Our Services
The Change Tank is available for a range of improvement solutions for your business.. An attempt to categorise these services is listed below.
Process Mapping
“Reduce complexity to the understandable”
With increasingly complex multi level markets, 3rd party supply chain integration, multi-site operations, multiple departments and dotted lines of authority it can be hard for business leaders to remain 100% aware of exactly how (& even why) all the cogs fit together.
Matthew has years of process work in numerous projects & industries and has yet to see a situation in which the results haven’t led to substantial process improvements & waste elimination.
Process Improvement
“No longer a luxury. Now a recurring necessity”
Process Improvement is the active task of improving existing business processes.
This used to be done to squeeze out competitive advantage, but in the fast-faced modern business environment, you need to be constantly reinventing yourself to just stay-up-to-date with competitors.
Matthew has been in the process improvement field since the early 2000’s and has a toolbox of methodologies with which to use.
Interested.? Let’s discuss
Organisational Restructure
“Structure maketh what you become”
Organisational structure determines everything. It houses or removes named incumbents, determines task accountabilities, focuses strategic alignment, allocates cost structures, drives headcount (+ many more).
If handled badly it’s hostage to shifting power structures of top executives & can fail to focus on the required trait – which is organisational imperative & long term competitiveness. Culturally it is often best run & managed by someone from “outside”, who is seen as having no vested interest in the shifting power structures often associated. Matthew has been involved in restructures from single business units of 30 people – through to a corporate restructures of 16,000 people. Matthew has the specific tools & experience to assist in the process.
Small Business Coaching
“Supporting you do what you already know needs doing”
As a small business owner you already know your business better than anyone. You know every transaction, every process, every step. As a business person you consider yourself an entrepreneur, you’ve read countless business motivation books & you attend an industry forum. You already know what you should be doing,
Q: But why aren’t you doing it? Why hasn’t your plan to step back from the business & get it ready for sale (or whatever your goal) progressed?
A: It’s that tired old answer you’ve heard 100 times before. Your busy working “in” your business not “on” your business
For small business coaching, the approach is not so much how can I help you with expertise & knowledge – but more how can I help you hold yourself accountable for achieving the bigger picture goals. I’ll treat you as an equal & we’ll get your business to the next level together
Let’s knock it on the head
Continuous Improvement Processes
“Capture & drive beneficial floor led initiatives”
Usually inefficiencies are recognised by the staff closest to the issues. Frustratingly, often despite staff spotting the issues, nothing changes. The problem/opportunity is never addressed. And in the worst case, if an idea has been raised once or twice to management & nothing happens, it is rarely raised again.
Matthew has implemented Continuous Improvement Systems in many businesses & can do the same for you. These systems empower staff, inform managers add to a shared sense of ownership and of course – improve profitability and competitiveness.
Sound familiar? Let’s turn this around!
Operations
“Deliver the plan”
“Operations” is the day to day running of your existing workflow. Over and over and over again. Delivered precisely & consistently. Your ability to deliver operationally will drive your success.
Your ability to deliver operationally is largely driven by
– people (attitudes & behaviours)
– systems (contribution to key outcomes)
Matthew has supported operational success at mid size maintenance operations through to control rooms at high pressure rail, port & health environments.
Want to improve? Say hello.
Planning & Scheduling
“The organisational lifeblood”
In simplicity, planning is the broad brushstrokes, scheduling the fine touches. Plan & schedule effectively and you set a path for operational performance. Do either of these wrong, and you no longer control your future. Too many organisations fail at this
There is another level though. And this is not just the preparing of the plans. It is embedding, at an organisational level, a culture of constant striving for attainment to the plan.
Matthew has extensive experience in working with the planning & scheduling areas of organisations to improve the planning process, the operational areas of organisations to embed day of operations attainment culture and the management to ensure the review cycle supports & drives the whole process.
Resonate? Schedule a chat.
Project Management
“Making things happen”
Time, budget, quality & scope. The interlocking parameters for project delivery. Tested & true.
PMBOK, Prince2. Methodologies. Professional qualifications.
All well known. Nothing new.
Q Why do so many projects fail to deliver anticipated value?
Beyond the road well known, there is something more. Experience, a bigger picture understanding of organisational imperatives and the ability to talk, speak & think the language of senior executives ensure projects remain aligned with what the sponsors have not only said they want, but continue wanting as the project progresses through an ever-changing business environment.
Matthew has been operating in a project environment for 15 years and has experience in all levels of project management. Whether the Change Tank runs a consulting project working on your business as an external, is embedded to run internal projects or assists in governance of your projects – adding the Change Tank within the mix will drastically improve the success rate of your projects.
Business Reviews
“A fresh set of eyes leading to a plan of action”
Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know. Or you judge things based on how its “always been done”. Or you’ve looked at it so long you can only see it in a certain way. Or there;’s so much data to wade through, it takes a team of skilled professionals to work out what it really says. A thorough business review from a skilled proponent is certain to uncover a range of actions that improve the business substantially
Matthew has completed reviews in numerous organisations and has never failed to find substantial areas of business improvement – usually starting in at no less than 25%. Improvements can focus on profitability, headcount, turnaround time, waste elimination, customer satisfaction – or whatever key issues are facing the the business
Project Governance
“The key path to successful project delivery”
Q: How do you maximise the chance a project succeeds?
A: Encase the project in good governance
In the end, it is not the project manager who determines the success of the project – but the governance structure around the project. It is the governance structure that seats or unseats the project manager, that determines the project brief & the organisational need, that champions the project across departments, that calls a stop to unsuccessful projects, that allows (or denies) budget overruns, that permits a culture of missed milestones or budget over-runs. Despite all of this, many organisations don’t know how to run a project and often executives are picked to serve on project boards that don’t have the skills, time or even project advocacy required to effectively oversee the project.
Matthew has operated in a project environment for 15 years, often in a program capacity (multiple simultaneous & aligned projects) and has a network of people equally immersed in a lifetime of project work. Let the Change Tank either advise you on the Governance structure you should be using, or else sit on your project board to maximize your project opportunities.
Discuss this
MOS Implementation
“Management Operating Systems – the forgotten art!”
There was a time in the “not so long distant past” where MOS consulting reigned supreme. This era was started by Alexander Proudfoot and was continued and refined by a range of companies including the now defunct Sydney Consulting. But what is MOS? And why did it die away? And why is it still relevant?
MOS (Management Operating Systems) involved installing an integrated set of reports to provide all the information managers needed for good daily based decision making. There were typically 8 elements, and all 8 elements were required to ensure the system worked as a whole.These systems were traditionally collected & compiled manually.
Since the 90’s MOS based consulting jobs have fallen away, as many of the hallmarks were pasted into modern day analytics and dashboard/reporting systems of the modern ERPs & analytic suites. However over time the true value of this integrated system has been lost amongst a hunger for “more & more” reports prepared by sales focused tech companies. The modern manager is often back where it all began, with difficulty finding the right data to make decisions upon (now as a result of too much data & no technical underpinning).
Matthew was trained by original consultants from the original lineage and whilst he understands the modern environment – he also understands the underpinnings of this soon to re-emerge management art. you should Consider MOS based consulting with the Change Tank especially if
– your bogged down in data from a big box ERP and need assistance sorting the wheat from the chaff
– Your running highly fragmented IT systems and need help integrating data from multiple source into a simple useful management tool
Program Management
“To manage multiple projects you’d best be using program management principles !!”
Program Management is using a uniform framework to manage multiple projects. This is important irrespectively of whether the multiple projects simultaneously or across time, and whether they have clearly linked inter-dependencies or not. Standard program methodologies benefit individual projects but also, more importantly, benefit the entire program of work.
Matthew has established & run & PMO’s (Project Management Offices) and has existing toolsets & experience to establish a PMO for your business.
Temporary Executives
“Safe hands for as long or short as required”
Even key executives require breaks from time to time. Childbirth, holidays, medical issues, family reasons and more.
Often the solution is to place subordinates “acting” in their role. Frequently this is a great solution, as it exposes other staff to the next layer of business thinking & adds to their overall training.
Sometimes however this is not a viable solution. The subordinate doesn’t have the skills, the attitude or they are simply too busy in mission critical tasks to take this role on in any meaningful sense. In these situations a suitable temporary executive is often the solution.
Matthew has the experience of entering companies from all industries cold, and then getting up to speed within days, to work with top executives implementing fundamental change . He could certainly do this in your business. Or else get up to speed and then just run things without a change mandate. Additionally the Change Tank has an extensive range of known & trusted executives who cover most skillsets if Matthew is either not available or if other associates have experience more applicable to this position.
Consulting & Advise
“Not really our thing”
The Change Tank, despite being a consulting company, isn’t really interested in report writing. We’re happy to write a report (after a business analysis for example) on potential improvements, but on the whole we’d prefer to get in there and fix it with you, rather than just write a report & then go away and say we identified $1million of savings (that no one could ever feasibly deliver).
This strategy ties us to realistic & achievable recommendations and anchors us in down-t-o-earth & achievable thinking.
Business Startup Assistance
“Fomative Venture Assistance”
This is an area the Change Tank has less experience with than everything else sitting in our services list but is is area Matthew has been enjoying operating within over the last few years for a couple of local contacts. Specific services are:
– Niche identification
– Company Name Selection
– Byline Selection
– URL strategy
– Website Development management
As this is an emerging area for the Change Tank, daily billing rates are reduced (in accordance with demonstrated skills). The hope here is that some of these businesses will go on to become big enough to require Change Tank services
