At BSF we work with corporates who need and want to make a lasting high-impact increase in profitability. This change is not “business as usual” and senior executives are not always used to finding the answer to effect the change required or sure of its implementation and associated risks.
These companies will feel they have stagnated or find that there are deeply entrenched positions or politics in play. They have lost their entrepreneurial flavour when it is needed most.
Our role is to cut through the haze and creatively identify new opportunities that your team can work with to make lasting change. We are not interested in “tweaking” results and doing things that you can do yourself, so we specialise in two areas when working with corporates:
1. Training - Learn more about how we can turn your team from good to great.
2. Corporate Venturing - Learn more about our rapid fire approach.
3. Executive Mentoring - Learn more about how we can help you get to the next level.
Having done it for high performance corporate and entrepreneurial companies we are confident in our ability to make lasting change.
It has always been our observation that high-powered, successful organisations excel at harnessing the true power of their employees to deliver results.
The BSF team have been both key members of and helped to train the staff of organisations renowned for their high-powered teams such as McKinsey and Virgin. They have also lectured at University. But critically they have also worked in their own start-ups where if the team does not perform the business will fail.
It is this combination which makes us understand the critical need for employee performance and have confidence in our ability to deliver tangible results.
It is far too glib to have a goal of better performance. This is obvious. The point is to work on the elements that deliver that performance. It is also these elements that Boards and some Executives find difficult to install. Challenges such as how to get employees to think outside their immediate narrow focus, to see how all the “moving parts” work together. Who will thrive with added responsibility. How to get a team to work together rather than as individuals. Ensuring that abilities and roles are matched and that employees are motivated to put in the hard yards to deliver results.
We address high performance through two complementary approaches:
- Training employees
- Employee incentives
We have developed unique and powerful training programs that bring participants outside of their comfort zone, in a non-threatening way. That is when they learn and we get insight into their character and abilities. We always ensure programs are bespoke to client needs or consistent with a major change such as re-branding. Sessions are highly interactive, with a combination of teaching and participants doing practical tasks and then presenting back.
During the course of the training we will assess each participant on a specific range of criteria and provide you with recommendations on roles that would suit each of them, who are leaders, as well as highlighting areas of weakness for them to work on.
Once the training has been completed and the employees are ready for action, the most demotivating factor is when the incentive schemes do not reward performance. Our people have helped companies like Virgin and Unilever to set and implement the right company incentives to foster high performance from their staff.
Contact us to see how we can construct a workshop to take your team from very good to great.
With Corporate Venturing, our role is to cut through the noise and creatively identify ideas that will deliver step changes in profit. It could be a brand or product extension or a joint venture opportunity. Whatever the solution, we work directly with you and quickly develop high-impact actions that can be implemented immediately to deliver rapid results.
Our team have performed this role for organisations such as the Virgin Group (implementing new businesses, overseeing brand extensions), Unilever (helping to establish Unilever Ventures, Unileverʼs first incubator), and McKinsey. So we have been there and done it before.
This means we are uniquely positioned to bring enormous value, very quickly. The value we provide is not just a creative solution but also the practical implementation and being aware of the risks and pitfalls and how to manage them. A creative idea that looks good on paper is of no use if it is impractical to implement.
We are not chasing lengthy engagements and we are not interested in doing things that you can do for yourself. Often it will only take us a few days to make our assessment and then we will work through management troubleshooting to ensure the job gets done. Sometimes the idea or idea(s) have already been identified and some practical help is needed to outline the implementation plan and how to manage any risks.
We believe passionately in letting our results speak for themselves and so are always excited by opportunities to tie upside remuneration to profit improvement.
Contact us if you need to find that next high-impact change.
It is common for us to come across talented executives who “seem” to have peaked and are finding it difficult to get to the next level, whether it is a group role, board member or your dream role.
The executives are talented and work hard, but have become disenfranchised and demotivated. They struggle to understand why others seem to be getting their roles and are constantly being looked over.
We work with these individuals to turn this around.
We offer frank and sometimes brutal assessments of strengths and weaknesses. We then work with the executive so that they can do things differently the very next day.
We do not engage in wealth/fitness/“life” coaching: this is strictly business.
Our job is to get the executive moving again, either in this role or another, in the current organisation or a new one. Because the assistance is immediate and practical, confidence returns rapidly.
We reinstate that “can-do”, entrepreneurial role and work with you on four key areas:
- Outlining goals and objectives
- Assessing the current position, strengths and weaknesses, and identifying any skills gaps
- Recommending actions, including sometimes outside programs, to address those skills gaps
- Maintaining an ongoing support role as a sounding board to keep the executive on track and keep them moving upwards.
We take this role very personally and it is completely confidential so contact us if you want to start moving forward again.