Manufacturing - (Turnaround)
Challenge:
Our client, a construction & manufacturing firm that had previously been a global leader in their category, was suffering a steep decline in revenues and needed a new corporate vision and business strategy. The brand was damaged, morale was low and debt piled high. With multiple existential threats to the business that were difficult to prioritize (A System 5 challenge), investors demanded solutions and a change.
Action:
In business as in life, the higher the stakes, the more important it is to have sound fundamentals. Given the existential and time-critical nature of the threats, the ability to act quickly and with precision (System 2) was the most fundamental problem to be solved. And when a military-level of discipline and execution is required, there can be no second guessing by the team. Therefore we identified employee morale and trust in leadership as the most critical success factors.
At the core of the problem was a lack of accountability, connections, and shared goals that was ‘depressing’ the company. We created transparent systems for strategy, feedback, and assessment that made decisions clear, incentivized integrity and liberated innovation within the firm.
Outcome:
We replaced and transformed the company’s leadership team, restructured its corporate debt and streamlined operations, leading to a renewed, innovative and inclusive corporate culture.
Working with the new leadership team and within the fresh operational structure we guided the roll out of a new product line, landed the world’s largest sports league by revenue as a client, and turned a 50 percent operating loss into an 11 percent operating profit year on year.
