grown from a new kid on the block to a major contender, and Cleo has played  a significant  role in getting there.

Our agency has been a key, strategic marketing partner with Mahindra NA for over 8 years and as such, I have had the privilege of personally working closely with Cleo on many and varied projects. Cleo’s energy and vision knows no bounds. Additionally, he offers a rare and unique combination of drive and passion combined with approachability and kindness. Cleo believes in the power of people and interpersonal relationships. He rarely ends a conversation without a word of appreciation, positivity, or motivation. 

He presents his vision and expectations clearly and concisely, and always makes himself available for a phone call, meeting, or piece of advice if needed … a very rare trait in our increasingly digital world. Yet at the same time, Cleo has the experience and wisdom to know when to step back and entrust his team to get their job done. Cleo encourages and supports his employees, partners and colleagues with strong yet positive leadership skills, which drives their best performance. Simply put, people truly WANT to perform well for Cleo, hence … he achieves results. 

I had the pleasure of working with Cleo on one of the most successful multi-year marketing campaigns I have personally witnessed in some 33+ years of broadcast sales. It was through this partnership that Mahindra grew from #8 in market share to #3 and has held this position for many years. 

Cleo’s strategic mindset allowed this game-changing marketing platform to move forward consistently enabling Mahindra to become a leader in it’s category.

Cleo is an amazing human being! His combination of talents—honesty, integrity, humility, humor, and genius are just incredible. He knows so much about business and life, and dispenses advice just perfectly. He is a great entrepreneur, business leader and teacher. I am convinced that he will continue to rise as a thought leader who has great impact. Cleo is an exciting person to work with, filled with new ideas, tested solutions and a real ground breaking thinker with energy for three. I have never worked with an executive who is more “on-point” than Cleo. If he gives you a call, answer it; he is a treat and will give it to you “straight,” with his laser beam focus leadership delivered with charm and understanding. He is about sharing his many lessons with new generation of leaders who want to make the world a better place.