TLIR Consulting Services
Most TLIR consulting engagements are advisory in nature; structured to provide extreme value quickly and effectively - several weeks over the course of a year, a few days or so over several months or one time consultations that take just a few hours.
Pre-Execution Assessment
Given the welter of special interests and agenda’s that arise whenever transformation is on the agenda; swift, crisp and independent analysis of who will be doing what to whom, where, when, at what cost and WHY is an essential prerequisite before significant commitments are made.
TLIR separates fact from fiction, diagnoses what is wishful thinking rather than reality, determines when a miracle is part of the plan and identifies what items or elements of the overall initiative are overstated, understated, misleading or problematic.
By identifying any gaps or disconnects between the intent of the transformation initiative and the way it will be handled; TLIR provides clients with the means to mitigate risk, drive toward objectives and improve the prospect for success.
Due Diligence
Due Diligence drills deep into the mechanics of exactly how the initiative will be handled, probing for problematic elements that are not necessarily front and centre but which can sideswipe any initiative with devastating results. Due Diligence provides additional assurance that what is envisioned is plausible and possible, that what is planned is doable and that what will be done makes sense and will meet expectations.
No matter what consulting firms, vendors, service providers and others say to the contrary; any firm with a stake in what is on the table cannot provide truly unbiased advice about the prospect of success and attendant risks. TLIR provides the means for clients to truly understand what is promised, what is implicitly committed, what is ‘behind’ the scenes and what would otherwise cause significant issues, before the deal is signed.
Tactical Oversight
Initiatives of all sizes and types benefit greatly from occasional external, independent review. It provides management with a view on what is over the horizon, what interests or influences are improperly canting the project and what management should do to ensure the initiative meets expectations. By reviewing and verifying that all is well or pointing out what should be done to proactively improve matters, TLIR helps clients to detect and ameliorate matters that have little to do with the mechanics of initiative management - that is what status reports are for.
Interim Leadership
TLIR helps clients address the pressures of managing important projects such as acquisition integration, global technology projects, downsizing, corporate / subsidiary interlock, outsourcing, business re-engineering and converting business environments to the new internet/virtual economy. TLIR propels and compels attainment of milestones and objectives while deftly managing expectations and commitments of vendors, service providers and internal business units.
Intervention & Recovery
Often projects start well then stumble. Projects with a mix of external resources are all but guaranteed to spiral into the wormhole of cost overruns, delays, vendor abandonment and dilution of consultant commitments. Ego, power and control conflict run rampant; time and money is wasted while debate goes on and on and on. Finger pointing, blaming others, covering one’s rear and other attempts at deflecting wrath take precedence over fixing the problem.
Firm, decisive action that preserves value earned to date, stops the bleeding and secures quick victories while rebuilding momentum and morale is the best way to rescue projects in distress. TLIR skill and expertise in bringing projects to fruition in a timely and effective fashion can be applied to any transformation project – at any stage and with whatever degree of firmness necessary to assure success.
Corporate / Subsidiary Interlock
TLIR’s portfolio is rich with assignments that bridged the gap between corporate dictate and subsidiary ability to comply.
Perhaps you are thinking about an enterprise wide transformation or improvement initiative that entails multiple subsidiaries working together, in lockstep and in a cohesive, seamless fashion...
Perhaps there is a particular subsidiary that troubles you because it seems unable or unwilling to deal with the challenges of change...
Speak with John to find how TLIR support could well be the differentiator between outstanding corporate success and run-of-the-mill subsidiary failure.
Third Party Management
Many of the ways business seeks to improve itself can only be done with the help of external parties – vendors, consulting firms, service providers, etc. In many cases, one external party contracts with other external parties to supply pieces, parts, components, subject matter expertise or sheer manpower in the case of very large, global initiatives. These external parties, as history evinces, are not very good at managing the efforts of other external parties who also seek to turn a healthy profit, at client expense.
Assessing the likelihood of downstream problems between external parties and what the client might want to plan for is not something major consulting firms are positioned to offer. TLIR assesses and proffers opinion sufficient that client will understand the risks and external parties will be on notice.
One-on-One Mentoring
The people who lead efforts to improve the business are typically excellent at managing the mechanics of change yet are often at a loss when it comes to dealing with the dynamics, optics and politics of the business. TLIR provides a confidential sounding board where these people can voice their concerns, ask John what he would do in a similar situation and look for his guidance and advice in a forum that is both neutral and confidential.
Virtual (7/24) Counselling
On occasion, clients need John's expertise but do not necessarily require him to be on-site in order to deliver value. These situations are dealt with through a unique arrangement where a client can reach out to John directly for confidential advice and opinion through virtual channels (Internet, Telephone, Blackberry, etc.) at any time. |
|
Never in the history of corporate transformation have so many projects delivered so little, so late, so poorly for so much cost and aggravation... Now for the bad news...
Introduction, Sun Tzu and the Art of Corporate Transformation © J. Bolden ISKCCM Prato, Italy
John’s ability to survey the corporate transformation landscape, foresee where bumps and potholes lie ahead and recommend measures to prevent these turning into mountains and/or chasms is remarkable. His reputation for moving fast, running lean and delivering extreme value is well earned.
Greg Gilhooly, Executive Vice President,
CJE/CINAR Enterprises
Today, most business improvement projects are managed according to yesterday’s thinking. Archaic project management techniques and mindsets - linear - singular - insular - all but guarantee business improvement projects will fail to meet expectations. Let me explain…
Keynote Presentation Extract – Archaic, Linear Thinking - © J. Bolden, EMTC, Rome Italy
Bringing John in for a couple of days each month to provide oversight and guidance during a $425 million project proved to be a wise move on my part. He helped me to keep the project on track, head off extremely serious issues that could have cost millions to fix and acted as a confidential sounding board whenever I was in two minds about what to do.
Lorraine Smith-Latrice, EVP & CIO, TSB
The Sum of All Change is not just a minefield of potential issues and problems for management. It is also the source of very significant opportunities to cut costs, save time, improve quality, reduce organization vs. project conflict and enhance reputations…
Article Extract – Corporate Singularity vs. Project Multiplicity © J. Bolden, Darwin Magazine, 2004
I sat at the back of the room, listening and watching as John explained his findings about what is typically overlooked, ignored or taken for granted whenever change is on the agenda. The looks on the faces of my people, coupled with their furious note taking told me all I needed to know.
Serge Gallany, SVP, ABN Amro
Asking questions about who is going to do what to whom, where, when, why, at what cost, with what intended result and with what impact to the organization and other projects is good management. Relying solely upon answers from those who stand to gain the most is not necessarily wise management…
Tutorial Extract - Quislings Multiply Like Lemmings - J. Bolden, ECITM, Paris France
I knew there was a brand new and very significant market opportunity out there but I could only exploit it if a leading edge, nationwide business environment was created in record time. John and his team helped me along the road toward market domination.
Wilf Liebert, Chairman & CEO, Purolator Corp
One trusts that someone, somewhere, has full and complete vision of everything that is going on, project wise, across the organization. Let me ask YOU! Who would that be…?
Keynote Presentation Extract – The Case for the Chief Change Officer – J. Bolden, IICM, New Orleans USA |