Please click on the example projects below for more details.
Coaching a main board director during the creation and launch of an innovative service that reshaped corporate direction
I helped a director of a progressive housing association during the introduction of
a new service portfolio. I acted as a discussion partner as she defined the new
services and introduced them, initially in the face of deep scepticism from her board
colleagues. Then as the new services impinged on the mainstream organisational
functions we helped her to choose her stance on key boundary issues and to
navigate the organisational politics to support the new services. Finally we crafted
her assessment of the impact of the new services and justification of the future
funding of expanded services in her part of the organisation. Bringing objectivity and
innovation evaluation tools I helped her build robust arguments and to plan strategies
in the face of organisational opposition.
Helping a cosmetics company transform their innovation, product development, product management, processes and culture
I led a client taskforce that overhauled their innovation and product development and
launch processes. The diagnostic demonstrated shortfalls and value destruction and
helped us to prioritise attention on key areas of product definition, on working with
suppliers and on transfer to manufacture. With three parallel teams we redesigned
the processes and the organisational structure, while highlighting underlying cultural
barriers that would block improvement. Therefore we embarked on a culture change
programme to underpin the roll-out. I coached the teams and the first few product
development projects as we successfully rolled out the new approaches over six
months. As a result of this project the client secured a £10M p.a. contract with a
major retailer and re-launched their flagship range which achieved a 20% uplift in
sales
Helping a global food company create a strategy for innovation, new innovation processes, organisation and planning the change programme
Leading a client taskforce drawn from across the company I helped them to work up
a new innovation strategy, setting priorities and directions as they changed focus to
build branded products. We worked up new innovation and product development
processes and designed the organisation and jobs to support the new ways of
working. We developed a change programme for roll-out. Their new strategy has
enabled them to grow volume and margins in new areas despite the cost pressures
of increasing commodity prices.
Helping an aerospace company review a novel power technology and plan its exploitation
I helped them to assess the potential for, and write the business plan for exploitation
of a key technology within the company. Working with a client analyst we assessed
candidate markets and business models, identified critical technology performance
attributes and their likely evolution from development plans, especially against
competing technologies. We explored exploitation options, both inside and outside
the company and began the search for a champion to take the technology beyond
the development lab. Although we identified more than £10M of opportunities, the
risks posed by competing technologies and the likely evolution of key markets made
the overall proposition unattractive.
Working with a corporate venturing team to redefine their role, change strategy and trim the portfolio
I helped a team to assess the corporate venturing activities of a global aerospace
company. Reviewing their strategy, we assessed the structure and management
processes and discussed the team's aspirations and performance to date. We
agreed new screening and assessment criteria and evaluated their current portfolio
of projects. By talking to the corporate venturing arms of companies in the
electronics, defence, telecommunications and FMCG sectors we collected valuable
insights to benchmark our client's operations. We recommended changes to improve
the strategic impact of their venturing as well as streamlining the cost base of their
portfolio.
Coaching a spin-out team as they built an independent corporate entity
I worked with a new venture team as they carved out a fuel cell manufacturing
operation from a commercial parent, attracted investor and strategic support, helping
them to define their commercial and technical objectives and prepare for investor due
diligence. I helped the management group to define their product development and
launch plans and coached their integration into a cohesive team. My work provided a
foundation for the appointment of the executive team to the separate corporate entity,
valued today in excess of £200M.
Helping a drinks company choose its technologies for the future
I first worked with this company in 1997, helping them to craft a technology strategy
that enabled them to become leaders in the development and launch of new drinks.
We worked together again in 2004, this time as I coached a team drawn from
across its UK and US operations to develop a new technology strategy to reflect
the emergence of global brands across global markets and changes in consumer
preferences. I was invited back in 2009 to review their updated strategy, this time
with an emphasis on open innovation to increase the cost-effectiveness of their
product development and to reflect the growing concerns about energy and water
use in operations. This continuing relationship has been underpinned by their
continuing desire to be a leading innovator in their market.
Working with an investment bank to identify innovation trends
For four years I have been working with an investment bank, reviewing trends and
the unfolding landscape of global corporate innovation change and innovation
on a quarterly basis. As a discussion partner, my role is to bring an external
perspective from working across many sectors to help them to choose themes to
guide investment, to identify weak signals that indicate investment opportunities and
to ask the interesting questions that open up new areas of opportunity.
Helping a corporate development team map its mission, role, processes and culture
My client had set up a team specifically to pursue innovation and new business
opportunities within a global commodities producer. They asked for help in
describing their mission and proposition to make themselves of most value to the
business units. In a series of workshops we went on to articulate a role that would
be valuable, attractive to recruits and with an impact that could be measured. From
here, we worked up management processes and KPIs and identified the culture that
the team's founders believed would ensure success. The team has totally exceeded
expectations, initiating projects that have delivered more than £5M in savings and
that offer well over £50M in additional revenue.
Auditing a telecomms project, helping the manager to refocus the team
The project was behind schedule and over budget and if it failed it would threaten the
company's survival. I was asked to review the project and worked with the project
manager to prioritise the recovery actions, to refocus the team onto a new plan and
to rebuild corporate confidence in the team's work. Most importantly, I helped him to
get a critical software team re-engaged and committed to the new plan. The product
launched only a little late and the company survived.
Innovating with a heating products group's product team and creating a new technology strategy
The client was committed to innovation, but was being left behind by competitors.
Suppliers controlled much of the important technology and new legislative pressures
across Europe are both an opportunity and a threat. I worked with a team drawn
from three group companies to develop innovation options, to specify the possible
solutions and to map out implementation routes. Simultaneously we developed a
new technology strategy to underpin new ways of working and we looked at how
to rationalise the product range to focus on innovation. Within six months the new
product ranges were under development, the innovation options being pursued and
an overhaul of the routes to market had commenced.
Coaching start-up and spin-out teams from universities and companies
I have worked with a number of start-ups, helping to define strategy, to articulate
a clear proposition and to design the business models. I've coached embryonic
teams and helped prepare investor presentations. I've created financial forecasts
and marketing materials. Speed, pragmatism and objectivity are key in such cases
in order to identify the opportunity accurately and hit the market window to build
revenue before the cash runs out.
Helping a software company to find new customers and business models
Working in a small client team for a financial services provider of backbone
software services and tools we explored their opportunities in exploiting Web 2.0
technologies as a service to their client base. Surveying the market I found intense
competition, but we identified a business model that would build on their unique client
relationships. Reshaping the proposition we worked with them to create a proposal
that is now embedded within their strategic plans for the next few years, building a
whole new area for the organisation.
Helping a medical products company to improve risk management
The client had an enviable reputation for developing and launching innovative
new products; indeed they had created whole new product families in their market
by working closely with leading medical specialists and practitioners. However,
the company had strayed into technologies that it didn't fully understand and had
incurred financial losses from warranty and repair claims from its most recent
product. Working alongside the product management and development teams we
reshaped the portfolio and created new management processes to explicitly identify
and manage new product development risk. After two years without a new product
the company launched six within eighteen months, none of which succumbed to their
previous reliability issues.
Aligning the marketing and product development teams of a drinks company, improving collaboration for better product launch
It started as a strategy problem, but it soon became clear that personality clashes
and mutual incomprehension between the marketing teams and the development
teams were crippling their capacity to bring products to market. I worked with
individuals and then with teams and then collectively to uncover the difficulties,
to find solutions and to build a cohesive innovation community. The next new
product achieved double-digit growth for the next five years and became leader in its
category.
Helping an organisation manage a change programme through a period of austerity
I had worked for this client a number of years earlier, helping them to understand 'the
unwritten rules of the game' and they asked me back to help them manage a culture
change to a new world of constrained resources and ever-greater outsourcing. We
reviewed the unwritten rules, showing how some would block organisational flexibility
while others could act as levers for change. We developed a change programme
that is scalable and low key, fits their new aspirations for culture and is maximally
cost-effective.
Updates and recent work can be found at Latest Work.



