Implementation

To a large extent, our implementation approach depends on your objectives and your on ramp. Are you looking to start with Portfolio Reporting, Board Reporting, Strategy, or Planning?

Of the list, Board Reporting is the most complex. So let's start there as the example. 

Reports 

It helps to start by defining your report, both your monthly trading pack and quarterly strategy review. There are a number of questions we aim to answer, from how you look at your business in terms of the key lenses you have. Be that your key geographical markets, or business units, or functions, or channels…we call these your Key Organizational Dimensions (KODs). We have a series of templates and standard metrics to add to what you are already using. So we will run a few workshops to define this as your starter for ten. And don’t worry, it can evolve. And you will be trained to evolve it on your own…while being kept in the loop on our innovations based on our research, development, and learnings from other clients.  

Data 

Given what you want to report, we will then agree the data requirements. Management accounts and your budget is a given. As are you people health metrics along with customer and impact health. After that, it depends. 

Brand

We strongly believe that your Board Pack is your pack. So it has to reflect your brand. We will go through a process to define you primary and secondary colours. Your brand assets are equally important. Your logos and stock images are woven through the pack.  

Training

This training is specifically around the technical nature of getting and keeping the platform live. From working with the right data to creating your own documents to managing user access.  

A fun and helpful process we recommend is the build your board pack in a day with your Exec team. This includes training on writing commentary…and then doing it. At the end of the day, your pack is ready to be sent.   

People (Users) and Forums

Who needs access and who will the main admin & super users be? Who are the other users and what access rights do they have?  

Where we differ from most systems is through the concept of Forums. A Forum is a group of people who are collectively responsible for a series of objectives who meet on a frequent basis to push those objectives forward. All too often these Forums aren’t well defined. So it starts by defining them and then their members (links to the people) with the role of each person.     

Tags 

Everything in the platform is searched and filtered through a tagging system. It is helpful to pre-load a range of tags that help you get started. This links to the KODs and your key forums above, but also how you deal confidentially labelling or special projects.    

Non-Board Pack Implementation Processes

Each is different – the key to Portfolio reporting is about adapting our mgmt account schema to your house style. Once done, we have a short session with your PC CFOs/FCs, get their historical actuals along with budgets & perhaps your Investment case. We map each to your schema and validate the mapping with the PCs…along with giving them access to the report (the pages you are happy to share).   

The key to planning is nailing the EV, Revenue Bridges and the Plan-on-the-Page. From this, detailing your Risks and Objectives, along with the integrated Plan….all resulting in list of Actions. This spells out our method, which is BROP-A (Bridge; Risks; Objectives; Plan -> Actions). Strategy design is another method with a range of set pieces. There is too much to detail here…To learn more, we suggest you read the book or give us a call.  

Our clients 

We work side-by-side with our clients. We are not a won & done firm. For us, it is about the journey and helping to drive constant and consistent improvements. Nothing of meaning value, nothing that sticks for the long-term, is done overnight. So ideally, we set ourselves up for success to partner with you through your journey.  

Our current focus is on the small to mid-market sector. Typically PE or PE backed, but not always. Some a fascinating family run businesses too. And clearly a broad range of industries.  

In terms of PE firms, it is VC and mid-market PE. This will change with time. As we mature and build the scalability of our team.