Why Use Us

We have no vested interest to take extra time, add extra people or create client dependencies because we are lean with a value based fee structure which delivers greater value for less investment of time and energy.   We ensure we solve problems expeditiously and permanently.   We leverage our experience across a range of clients to create a systematic and client objective centered approach. Along the way we have developed practical analysis tools and working models that have relevance in the real world of management today. We constantly develop our models further in real time and believe the more we develop them the more value we add to our clients.   Our clients gain access to a pool of reusable material that they would have difficulty in replicating internally. We ensure that lessons learned from individual clients are shared across our client base through our monthly newsletter.   We ruthlessly eliminate any activities from our business that do not add value to our client base. If we can reduce labour intensity we will do so this ensures that we bring solutions to bear on client problems with a minimum of delay.   We only bring in additional help if needed, and all our associates’ time adds direct value to our clients. Our overhead to support this structure is therefore minimised by our constant drive to eliminate waste.   We believe that we are able to ensure that both the client and consultant value are completely aligned.

Consulting

During the past 15 years we have worked closely with the senior management teams of many of the worlds’ leading global organisations in a range of diverse multi-cultural environments. This work has involved clients being able not only to recognise what they would like to achieve but also how truly to implement plans to achieve their objectives.

We define our work with clients very clearly. It is to advise individuals working in organisations, not just as a job or profession, but as a purpose and calling. We have been drawn to this work as compellingly as a magnet. We only engage with clients if the work that we do will deliver or exceed their objectives, for all stakeholders in their businesses. Our work is based upon highly participative and evidence based processes for individuals & groups that enables all clients to enhance their performance through a more effective organisational Climate. Our client partnership is always based upon a good fit. This entails both trust and risk. Trust and risk depend upon each other. Our clients trust us and as a consequence are willing to risk with us and vice versa.

Our work is always collaborative, involving the personnel of our clients with a high emphasis upon the transfer of our skills to the client. We always work to specific objectives, clearly defined outcomes, timelines and business objectives. Our results and experience indicate to us that improved performance requires and investment in people. However we also believe that such an investment does not require additional resources but rather the enhancement of the talents and resources that are already to be found in most organisations.

Workshops

Graham delivers a range of workshops which are divided into two distinct categories:

1. Bespoke workshops to achieve specific client objectives and outcomes.  These range from team Integration, Direction Setting, Strategy That Succeeds, Organisational Change, Three Stages of Leadership Development.

2. Generic workshops that have a universal appeal the skill gained can be applied in any organisation or personal professional capacity.  These cover the topics of  Self Esteem (if you don’t believe in yourself why should anybody else).  How to Sell Value not Price (Price is not the barrier if the value you deliver is not perceived as valuable).  How to Sell in a Multi Cultural Environment (You must be able to deal with all cultures to sell effectively)

Workshop processes are of varying duration from half-day, full-day or multi-day programmes.

Coaching an Overview

We are moving into an era when their talent has more choice than ever before.  Organisations will need to attract engage, develop, deliver against career aspirations and retain the best of the best if organisation are to both survive and thrive.  In this current and future task leaders need all of the help that they can get.

In the past we were taught how to work with managers but with the growth of the global knowledge economies we increasingly must learn how to work with peers in a diverse range of locations with a multiplicity of cultures.  Our view is that by coaching these skills can be learned and enhanced.  It would be far too easy to dismiss coaching as yet another technique in the managerial tool kit.  For us an attitude that exudes leadership is essential and good coaching delivers against this objective by providing a process and structure toward individual development that ensures effective human interaction to maximise performance of those we manage.

Our view of coaching is that it is a behavioural approach of benefit to individuals and their organisations.  It is not merely a technique or one time event.  It is a strategic process that adds value both to the people being coached but just as importantly to the bottom line of the organisation.  In coaching it should be expected that individuals align their behaviour with the values and vision of their organisation.

For instance is your organisation’s vision related to transformational or transactional change?  Both maybe effective but require different types of leadership to succeed.  No one manager can be all things to all men but an effective long term manager can adapt to each type of change process and leading his organisation or team to the next stage of their development.

Whilst every manager can benefit from some form of coaching the budget is limited for such activities and more junior employees will benefit perhaps more from a less personalised approach.  It is therefore important to indentify as an organisation some basic criteria for allowing an executive to engage in a coaching process some examples may be:

• Does the individual have the potential to move up one or two steps in the organisation?
• Does the individual really want to develop and change?  It is interesting in my experience how many people are assigned coaches without any desire to change whatsoever?
• What is the coaching objective and what will be the measures of success?

The next stage in my view would be to ask the coaching candidate some searching questions:

• Do you have total clarity of your business or organisational strategy?
• Do you really know your personal style?
• Define who your stakeholders really are?
• Specify the goals for each stakeholder?
• Have you prioritised each stakeholder & goal?
• Are you willing to allocate time?
• How will you determine success?

In other words my belief is that to be an effective coach is to have a philosophy that facilitates managers turning their aspirations into action by engaging them in a process of change.  Being a master coach means developing both a philosophy and a process that is uniquely tailored to both the coach and the manager they are coaching.  This should be the essence of the coach to coachee relationship.

Keynote Speaking

Graham speaks frequently to many global organisations on a number of subjects amongst the most popular being:

"The Knowing- Doing Gap and how to bridge it"

"Why selling price against value will fail every time"

"Team integration is not an emotional issue"

"Why joint venture partnerships fail more than succeed"