OUR STORY
THE ORIGIN
Sharpened Iron Consulting was founded on a simple belief: meaningful progress happens when the right insight, strategy, and support synchronize. We work with Organizations, Entrepreneurs, and Professionals to bring greater clarity to complex challenges, strengthen current state, and create impactful paths forward.
THE PHILOSOPHY
Our name is inspired by Proverbs 27:17:
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
That principle reflects how we approach consulting. We believe the strongest solutions are developed through collaboration, thoughtful challenge, shared insight, and a commitment to helping our clients become stronger as they move forward.
MEET THE FOUNDER
Chandelyn N. McKinney
Founder & Principal Consultant
With more than 25 years of experience helping organizations navigate workforce, operational, and business challenges, Chandelyn McKinney brings a combination of strategic insight, practical experience, and a genuine investment in helping others succeed. Her career has included Workforce Management, Resource Management, business strategy, project and program leadership, process improvement, technology transformation, and organizational change across a variety of industries and business environments.
Sharpened Iron Consulting represents more than the next step in her professional career. Chandelyn conceptualized and documented the business in 2024, capturing what she believed it could become and the people it could serve. Two years later, an unexpected career transition gifted her with the opportunity to bring that vision to life. What started as a idea based on how she helps organizations, colleagues, family, and friends materialized into a business built from years of experience, preparation, and most importantly, purpose.
At the heart of Chandelyn's approach is something she has said for years:
“I want everybody to win!" That philosophy is reflected in the way she helps others and aligns naturally with the principle behind Sharpened Iron Consulting:
"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Whether helping an organization solve a complex challenge, an entrepreneur build something of their own, or a professional navigate what comes next, her goal is not simply to provide an answer. It is to help people gain the clarity, tools, and strategy they need to move forward.
Sharpened Iron Consulting also carries a deeply personal connection to Chandelyn's family. The blue incorporated into the company's brand and logo honors her late father, from whom she inherited much of her business sense and entrepreneurial spirit. Building Sharpened Iron Consulting is one way she continues what he instilled in her while creating something distinctly her own. It is not only about building a business. It is about advancing a legacy.