Our thoughts on Strategies and Processes

Competitiveness

Marketing strategy defines which goods or services should be sold to whom for what price, and the resources required to do so. Obsidian helps organisations achieve this clarity through discreet market investigations, internal evaluation and strategy consultancy techniques. We also offer bespoke training programmes for organisations in marketing and its techniques at both a group and an individual level.

Leadership

What is leadership?

There have been many attempts to define leadership but it basically comes down to prompting or inspiring others into willing action to achieve a specific purpose.

“Leadership is the ability to get others to do what they don’t want to do, and like it”. Harry S Truman

The Obsidian Model

Throughout history there have been people who have demonstrated the ability to lead others. Sometimes they are appointed like political, military and sporting leaders and sometimes they emerge to meet some crisis or other situation. The Obsidian model of leadership looks at the constituent parts of leadership and also at the different leadership styles that are adopted by leaders.

This is not to deny that some leaders have shown particular talents, skills or personal characteristics that have influenced the way they went about things, but this model looks at the basic characteristics of leadership.

Organisational Performance Management

Performance Management in our terms covers both organisational and individual performance, and the critical links between the two.

Over many years and working with a wide variety of different organisations in different markets, we have developed models and approaches that get to the heart of the matter.

Organisational Performance

Challenge your thinking and stimulate new ideas so your strategy for the future is robust and effective.

Map your processes and work with you to provide significant improvements in cost and quality.

             Examples of our work in this area

We have worked with organisations on defining their mission and vision, objectives and targets and on creating business plans.

We have introduced a number of organisations to the concepts of knowledge management and how the performance of knowledge work can be improved..

We have helped organisations to understand markets, their place within them and how to perform successfully within their supply chain, through a strategic marketing approach. 

Organisational Structures

Models, Fashions and Trends

Organisations come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes and there is of course no “right” way to structure an organisation - the most effective design will depend on many factors including the size and nature of the organisation, the environment in which it operates (geographical, economic, political, social) and of course the people who make up the organisation.

That said, we can detect trends and even fashions in the way organisations are structured: communications technology has made it easier to move away from organisational structures based on geographical closeness, likewise the increasing ease of managing dispersed organisations has enabled individual functions or departments to be moved or outsourced to wherever the work can be done most effectively (which often means at lowest cost).

Traditional “command and control” organisations probably owe their design to copying military organisational structures but now we can draw on models of organisation from around the world and from a range of contexts - from massive global organisations to small communes. Social and cultural expectations mean that some ways of organising will not work in some parts of the world, or with certain types of people.

Practical Concerns

Against the background of these “tectonic” shifts in organisational design we find a wealth of practical concerns that need to be resolved, for example:

• To centralise or disperse?
• How to divide up the organisation into management groups: by function, by product, by service, by skill group, by technology, by location, etc ?
• How can we organise when what we do is fluid project-based work?
• Should we create centres of expertise?
• Who should have P&L responsibility?
• Could a matrix organisation work for us?
• Should we remove organisational layers?
• Do we need internal service agreements?
• Should we outsource some activities?
• Does our organisational structure act as an attractor for the type of people we want to recruit?

Any organisational design is a compromise: what you gain on the organisational swings you may lose on the roundabouts. Many an organisation has restructured to solve one problem only to find that a new problem pops up caused by the restructuring.

Restructuring is very disruptive: a good shake up may be just what your organisation needs, on the other hand it could be the last straw. Are you restructuring because you can (“I’ll show them who’s boss”) or because you must? A talk with an impartial consultant can help to clarify the answers to these questions.

Obsidian Consultancy

    An Obsidian organisational consultancy assignment would normally consist of three parts:

1. gather information about the organisation
2. generate alternative structural solutions (one of which is always “leave things as they are”)
3. work with the client to identify the best alternative.

Obsidian’s aim is not to provide “the answer” in part 3, rather to help the client to come to a reasoned decision about what to do.

Obsidian Consultants have experience of a range of organisational solutions - both from organisations in which we have held senior positions and those for whom we have acted as consultants.

Tools and techniques

Information gathering: this could be through surveys, 1-1 interviews and/or focus groups as well as a certain amount of desk research using information provided by the organisation. An important part of this stage is to understand the purpose of the organisation, how well it the current organisation works and why it might need to change in future.

Generate solutions: the analysis of the data from (1) will involve some kind of organisational mapping. Depending on the nature of the organisation we might look for example at the process flows (how work gets done), the network of communications between segments of the organisation or the knowledge/skill needs of various operations.

Identifying the best solution: this will always be a dialogue with the client based on debating the pros/cons of a number of alternative options. This is likely to involve workshops with the key decision makers and some kind of stakeholder consultation process.

Performance Management

Performance Management in our terms covers both organisational and individual performance, and the critical links between the two.
Over many years and working with a wide variety of different organisations in different markets, we have developed models and approaches that get to the heart of the matter.

How might we help you?

        Organisational Performance

• Challenge your thinking and stimulate new ideas so your strategy for the future is robust and effective.
• Map your processes and work with you to provide significant improvements in cost and quality.

        Individual Performance

• Work with you to develop a culture that brings out the best in your people and provides your organisation with a distinctive image.
• Review your processes, make you aware of the latest thinking, and provide ideas so you can ensure your people are motivated, committed and make their maximum contribution.
• Train your people in the skills they need to be effective.

        Examples of our work in this area

• We have worked with organisations on defining their mission and vision, objectives and targets and on creating business plans.
• We have introduced a number of organisations to the concepts of knowledge management and how the performance of knowledge work can be improved.
• We have helped organisations manage individual performance by helping them to set up appraisal systems, examine the impacts of the organisation's culture and to use psychometric instruments to work with individuals on improving their performance.
• We have assisted with management development and provided training in key skills such as project management.
• We have helped organisations to understand markets, their place within them and how to perform successfully within their supply chain, through a strategic marketing approach.

Sales

The sales resource is crucial for any commercial business. The sales teams and individuals require special skills and management. Obsidian specialises in consultancy and training for Sales direction and effectiveness, followed through with skills development for teams and individuals. This includes team training workshops, team building and/ or individual coaching.

Sales training

Obsidian offer a comprehensive range of selling services. These enable organisations to develop, through improvements in their selling activities. The services range from basic selling skills through to sales consultancy at the strategic level.

Our services were originally focused on business to business selling but this has developed into the retail sector as well.

It should be emphasised that we do not offer ‘off-the-shelf’ packages but use our own knowledge and experience to provide tailor-made solutions to our clients own specific needs. However the following sections outline the general content of what we offer for those organisations who want to improve their results through a more effective sales activity.

              Selling Programmes

Selling programmes are usually of one to three days duration. We tailor the programme content to the requirements of the organisation and the individual. We can provide basic selling skills to build a foundation for people new to the selling role or those with customer contact working in a sales orientated environment. In addition we can develop a programme for established sales people to provide a deeper insight into the skills necessary in the world of professional selling.

Market investigation

Our approach to surveys

In order to determine their own positioning in the marketplace or to ensure that performance is in line with objectives, organisations need at least occasionally to assess how customers see them; their competitive status; and what is happening in that marketplace which may impact them in future. This external perspective is a vital element in strategy and performance development. Obsidian has long experience in this field, based on a three-part approach:

        The Task

• What do we want to learn from whom ?
• How many people or organisations are we interested in ?

        Access

• How easy is it to obtain relevant breakdown and contact details, with appropriate confidentiality ?
• What methods of communications are practical (eg do they have e-mail)?

       Response

• Statistics ?
• Opinion ?
• Consumer Insight ?
• Observation ?
• Confidence level ?

        Resources

• How much can be spent ?
• How much time is available ?
• What data is accessible ?

Our Approach to Market Planning

The development of a Marketing Plan is closely related to the process of Strategy development, but with a particular focus on customers’ - actual and potential, competition, products and tactics. Obsidian’s approach, based on many years of practical experience, is based on deep understanding of the drivers of the business, both internal and external, as summed up in the graphic:

       Business planning

       This includes reviewing and developing

• values and cultures
• markets
• strategies
• objectives

       Business processes

       This includes

• performance management (organisational and individual)
• programme and project management
• knowledge management

Organisational structures

Working closely with our clients and their people we can help to develop structures that are appropriate for what they need to do.

"Obsidian has helped us think outside the box"