Briefed to facilitate a workshop, Carpe Diem uncovered a new business opportunity for Wiley.
The brief
Wiley is a successful provider of construction services including design, process engineering and building. As a family-owned and operated company for two generations, Wiley faced some distinct challenges. The company's CEO and family 'patriarch' was looking to retire from day to day management over the next five years and it was important for Wiley to have a five-year plan to guide them through the transition.
After a tender process, Wiley selected Carpe Diem to facilitate a strategic planning workshop. Wiley's Chief Operating Officer, Don Davies, was particular about the firm he selected. Like most in his position, Don has seen formulaic consulting approaches that deliver predictable outcomes. This time, he was looking for flexibility, a willingness to understand Wiley's unique challenges, and the ability to work together in a longer-term strategic partnership. According to Don, Carpe Diem impressed from the outset.
"Carpe Diem's approach strongly indicated flexibility, which was important to us. Bruce's personality, coupled with his clear understanding of broader business issues, convinced us that Carpe Diem was the right long-term partner for us."
The solution
Looking beyond the original brief, Carpe Diem saw that Wiley needed to move quickly to insulate the business against revenue variations and threat from competitors. Instead of simply facilitating a workshop, the firm proposed interviewing internal and external stakeholders to develop a range of strategic alternatives for Wiley.
In addition to succession planning challenges, the process uncovered a too-specialised business model as well as a new business opportunity and revenue stream. Carpe Diem then worked with Wiley's employees in small groups to arrive at a number of strategic imperatives for Wiley - their 'must do' list. Based on these priorities, the strategic planning workshop had a clear and focused agenda: how to implement the initiatives that will contribute most to Wiley's success.
The outcome
According to Don Davies, Wiley now has a strategic vision for the business that has genuine staff buy-in, as well as some comfort around the transition to new leadership. Although it is early days, the strategic imperatives developed with Carpe Diem are being implemented in order of priority and the ongoing partnership is working well.
"Having worked with Bruce for a while now, I can honestly say he he's been terrific. He is a good fit with our team; he listens and he is very effective at getting issues addressed. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Carpe Diem to other companies looking for help with difficult business issues or challenges."
Once the plan is implemented, Don expects to see the company capitalise on the new business opportunity and diversify into a new market, standardise its business processes, increase staff numbers and increase its overall revenue.