THE EVIDENCE / THE LIMITS / YOUR NEXT STEP

Make the case
with actual numbers.

Better ways of working can improve business performance. Published research gives us reasons to test an approach. Your own operating data tells us whether it is helping.

Independent research, not HOG customer results. These studies did not test HOG or Gulf South service businesses. Reviewed September 28, 2026.

Choose what to measure ↓How HOG works in the Gulf South ↗

THREE FINDINGS WORTH UNDERSTANDING

What the research actually says.

INDIA · RANDOMIZED EXPERIMENT17%

First-year productivity improvement.

BLOOM ET AL. / QJE, 2013

Researchers tested intensive management support in large Indian textile firms. Treated plants improved productivity through better quality, efficiency and inventory management.

HOG’s takeaway: make the process observable and review whether the agreed change improves it.

The 17% result belongs to this manufacturing experiment. It is not a profit increase, a HOG outcome or an expected gain for a service business.

Read the published study ↗

MEXICO · RANDOMIZED TRIAL432

Firms in a trial of tailored support.

BRUHN, KARLAN & SCHOAR / JPE, 2018

Access to a year of management consulting improved productivity in this small- and medium-enterprise study. The practices that changed varied across businesses.

HOG’s takeaway: diagnose one real constraint before choosing an Operation or package.

Not all 432 firms received consulting. Short-run sales and employment effects were not statistically significant; some financial findings were sensitive to the analysis. The trial does not establish a HOG return.

Read the original paper (PDF) ↗

GHANA · RANDOMIZED TRIAL

Support does not guarantee a profit gain.

KARLAN, KNIGHT & UDRY / JEBO, 2015

A study of 160 tailoring microenterprises tested consulting, capital, both or neither. No treatment improved average profits, and adoption of recommended practices later faded.

HOG’s takeaway: check whether the team uses the process and whether the results justify continuing it.

These were small tailoring firms in Ghana. This finding does not settle what will work in your business; it shows why a promised universal return would be misleading.

Read the research team’s study summary ↗

Our takeaways are HOG’s interpretation. The researchers and institutions have not endorsed HOG. These studies tested management interventions, not a software subscription or HOG’s four commercial Operations.

START WITH YOUR OWN RECORDS / FREE

Choose one Operation.
Make progress visible.

Open the area that matters to you. These are starting measures to agree and adapt, not industry benchmarks or promised improvements.

Lead Operations — are inquiries getting a real response?

Review the last ten relevant inquiries. Mark missing records as unknown; do not count an automatic receipt as a human response.

RECORD: Time received, first human response, owner and next action.
COMPARE: Median response time and the count still unanswered. Use the same business-hours rule each time.
TRY THIS: Assign one intake owner and an agreed response window. Review open inquiries together.

Estimate Operations — where does preparation stall?

Choose recent estimates with similar scope. Keep waits for customer information separate from internal preparation.

RECORD: When inputs were complete, when the estimate was sent, and each return for missing information.
COMPARE: Median time from complete inputs to sent estimate, plus the number needing rework.
TRY THIS: Agree on a scope checklist and one review owner. Use the free estimate tracker.

Revenue Recovery — are stalled opportunities reaching a decision?

Define what “stalled” means before reviewing a fixed group of open opportunities. A reply is not a sale.

RECORD: Last contact, reason stalled, agreed next action and final status.
COMPARE: How many reach a documented decision. Record wins and losses separately; verify actual sales in your records.
TRY THIS: Review ten opportunities. Give each one a justified next action or an explicit close-out decision.

Customer Operations — are commitments being kept?

Choose one customer handoff or update routine. Measure completion against the actual commitment.

RECORD: Promised update date, responsible person, completion date and reopened requests.
COMPARE: Updates completed on time divided by updates due, alongside the count of reopened items.
TRY THIS: Create one shared commitment list. Review overdue items and confirm the next step.

Establish the starting point. Use a defined period and comparable work. A small sample is a useful diagnostic, not a reliable forecast.
Change one defined process. Name the owner, the action, the measure and a review date. Confirm what your team can maintain.
Review the result and its cost. Compare like-for-like periods. Record changes in volume, seasonality or staffing that might explain the difference.

MAKE THE COST VISIBLE TOO

Progress has to justify the investment.

Compare verified gains with setup, ongoing support, your team’s implementation time and any separate provider or travel costs. Time released is capacity; it is not automatically cash saved.

These totals assume 12 monthly payments at current package prices. Contract length, scope and any separate charges are confirmed in the proposal.

Illustrative first-year package cost: setup + 12 months
Package	Total
Core · any 1	$33,500
Growth · any 2	$48,000
Established · any 3	$74,500
Full Operations · all 4	$93,500

See setup and monthly prices ↗

TURN THE RESEARCH INTO A USEFUL QUESTION

What would need to improve
in your business?

Bring one real example with customer details removed. Lathen will help define the problem, what progress would mean, and whether HOG can support the work today.

Discuss my starting point ↗Start with the free check ↗