In a company dependent on developing new products, it’s difficult to commercialize products quickly when the technical and commercial groups are at odds with each other. The problem may seem like it’s due to poor interpersonal communication, but often the more significant issue is an ineffective product development process.

We were engaged by the CEO of a start-up green chemicals company to resolve an impasse between her commercial and technical groups. Conflict between these functions is quite common. The commercial group needed samples quickly so that customers could test the products and start purchasing. The technical group was committed to follow a disciplined process to understand requirements and make sure that samples were developed to the correct specifications. The commercial folks were driven to generate revenue, and the technical folks were driven to develop quality products while preserving resources in a highly constrained environment. The two groups were pointing fingers at each other.

Sitting down with the VPs for both groups, we discovered that they each had different ideas about what was important  [Read more…]

Our client, an early stage, fast growing clean tech company was launching new teams at a fast clip. We collaborated with the CHRO to develop and implement a Team Start-up process that included meeting designs and a toolkit. The process was tested and the internal HR managers were developed to keep it going.  The results included improved team meeting effectiveness and milestone tracking and delivery. HR leaders improved their ability to identify the root causes of team challenges so appropriate action could be taken.  Increased HR capabilities significantly reduced the need for external resources for team development.

The SVP of a newly formed strategy unit of a $26 billion corporate spin-off that included the strategy, technology, marketing, and licensing functions, needed to add value and create synergies quickly. 90% of the unit’s members had not chosen to work there. The employees were confused about why the unit included all four teams, and were skeptical about this strategic unit’s potential for impact, since there was no defined need from or credibility with the four operating companies for whom this unit was to provide services. To make matters more difficult, the unit was geographically split between the US and Europe. We consulted with the SVP to simultaneously build the leadership team, the individual teams, and the entire unit.

We began by working with the SVP to develop his LT by first focusing on unifying the four team leaders to create synergies by leveraging each other’s expertise. We also worked individually with each team leader to build his/her team.

Within the first month of organizational startup, we worked with the leadership team to design a meeting that would engage all 55 members of the organization to understand the purpose of the organization. The team needed to create a clear vision for success, set cultural expectations, and identify and design the processes needed to run the organization effectively.
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