Agnes Watkinson’s Post

🌪 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 ⛱ Turn Rapid Growth Challenges into Opportunities!🌟🚀 We've all witnessed those companies that seemingly skyrocket overnight, riding the waves of success. But what happens when that rapid growth becomes overwhelming, leaving even the most seasoned teams drowning and gasping for air? 𝕀𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕡 𝕘𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘???? 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 🎨 🖌 Imagine a company experiencing such exponential growth that it's like trying to navigate a ship through a storm without a compass. 💠 Goals become hazy 💠 Staff feel like they're thrown into the deep end without proper training 💠 Attracting talent feels like an uphill battle. Sound familiar? In the midst of this chaos I have a questions.... Who is uncovering the hidden leaks sinking your ship??? What if there was someone, external, who could go deep into the depths of the hull and report back. Someone who can arm you with actionable insights and tangible KPIs, empowering your internal champions to drive the change your organization needs. And for those who need an extra hand holding through the process, meet Leslie and myself, Agnes. We're not just consultants; we're partners in your journey. With expertise in change management and a team of facilitators ready to close any gaps, we ensure your transformation is not just successful but sustainable. So, if you're drowning in the whirlwind of rapid growth, remember, AMC Services - Fractional People & Culture is here to turn your challenges into opportunities. Virtual calls are easy to book, just use the booking link in the comment section below. 🚢✨ #AMCServices #Transformation #RapidGrowth #SuccessStory #ConstructionConsulting #ArchitectureConsulting #EngineeringConsulting #FractionalLeadership #ConstructionManagement #ArchitecturalServices #EngineeringSolutions #ConsultingFirm #FractionalExperts #BuiltEnvironment

🌪 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 ⛱ Turn Rapid Growth Challenges into Opportunities!🌟🚀 We've all witnessed those companies that seemingly skyrocket overnight, riding the waves of success. But what happens when that rapid growth becomes overwhelming, leaving even the most seasoned teams drowning and gasping for air? 𝕀𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕡 𝕘𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘???? 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 🎨 🖌 Imagine a company experiencing such exponential growth that it's like trying to navigate a ship through a storm without a compass. 💠 Goals become hazy 💠 Staff feel like they're thrown into the deep end without proper training 💠 Attracting talent feels like an uphill battle. Sound familiar? In the midst of this chaos I have a questions.... Who is uncovering the hidden leaks sinking your ship??? What if there was someone, external, who could go deep into the depths of the hull and report back. Someone who can arm you with actionable insights and tangible KPIs, empowering your internal champions to drive the change your organization needs. And for those who need an extra hand holding through the process, Agnes Watkinson and myself, Leslie We're not just consultants; we're partners in your journey. With expertise in change management and a team of facilitators ready to close any gaps, we ensure your transformation is not just successful but sustainable. So, if you're drowning in the whirlwind of rapid growth, remember, AMC Services - Fractional People & Culture is here to turn your challenges into opportunities. Virtual calls are easy to book, just use the booking link in the comment section below. 🚢✨ #AMCServices #Transformation #RapidGrowth #SuccessStory #ConstructionConsulting #ArchitectureConsulting #EngineeringConsulting #FractionalLeadership #ConstructionManagement #ArchitecturalServices #EngineeringSolutions #ConsultingFirm #FractionalExperts #BuiltEnvironment

Steady at the Helm: Maintaining Focus in a #Turbulent Business Landscape. The business world is rarely without its challenges. Unexpected events, market upheavals, and economic swings can disrupt even the best-laid plans. In such unpredictable times, sticking to a focused business plan is crucial for survival and success. Here are some important strategies to help you negotiate rough waters and keep your business on track: 1. Embrace #Agility over Abandonment: Turbulence does not mean abandoning your #strategy completely. However, it requires agility. Conduct regular reviews and analyses of market developments, competition actions, and customer demands. Prepare to adjust your methods in response to fresh knowledge, but don't lose sight of your overarching strategic aims. #Prioritize core competencies. When faced with distractions, refocus on your core competencies—the distinct skills and talents that set you apart from competitors. Invest resources in initiatives that capitalize on these capabilities and provide the most value to your consumers. This enables more efficient resource allocation and a clear focus on what is genuinely important. Encourage a #Culture of #Communication: During times of crisis, open and transparent communication is critical. Establish clear channels of communication between leadership and all levels of the organization. This enables everyone to stay informed, comprehend the changing circumstances, and participate in strategic decision-making. #Scenario Planning and Risk Management. Create robust contingency plans for a variety of possible scenarios. Anticipate probable disruptions, detect early warning indicators, and take proactive risk-mitigation actions. While you can't forecast everything, scenario planning allows you to react more efficiently and reduce the impact of unexpected events. Create a #Resilient Team: Your crew is your most important asset. Invest in your workforce's ability to communicate effectively, understand emotions, and solve problems. A resilient team is adaptable, resourceful, and can approach obstacles with a positive attitude. Embrace Innovation Turbulence can spur innovation. Investigate new prospects and revenue streams that respond to the shifting market scenario. Encourage creative thinking and experimentation among your teams. During challenging times, new ideas might yield the most effective results. Maintain a long-term perspective. While responding to immediate obstacles is critical, do not lose sight of your long-term goals. Ensure that your strategic modifications complement your long-term objectives and do not result in short-sighted mistakes that jeopardize future success. #maintainingfocus #holdingstrategytogether #strategy #focus

Mastering Business Challenges with the Four F's: Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn In today’s fiercely competitive market, the ability to effectively respond to challenges can make or break an organization. Drawing inspiration from psychology, the Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn responses—commonly associated with trauma—can also be applied to business strategies, providing a powerful framework for navigating complex environments. Here’s how these strategies have proven essential in my work as an Operations Consultant: (1) Fight 🥊: Confronting challenges head-on is often crucial. In my experience, this means driving productivity improvements, spearheading lean transformations, and tackling process inefficiencies with determination. The fight response is about being proactive and resilient, ensuring that organizations stay ahead of the curve. (2) Flight 🏃♂️: Sometimes, the best strategy is to strategically retreat. I’ve helped companies exit declining markets, pivot business models, and refocus on core competencies. Recognizing when to withdraw and redirect resources is vital for long-term sustainability and growth. (3) Freeze ❄️: There are critical moments when pausing to reassess the situation is necessary. Implementing strategic pauses for data gathering, conducting gap analyses, and ensuring informed decision-making has been a cornerstone of my approach. This cautious stance prevents costly errors and allows for more calculated moves. (4) Fawn 🤝: Adaptability and collaboration are key in today’s interconnected world. By fostering partnerships, enhancing customer relationships, and aligning with stakeholder needs, I’ve helped organizations build strong networks and achieve long-term success. The fawn response emphasizes the power of cooperation and flexibility. Understanding these trauma responses and their business applications allows organizations to navigate stress and uncertainty more effectively. By leveraging these responses, we can ensure sustainable growth and operational excellence in an ever-evolving market. #BusinessStrategy #Leadership #OperationsManagement #LeanThinking #Resilience #Consulting

25 weeks. 174 days. 4,176 hours. 250,560 minutes. That's about how long is left in 2024. It's time for a mid-year reflection. Adjusting your business strategy at the halfway point of the year is a crucial exercise, underscoring the importance of the planning process over the rigidity of initial plans. By mid-year, businesses often encounter unforeseen challenges and opportunities, making it essential to revisit and revise their strategies. The act of planning cultivates a proactive mindset, enabling leaders to respond flexibly to changing circumstances while keeping their overarching goals in sight. These five simple steps can help you adjust for the rest of the year: 1️⃣ Assess Current Performance 2️⃣ Revisit Goals and Objectives 3️⃣ Analyze External Factors 4️⃣ Engage Stakeholders 5️⃣ Implement and Monitor Changes   This dynamic planning ensures that strategies remain relevant and effective, fostering an environment where innovation and agility can thrive.  🗣 Join the conversation in the comments below: How do you reflect and make adjustments to increase success for the rest of the year? #professionaldevelopment #midyearreview #harnessingthepowerofnexco #abundancemindset

The business landscape is ever-changing, with uncertainties often becoming the norm. Building a resilient strategy requires more than just planning—it demands foresight, adaptability, and a deep understanding of your organization's core strengths. Here are three actionable tips for creating a robust Business & Organizational Strategy: 1) 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 : Stay ahead by actively monitoring industry trends and potential disruptions. Scenario planning can help you pivot quickly when unexpected events occur. 2) 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 : A resilient organization is built on empowered teams. Foster open communication and encourage innovation, allowing your team to contribute valuable insights. 3) 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 : Long-term success comes from sustainable practices that align with your mission and values, ensuring relevance across market conditions. By creating strategies that prioritize resilience, you position your organization to not just survive but thrive, even in the face of uncertainty. #VSStrategy #VSManagementConsulting #VSLeadership #VSProfessionalDevelopment #VSMarketing

🔍 Struggling to strike a balance between innovation and stability in your business? You're not alone. In their quest for predictability, many companies overlook potential market opportunities. This isn’t a failure of leadership but a common structural challenge. In today’s fast-paced environment, businesses often face the problem of prioritizing efficiency over agility. This issue isn’t about a lack of effort or vision but the inherent difficulty in managing two competing systems. Companies that focus too much on stability risk becoming rigid and slow to respond. Conversely, leaning too much towards agility can lead to chaos and unpredictability. One proven solution to this challenge is the Dual Operating System. Consider the case of a safety equipment manufacturer for commercial vehicles. They were grappling with slow product development and market response times. However, by embracing the Dual Operating System, they saw a 20% increase in new product introductions and a 15% reduction in time-to-market. This success story is a testament to the power of this strategy, which doesn’t enforce rigid roles but empowers cross-functional teams and a guiding coalition to adapt swiftly while maintaining core business functions. The path forward is clear: it’s not about rigid job descriptions or bureaucracy. Instead, focus on building a volunteer army—a group of motivated individuals aligned with a shared vision. This approach fosters innovation and ensures that core operations remain solid and predictable. So, where does your company stand? Are you trying to balance the need for predictability with the desire for innovation? It’s time to rethink your approach and consider a Dual Operating System. Just like the manufacturer of safety equipment, your organization can thrive by embracing this dynamic strategy. #BusinessAgility #Leadership #Innovation #DualOperatingSystem #ScrumAtScale #AgileTransformation #TeamCollaboration #OrganizationalChange

🌍✨How does your organization stay aligned and responsive in a changing world? Here’s an idea for a monthly strategy review that might resonate. Think of it as a friendly conversation about where you see things going and what you are doing about it. === Monthly Strategy Review A simple structure to help you dig deeper and increase clarity on aspiration and action across your organization. Split your business into max 25 areas, with nothing left out that consumes time, money, or opportunity. (Overlap is fine, you probably already have these defined.) For each area ask: ⭐    What strategy does it look like is being followed? 🔹    Are we seeing the contributions we expect? 🔹    Does the area have what it takes to contribute? 🔹    Is it reasonable how time, cost, and opportunity have been spent? 🏅    (Advanced) What are the RTB/GTB and productivity ratios? 🔹    What initiatives are currently planned and in progress? 🏅    (Advanced) How long would it take to complete if nothing new started? 🏅    (Advanced) How much would we lose if everything was scrapped? ⚡    What tensions have increased and what surprises have emerged? 🔹    What alternative options have been/are being considered? 🔹    What recent choices have been made? 🔹    Any extra help needed? Something to watch out for? Then, look at the organization as a whole and ask the same questions. 🎯    Finally ask: Is this who we want to be? === This is how a #LiquidOrganization would play around the balancing acts to navigate complexity, juggle trade-offs, and keep a healthy risk exposure. 💡 It becomes more difficult to overlook when formerly good ideas turn bad or new and even better ideas emerge. === But what about your organization? How much liquidity do you have? 🔍    How do you follow through on strategy? 🔍    How is accountability defined? 🔍    Who do you invite for the conversation? 🔍    Who can access the presentations? 🔍    How do your tools, AI, and analytics assist you? 🔍    Where do your surprises and tensions come from? 🎯    How do you change your choices when new realities emerge? Perhaps worth a conversation in your board or leadership team. Compare it with your regular QBRs, PI-Plannings, and other forms of strategy alignment and follow-up sessions you have scheduled. #LeadWithStrategy #LiquidOrganization #FutureOfWork Inspired by: Dave Snowden, Roger Martin, Prof. Bent Flyvbjerg, Dean Leffingwell, Tom Gilb, L. David Marquet, Stephen Bungay, Donald Reinertsen - more mentioned in my book UNMESS on Collaborative Lean Portfolio Management. (The picture shows an amended configuration of #PTW.)

In my experience leading multiple right-sizing and transformation projects, one hard lesson has become clear: restructuring is pointless without addressing deeper operational inefficiencies and mindsets. Recently I worked with an organization that had undergone several rounds of delayering to reduce costs. Each time, they achieved short-term savings but found costs creeping back within a year. Why? The focus was only on headcount reduction, not on changing how the work was done. Processes remained complex, duplication persisted, and workloads increased. The result? Employee burnout, disengagement, and an eventual rebuild of the same layers they had removed. To break this cycle, we focused on process simplification and eliminating redundancy. By redesigning workflows and clarifying responsibilities, we moved from “doing more with less” to doing less, but better. Clear timelines and transparent communication helped manage uncertainty, and the organization sustained the changes long after the initial restructuring. Restructuring is not about cost-cutting alone—it’s about creating sustainable ways of working. Without a shift in processes, coordination, and mindset, it’s just a temporary fix. True transformation aligns structure, operations, and culture to enable long-term success.

Bridging the Gap: How Digital Transformation Leaders Drive Strategic Vision into Action. Often, during interviews or when I respond to recruiters' calls, my initial line of response is always: "I am skilled in bridging the gap between strategy and execution, proficient in cost reduction and process optimisation." It’s a summary of my career journey thus far. But what does it really mean to bridge that gap? Why do organisations need a digital expert who, although not necessarily a 360-degree technical specialist, can still understand their business goals and drive real value? The truth is, businesses today are at a crossroads between strategic vision and effective implementation. Strategy without execution is just an idea, and execution without strategy can lead to chaos. This is where someone like me, with a blend of strategic insight and hands on implementation, comes into play. Bridging the gap means translating high-level strategies into actionable steps that align with the day-to-day reality of the business. It’s about understanding where a company wants to go and ensuring that every process, tool, and team is working towards that vision with precision. For example, when I lead cross-functional teams to develop business architecture frameworks, my focus is on crafting a realistic roadmap that delivers results, improving efficiency, reducing costs, and optimising processes without losing sight of the bigger picture. In today's digital-first world, organisations need a leader who can connect the dots between technology, business, and strategy. We don't just need people who can innovate; we need experts who can turn innovation into tangible business outcomes. That’s where my expertise lies in transforming strategy into execution with a focus on value for money and long-term growth. This is why organisations, especially those navigating complex digital transformations, require professionals who not only understand the tech but also the business. The ability to bridge that gap between strategy and execution isn't just about technical skills, it’s about understanding people, processes, and the bigger picture. And when done right, it can lead to sustainable business success. #DigitalTransformation #Leadership #Innovation #StrategyExecution #BusinessOptimization #CostReduction #Agility #TechLeaders #DigitalStrategy #ChangeManagement #FutureOfWork #TechForBusiness