In 1990, a promising idea came to Joseph Grenny, Al Switzler, Kerry Patterson and Ron McMillan — and later to Mike Carter.

The men, all seasoned professionals and entrepreneurs, wanted to develop corporate training products that were different from what they saw as the industry's prevailing "soft and fuzzy" approach.

The answer, they decided, was research to find the behaviors most vital to success, followed by training employees in those behaviors.

This practical approach, bolstered by research involving more than 25,000 people at dozens of companies, is the foundation of VitalSmarts, a Provo-based company specializing in corporate training and performance products and services.

But for VitalSmarts, the research doesn't end there. Following VitalSmarts training, each of the company's clients receives hard data to show how the training has improved employee performance, productivity and satisfaction.

The company continues to expand its list of clients — which includes such major players as Microsoft, AT&T and Eli Lilly — through what it calls "earned marketing": several company founders are highly-sought motivational speakers, and the company's two books, "Crucial Conversations" and "Crucial Confrontations," both are national best-sellers. The company plans to release a new book in October.

Despite its national reach, the company keeps its operations lean with an in-house, Provo-based sales team that conducts sales calls over the phone.