We can help you identify the key areas to focus on...and then roll our sLeeves up to help
where can we help?
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A good first step is for us to work with the leaders in the business to help build a picture of where the business is now, where it needs to get to, and therefore what the gaps are. We can then work together to build a plan to close those gaps as quickly as possible.
We can do a lot of that initial work together in a couple of workshop sessions. We can facilitate sessions that quickly uncover the challenges, and identify where the leadership team may have different opinions and views of what the challenges are. Getting those out into the open is a key step - it helps everyone understand where the business is now, and where it needs to get to. putting it into actionThe output will be a simple prioritised map of the key areas to work on. We can then help you develop a plan to make a real difference. That could involve us coming alongside your team and rolling our sleeves up to help get things done. Or it may be that we run a workshop and then coach your team.
And if we think the best solution for you is to try something without our help, we'll say that clearly, and signpost you to the right resources. We're driven by helping businesses succeed, not by doing work for the sake of it. Our Services page summarises some of the ways that we can work with you. And we can cover a range of business functions - from helping you make better decisions, through to getting good project management sorted. |
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some examples of where we help
governanceOften the challenges in a business are related to not having good decision-making processes.
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quality management A Quality Management System is an approach to building a systematic, process-driven company.
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financeHow much money do you need?
Where's it going to come from? |
business developmentWe can help you assess your technology and work out where it might fit. Then we can go and get in front of some customers and test the market fit.
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project managementProject management is more than a Gantt chart. It’s about empowering people and delegating the authority and resources to them to get their part of the project done.
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GETTING GOOD GOVERNANCE IN PLACE
OFTEN THE CHALLENGES IN A BUSINESS ARE RELATED TO NOT HAVING GOOD DECISION MAKING PROCESSES
We can then help build a board to develop a strategy to deliver that. If the business isn’t used to working at a board level, we can chair the first few board meetings and train the team. We can also help executives build a management team capable of developing and implementing an effective plan. To assist that we can take on interim executive roles to help fill gaps until the business is able to recruit permanent team members. |
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QUALITY MANAGEMENT
A QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IS AN APPROACH TO BUILDING A SYSTEMATIC, PROCESS-DRIVEN COMPANY
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People often think quality management means ISO9001, a certificate on the wall and a logo in your email signature. It can feel like a lot of bureaucracy that is not needed in a start-up. We can help you understand that it is much more useful than that - a Quality Management System (QMS) is an approach to building a systematic, process-driven company. It’s a way of capturing your way of doing things so that you can bring in new people and have them fit into your business and get things done effectively. It’s at the heart of a scalable well-managed business.
The certificate is a by-product not the goal. |
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finance
HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU NEED? WHERE WILL IT COME FROM?
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We can help you work out what you need to do and how much it’s going to cost you.
If you don’t have good forecasting and reporting in place you may not know what your current financial situation really is, or what your future needs will be. We can help guide you to get the right tools and models in place. And then we can look at possible sources of funding. That may be investors, but it could also be customers, grants or development contracts. We can help you think through the options, and then get on with securing the funding. You will need to communicate what you want and why they should give you the money - through pitching, writing proposals, talking with decision-makers etc. We have done all of those and can help you with the practical work of raising money. |
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BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
WE CAN HELP YOU ASSESS YOUR TECHNOLOGY AND WORK OUT WHERE IT MIGHT FIT
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You have a neat piece of technology - how do you then find customers that will pay you for it? It may not be clear what market sector you need to go after. If it’s a new technology, you may even need to build the market in the first place!
This is business development. We can help you assess your technology and work out where it might fit. Then we can go and get in front of some customers and test the market fit. The key thing here is to get to the decision-makers, and then to listen as well as speak. You need to really understand what their issues and problems are - you’re not there to just sell your stuff. You’re there to learn and to build the relationships on which you can then build a business. Working with you, we can help train and mentor your team at the same time as getting on with developing the business. |
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project management
PROJECT MANAGEMENT IS MORE THAN A GANTT CHART
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How many of us think that we know how to do project management because we have drawn a fancy Gantt chart on Microsoft Office? And then the project runs overtime, tasks have to be done in a hurry just before a deadline, costs escalate, customers get let down and everyone gets stressed.
Project management is more than a Gantt chart. It’s about empowering people and delegating the authority and resources to them to get their part of the project done. It’s about identifying the issues that are off track and then making the decisions, applying the resources needed to fix them. We can help - we can work alongside your team and show them how to manage their projects. We can help them break the project into key work packages and then look at the resourcing required and assess the risks. We can then help you find the right person to take on the project management on a permanent basis. |
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FIND OUT MORE
Our services page outlines some of the ways that we can work with you. Please do get in touch if you'd like to find out more.