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Results for our clients
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We have led or made major contributions to programs for domestic and international clients spanning public and private companies, government, institutional and not-for-profit organizations including: |
| Affymetrix Beiersdorf Cabot Corp. Cadbury Schweppes Callaway Golf Chalmers University Coloplast A/S Crane & Co. Sara Lee Douwe Egberts Ethicon Hasbro Haworth ICI |
Isover Saint-Gobain Johnson & Johnson Labatt Mattel Napier University Nike Oral-B PepsiCo Pfizer Pharmacia Procter & Gamble Reckitt-Benckiser Rockwool International |
Rollerblade Royal Dutch/Shell SCA Mölnlycke Schering Schott Scottish Enterprise Smith & Nephew SmithKline Speedo Unilever United Distillers Warner-Lambert Whirlpool |
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Here are some brief examples of client success stories: |
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• A leading pharmaceutical supplier wanted to fund more internal new-product development proposals to meet serious competition, but was unable to elicit credible submissions. An intensive training course, some coaching and development of new forms immediately resulted in a series of funded projects. (UK) This was expanded into a global project-management training program that, over several years, has included the company's entire management structure, transforming new-product development and other key functions. (World-wide) • A major apparel brand needed a new product platform. A consistent pattern of rejecting their own ideas resulted from limiting beliefs and an ineffective decision/closure strategy. We were able to work with them in a way that engaged their pipeline from the beginning, resulting in a new level of support for exciting, novel products and enabling technologies. (US) • A medical-device manufacturer with two respected but stagnant product lines wished to respond to market demands for a hybrid product. Culture inhibited collective creativity and clarity as to objectives. Two inclusive workshops and some coaching sufficed to create the needed product. (Scandinavia) • A major energy supplier had developed breakthrough intellectual property. This occasioned a crisis as various corporate divisions best served their local missions by retaining control for internal use only, or by out-licensing and collecting royalties. Refocusing on higher objectives, an examination of beliefs and a basic overlap-set analysis led to a new strategic plan satisfying both value-capture pathways via internal exploitation in selected areas plus creation of new joint ventures with key competitor/partners. (Europe/US) |
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Need or opportunity
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Transitional contribution
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Positive result
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NPD - Sporting goods
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New technology platform to reinvigorate and differentiate
large but threatened brand as basic patents expire
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Designed, facilitated and contributed to collaborative
workshops integrating Marketing, R&D, Manufacturing
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New patents in process; fundamental advances in technology
being developed into brand positions
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NPD - toys & games
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Integration of advanced technology into engaging low-cost
handheld games and toys
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Broad scan of relevant enabling technologies, multiple
idea-generation sessions from multiple viewpoints
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Successful creation of new games concepts and embodiments
based on ultra-low cost electronics; new classes of flying toys designed
from first principles informed by user experience.
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NPD - Foods/drinks
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Beverage maker sought differentiation in packaging,
point-of-sale presentation to accompany brand renovation
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Conducted multiple idea-generation sessions with client
and other-industry groups to identify relevant products, features and
technologies
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Several new active and passive packaging, dispensing
and delivery designs and systems were defined and documented, backed
with IP search and preliminary cost engineering
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NPD - Medical devices
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Primary-care providers requested a product combining
advantages of historically distinct approaches to a critical home-use
consumable
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Conducted major workshops eliciting and integrating input from all business players and external nursing staff
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New product line and reinvigorated brand position
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Market analysis/development
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Aerospace/military specialty supplier required pathway to broader markets
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Rigorous elicitation of business and technical criteria based on extensive interviews and analysis of plant capabilities worldwide
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New model created for conjoint market, technology and product development with minimal risk/investment and maximal learning at each stage
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Public sector
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National business-development council required a skills-
and entrepreneurial attitudes enhancement program
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Created training and implementation protocols, trained trainers
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Government-sponsored technology awareness and forecasting workshops activated local enterprise in business-poor areas
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Start-ups
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Two-year-old venture stalled in its core business was maintaining with small-scale contract work, compromising both short-term revenue stream and value growth
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Provided scenario and risk analysis, general business advice and executive coaching
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Company now divided into contract-operations and core-technology groups, ensuring financial survival/stability while protecting founder equity
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Project management
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Newly independent division of major computer maker unable
to manufacture signature product in profitable yield
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Detailed diagnostic of manufacturing processes, business
systems, staffing
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Prescribed changes led to qualitative improvement in yield, enabling sale of overall process and product line
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Negotiation/conflict resolution
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Competing corporate priorities in a major energy company put at risk value capture from a breakthrough invention
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Three-day summit meeting with worldwide senior managers responsible for various sectors, returning several years later to fine-tune development and legal path
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Collective sense of responsibility and possibility broke turf barriers, resulting in a new strategy, two new JVs, and projected IP value increased by many $bn.
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IP strategy
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Leading synthetic-materials manufacturer historically unwilling to exploit valuable IP in new ways given any risk of compromising core-business control
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Designed, briefed and ran multi-BU session to create open discussion of opportunity cost of this strategy
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Forward-ventures group has taken up this challenge as part of its ongoing remit
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Technology transfer
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Personal-care products manufacturer traditionally created
all its own technology and brands; now seeking outside acquisitions
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Facilitated definition of acquisition criteria, then activated network to seek candidates of many kinds at various stages of development w/o disclosing acquirer identity
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Several prospects under consideration; general methodology validated for future use
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Skills development
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Worldwide pharma-industry supplier suffered massive staff overload stress and poor project completion
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Intensive project-planning and outcome-oriented thinking
workshop for a representative trans-national team
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Immediate gain in number and quality of proposals; eventually, PM, sales/negotiation skills and teamwork/leadership training for entire middle and senior management staff worldwide
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Organization development
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Medical device manufacturer needed more frequent market-differentiating product releases but consistently drafted creative staff into line emergencies
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After detailed assessment, designed new market-leading advanced development group, including defining recruitment and other key business processes
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Fully staffed group is running efficiently, highly productive in intended role
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Executive coaching
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In Asian pharma company, stylistic differences created stress for top team and adversely affected productivity at lower levels
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Facilitated open discussion in retreat environment
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Redrawn boundaries and norms for internal engagement, relieving unneeded stress and creating new opportunities for distributed leadership
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