Circulation… Circulation… Circulation The Scenario: One of the nation's largest daily  newspapers was experiencing a challenge. Circulation was falling and there was  divisiveness throughout the marketing department. The situation was made more severe when  the publisher named a dynamic young executive from outside the industry to lead the group.  His task was to reorganize the division, eliminate redundancy, and lessen resistance to  change. His job was made more difficult by the fact that he was replacing a well-loved,  long-term division leader who had agreed to stay on as his deputy. Our Assignment: Forge an effective team. Our research  identified a number of key and obstacles and helped to open lines of communications  between our consulting team and executives. Several multiple day off-sites with the senior  team, as well as individual coaching sessions, process flow and mapping, and evaluation of  information systems and marketing strategies were effective. The Results: A new marketing premise. Introduction of  new processes and procedures for better customer service and circulation growth. As for  the interpersonal issues, the new department leader and the former boss became allies. Hollywood Marketing Challenge The Scenario: A major motion picture studio was about  to release a new, low budget film produced, directed by and starring one of its most  prized talents. The project was not given high marks by the studio and projected revenues  were set somewhere around $19 million. The film had been tested utilizing the kind of  traditional 'audience screening' techniques on which this studio alone invested an  estimated $200,000,000 per year in marketing dollars. This research indicated that the  marketing approach for this film should stress its 'green- environmental' theme. The head  of marketing wasn't convinced. Our Assignment: Conduct a blind study using our  diagnostic and research strategy. Our findings suggested that the most significant theme  to stress was not the 'green' theme, but rather a 'relationship and family values' theme. The Results: The film opened in one of the nation's  largest metropolitan markets utilizing the film's original advertising and marketing  approach. A second campaign based on our research was tested in nine small suburban  markets. To everyone's amazement, every one of the smaller markets substantially  out-grossed the major metropolitan market. The marketing theme was changed to reflect our  findings and the movie ended up with a domestic gross of $68,000,000 (300% higher than  original projections).

A High Tech  Transition--Start-up to Mature Phase
The Scenario: New leadership, the absence of a common  vision, lack of clear decision making, 7 widely dispersed geographies run by 7 very  talented, but independent leaders, a highly competitive international marketplace, a  parent organization that fosters internal competition as a means of stimulating business,  and a fledgling headquarters staff. A recipe for disaster? It was for this division of one  of the world's leading software companies.

The Challenge:  Assist the new leadership in forming a  cohesive team and turn this fledgling division into a significant profit center. We looked  at it holistically. Diagnosis and research was followed by extensive work with the senior  team to gain alignment on vision and implement an operating structure and norms of  behavior to support it. Practical strategic planning, on-site coaching of leadership and  the execution of specific action plans rounded out the first part of this intervention.  The work was complemented by shorter sessions for next level personnel in each of the  global regions.

The Results:   A unified team. Common practices were  identified, as were areas of individual autonomy. New leadership styles were practiced,  resource sharing was accepted, cost efficiency increased, redundant services reduced,  hidden resistance frankly discussed, and stronger relationships, both vertically and  horizontally, were established within the organization and between this organization and  other operating companies within this software giant.