Management Consulting to the Industry

Strategic Planning Consulting

We can help any professional firm in the design and construction industry focus for a time on the future with the idea of setting and communicating the direction of the firm. 

Strategic planning requires discipline and focus and is essential for continuing success.  Strategic plans need to be the product of careful thought and should provide the basis to communicate the direction of the firm in the near and, sometimes, the longer term.  It isn’t magic.  It just means that you have to occasionally stop and ponder.  We have done this for many types of firms, and believe our experience and insight can be helpful to all firms engaged in this endeavor.

Meeting Facilitation

All organizations and leaders occasionally determine an independent third-party is needed to facilitate a critical meeting.  Benefits of this approach include: the ability of an outsider to listen to existing circumstances and propose ideas without organizational or historical bias; the ability of an outsider to raise difficult issues and questions without requiring colleagues to place their relationship capital at risk; allowing leaders to focus on being in the meeting while a facilitator works on setting ground rules, maintaining order, and memorializing all outputs.  Ultimately, successful meeting facilitation is all about assisting organizations in identifying and making actionable solutions that are uniquely suited to their unique circumstances and objectives.  If your team is approaching a critical crossroads, let’s discuss how we can support your progress towards the right outcomes.

Change Management

Whether your organization is dealing with unexpected growth, marketing or management challenges, transitioning from one group of owners to another, or would simply appreciate the insight of someone who has been there before, our seasoned team is here to help. 

Having held leadership roles in very different kinds of firms (large, small, design-oriented, production-oriented, architecture, engineering, design/build and program management) and having faced issues ranging from rapid growth to threatened bankruptcy, we can help firm leaders analyze their situations and develop creative options that might not be obvious. 

Financial Performance Assessments and Business Planning

We believe that successful financial and business management is nuanced, not simple black and white.  Whether you are interested in staff planning, opportunities to improve cash flow, increasing project or firm margins, understanding how the operating costs of the business have evolved over time, or effectively learning as an organization both from successes and failures – we can assist you in diagnosing your circumstances, analyzing meaningful trends, and developing an action plan to meet your business performance objectives.

Succession and Business Continuity Planning

In addition to having a strategic plan, high-performing organizations need succession and business continuity plans in place to assist them as they encounter the inevitable bumps in the road.  Identifying core competencies, key personnel, and establishing a plan to develop future generations of organizational leaders is critical to long-term firm health.  Whether your organization is large or small thoughtful continuity planning will assure you and your team of the certainty of the road ahead.

Mergers and Acquisition Management

Merging with another firm or pursuing growth through acquisition are significant organizational decisions that should not be taken lightly.  We have positioned firms to be sold, vetted acquisition targets, and integrated acquisitions into existing organizations and cultures.  Whatever your firm’s circumstance, our experience will assist you in maximizing value for your shareholders as well as your workforce.

Leadership and Individual Coaching

Quality communication is the single greatest influencer of individual, project, and team effectiveness.  We leverage the Birkman Method, a sophisticated assessment tool, which delivers insights into each of our unique behavioral styles including: strengths, interests, needs, and stress responses.  Unlocking the potential of these insights requires speaking openly about our most effective behaviors and how they positively influence our lives, as well as our ineffective behaviors and strategies for managing such.

Coaching services provide value under many circumstances including:

• Transition management

• Leadership development

• Teambuilding

• Conflict resolution

Beyond the Birkman, We have built teams, mentored future leaders, and managed to the pressures we all receive from up, down, and sideways within our organizations.  Whether you are navigating a critical transition, strengthening a team, nurturing an up-and-coming group of high-performers, or looking to craft a key communication to an important audience – we can assist.