Partnerships, Joint Ventures, Strategic Alliances and Mergers
Each combination has its own legalities and characteristics, but all share a common pursuit of synergy. Whether the expressed goal is the sharing of expertise, cross selling or achieving a more advantageous scale, organizations entering into such configurations have to prepare for varying degrees of change, sometimes in strategy and almost always in their operating model.
We work with organizations in the planning of such ventures, assessing strategic fit, systems alignment, personnel and culture. We identify those critical elements which determine success or failure and help chart a course of action, while supporting its implementation.
Performance Enhancement
In today’s economic environment, businesses are faced with escalating competition, having to increase their performance just to hold the slightest advantage. Outdated strategies, inefficient organizational structures and ineffective systems all create unnecessary drag and can turn once successful enterprises into a downward spiral.
We assist our clients in establishing quantifiable indicators which include such external measure as customer satisfaction and market share, as well as, internal measures such as productivity and profitability. By customizing performance enhancement indicators according to each client’s unique circumstances, we avoid the traps of trying to incorporate often well branded, but burdensome off the shelf models.
Project Management
Projects established to meet business objectives require balancing scope, time and budget; most often outside the flow of day to day operations. People are recruited or assigned to project teams in addition to maintaining core responsibilities, thus setting up the dilemma of prioritization conflicts. Project team members can often become overwhelmed and lack the needed resources to achieve the project deliverables.
We partner with organizations to supplement their project teams with planning, scheduling, tracking, executing and evaluating. We both manage and complement teams comprised of single and mixed disciplines.
Planning
Time to plan is a luxury that most cannot incorporate in today’s business environment. Technology has enabled us to work globally and operate in real time allowing for faster movement of goods and services, but it has also compressed planning time. Both strategic and operational plans are put aside and become outdated, simply because planning is important, but not urgent in such a fast paced business climate.
We assist businesses in efficiently planning strategies, projects and operations. We develop customized planning models for businesses ranging from single locations to global entities.
Facilitation
Bringing groups of people together to set a course, make a decision, or solve a problem can be beneficial or a large waste of time and money. What can often make the difference is the clarity of intent for the group, the planning and the quality of the facilitator. An effective meeting begins with a clear set of objectives and planning for how outputs will be achieved. It is then a matter for the facilitator to orchestrate the needed exchange while balancing context, content and group dynamics.
We guide our clients in designing and convening group sessions for purposes ranging from strategy formulation to building efficiencies. We design group process to meet business objectives, by providing a productive forum for the exchange of ideas, debate and decision making.