Our Consulting
Approach
FEOD knows that small and mid-market businesses may not have deep management rosters. Typically, there is not a large group of managers below the senior level. Therefore, an FEOD solution, built through three major steps, is developed to have the biggest business impact while minimizing the “hands” required to implement and maintain that solution. The three steps are Listen, Analyze & Solve.
It is possible that certain solutions will require additional staff and resources and an estimate of those costs would be included in the Project Summary discussed below. However, the first goal of FEOD is to minimize initial implementation costs and help the client adopt FEOD recommendations in a self-sufficient and sustainable manner consistent with the scope of existing company resources. FEOD is successful when clients have the tools to do “it” on their own.
…actively and purposefully to what is “said” and “not said” in search of root cause
Clients should expect their first meeting with an FEOD Executive Partner to be one in which the client does most of the talking. After all, there is a successful business in place. Many things must be working right. There is no need to “pull all of the wires out.”
After the first meeting (and possibly a second meeting) the Executive Partner will send the client a Project Summary describing the Partner’s understanding of the assignment to ensure both parties are aligned. Additionally, there will be an estimate of the timeline and steps to complete the project, as well as an estimate of the project cost.
…not paralyze, with to-the-point experience based focus
This phase of work draws heavily on the prior experiences and expertise of the lead Executive Partner and possibly other Executive Partners at FEOD. It is worth repeating that the client is now working with a seasoned senior executive who in all likelihood has previously encountered and managed the issues defining the assignment. This fact significantly differentiates FEOD from larger consulting companies. Larger firms typically send trainees and other staffers to assignments and limit Partner level time. FEOD clients work only with FEOD senior staff throughout the assignment and this is a factor that sets FEOD apart.
In concert with ownership and management, the Executive Partner will develop and pursue a work plan comprised of a “hands on” regimen of meetings and data collection. A list of data required will be provided to ownership and management before the assignment begins to allow time for data to be collected. Additionally, a meeting schedule and brief agenda for each meeting will be issued to ownership and management before the assignment begins. This approach provides for the orderly collection of data and specific meeting times in order to minimize interruptions to the ongoing management of the business and minimize assignment costs as well.
…with definition of critical path to solution that is digestible for a small or mid-market company
Consistent with the objective of the Project Summary and the established schedule, the Executive Partner will present findings, conclusions and recommendations to ownership and those designated by ownership. Included in this presentation will be recommendations regarding additional or changed responsibilities for members of ownership and management and or process/resource changes required to achieve the Project Summary objectives. Again, the goal is to make the company self-sufficient in implementing, maintaining and managing FEOD recommendations.
In the event FEOD’s recommendations call for additional staff and/or business services, FEOD can quickly respond to those requirements at the client’s request. FEOD’s management of post assignment requirements would be treated as another assignment and the potential for costs beyond the original assignment would always be identified in the written summary from the original meetings. Additionally, the implementation of recommendations from an FEOD consulting assignment could be taken further through an FEOD Fractional Management arrangement.
FEOD Executive Partners have experience with implementing a broad array of business solutions. Just a few examples include (and this list is a small sample and in no particular order):
- Plan/measure cash requirements to support operations and projects that require investment
- Design/implement business strategy to move company from a local scope to a national business level
- Develop/execute customer acquisition & retention strategies
- Recommend new product strategy to support customer acquisition & retention
- Design/install consistent branding across multi-division company
- Perform Due Diligence on financial and operational aspects of a target business
- Define company rate of Marginal Profit to guide investment and marketing program decisions
- “Measure” and then “fit” a multi-division company with a new management enterprise system
- Identify/hire leadership for sales and staff for a multi-division company