Every engagement is unique. What’s consistent is the outcome: organizations that move through transformation without the wreckage most never see coming. Our case studies speak for themselves.
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CHALLENGE:
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The Corporate Compass® process showed that what looked like inefficiency was really a lack of understanding. The network had more than 3,000 marketing and sales employees across the globe—many of whom didn’t speak English. Most of these employees were unaware of the global resources available to them and did not know the key players throughout the network. |
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Profitability was being drained through marketing inefficiencies even though the company had designed processes and established best practices across the globe. As the network added more offices, the drain on the bottom line became more pronounced. Past efforts unsuccessfully focused on holding local management accountable at each individual company.
We knew we’d have a win if we could entertain while informing. An online game was created that was not dependent upon language fluency for agency staffers to enjoy during the inevitable downtime that occurs during campaign development. Each player went on “missions” which exposed them to capabilities around the network. Built into the game were company profiles that were presented to users for 30 seconds at a time—much like an advertisement—so that regardless of the users’ intent, they became aware of—and able to identify—appropriate network companies to partner with.
CHALLENGE:
A company built around a fast-growing brand had matured and, of necessity, added systems. These systems were crucial to profitability and growth. Legacy staffers were resistant to these changes, circumvented them, and longed for the “good old days.” They began using passive-aggressive tactics to undermine the new systems to prove that they were “right.”
INSIGHT:
The Corporate Compass® process showed that what looked like a culture problem was really a lack of communication. When the new systems were introduced, they were identified as “major advances” which was interpreted as veiled criticism by legacy staffers which caused them to hold on to old systems, justify them, and it impacted their understanding of the benefit of these changes.
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CHALLENGE:
The marketing and sales departments’ most senior salespeople
had become complacent. They were barely making their numbers, had siloed their
teams, and were unresponsive to management’s attempts to “team
build.” Because these salespeople brought in significant revenue the
company was hesitant to raise issues with them. Management, however, was not
circumspect in their opinion that these individuals were “lazy” and
taking advantage. By the time we got involved, everyone was job hunting.
INSIGHT:
The Corporate Compass® process determined that the problem really stemmed from mismanaged and unrealistic expectations by management and staff, rather than an unmotivated workforce. The company was trying to recreate a time in its history when it had a cohesive and happy team along with double digit growth year-over-year. The sales team, far from being complacent, was actually delivering on unrealistic forecasts despite the resentment they felt because the CMO had not accounted for changing market conditions in their sales goals. Both sides were so invested in their version of the situation that every action, no matter how innocuous, was seen as “sending a message.”
Contact us to identify what’s really getting in the way of success.
CHALLENGE:
The team for a billion-dollar brand was in a bad
relationship with its advertising agency partner and was unable to fire them
because of a deal put in place by the parent company.There was no consensus
regarding the source of the difficulty, but all agreed that neither the brand
team nor the agency was happy with the relationship. Tensions were escalating
and somehow they had to make it work.
INSIGHT:
The Corporate Compass® process identified agreement on three
areas of difficulty—team leadership, staffing, and communication—although there
were nuances in how each party perceived the issues. Because the relationship
was so contentious it was difficult for the different individuals to hear what
their partners were saying, which made a third party a necessity.
Contact us to identify what’s really getting in the way of success.
CHALLENGE:
A very successful CEO was having difficulty letting go of the company he founded. Instead of appointing an individual to succeed him, he created a group of three co-presidents… and then proceeded to pit one against the other. The resulting dysfunction wreaked havoc within the company and created factions. While momentum carried them forward for a while, eventually this situation started to affect the bottom line as planned acquisitions were unable to be realized, quality control issues got out of hand, and sales forecasts started to slip. Board Members understood the issue but were hesitant to take action.
APPROACH:
The Resolve It Sessions® focused on the key issue “How can we get the company back on track, be fair to the three co-presidents, and the CEO?” We came in via the Sales & Marketing Department who were trying to address sales declines, and through the Corporate Compass® process realized that the issue was much broader. Given the sensitivity of this situation and need for confidentiality, the core team was comprised of a few Board Members, HR, and Our Corporate Life.
RESULT:
An assessment of the co-presidents identified the one who was best suited to run the company. The remaining two had strengths that could be deployed in ancillary business units where they’d have roughly the same level of authority but with different titles and reporting structure. We identified the short- and long-term benefits for each person, incentivized them to accept the deal, and convince their followers to do so as well. We also created messaging to explain the change to the various stakeholders and planned how to execute the change with a minimum of disruption. Before we could move forward on this plan, we had to address the original issue: the CEO.
We first identified a special project that fit the CEO’s personal goals and would require a significant portion of his time and energy. As part of the sell in, it was made clear that success in this new endeavor was possible only if he focused on the project and minimized his involvement in the day-to-day business. To make a compelling case, we involved many of his influencers in the conversation. He fully bought in and actively engaged in identifying another Board Member who could immediately step in as acting CEO during the project. That Board Member/CEO candidate then broached the idea of changing the co-president situation into a solo position by making a solid financial case to the other Board Members. Once the Board approved it, the plan to realign the leadership was executed.
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CHALLENGE:
The privately held company had recruited and invested in
several senior executives in order to have bench strength when the CEO retired.
As succession neared, each candidate was perceived by the Board Members to have
a “fatal flaw,” which made it impossible to come to a consensus.
Compounding the issue, the CEO was in ill health and the company was in the
middle of several major deals. In desperation, they looked internally for
candidates to fill in while they conducted a formal search. They identified a
competent internal person who had staff support but the Board Members didn’t
believe this person had enough “gravitas” to lead the company in the
long run.
APPROACH:
The Resolve It Sessions® focused on the key issue: “How
can we quickly change the perception of Board Members so that they see the
internal candidate as viable?” This was a sensitive session because
essentially this candidate was being told that he hadn’t managed his reputation
effectively… by those who would ultimately report to him.
RESULT:
We piggybacked a leadership branding exercise with a planned
corporate branding revamp in order to clearly identify the attributes and
leadership qualities that the candidate could leverage on behalf of the company
– while taking advantage of the fact that this project had high visibility with
the Board Members. Once his leadership brand was identified, we deployed
ViewPoint, which included a visual strategist to retool the candidate’s visual
communication (personal style, behaviors, and other visual cues) and a PR
strategist who created key messages and media trained the candidate so that he
could work these messages into his communications. As a result, within 3 months
the candidate received a vote of confidence from the Board and has successfully
led the company ever since.
Contact us to help address sensitive situations.