Development requirement
- To improve the leadership skills of the Managing Director
- To help understand and improve relationships with US shareholder
- Support in managing through change
- Improve sales
- Grow the company strategically and operationally.
"Using the skills supplied by Unlimited Potential has proved to be most beneficial. It has significantly improved relationship and understanding, despite many years of interaction, between both US and UK companies and in particular the two top men."
The Managing Director's reaction.
The Background
Our client is a wholly owned UK company. The parent is an American company based in New Hampshire US. This is a family concern with many years of history and a solid reputation. They manufacture parts for the catering industry.
In common with many US owned UK companies, there are issues of communication, transfer pricing, culture, product standards and territory etc, which need attention and action.
The Intervention
Unlimited Potential has an ongoing Individual Potential coaching programme with the Managing Director of the UK Company. He has been in that role for some 20 years, and the ongoing monthly one-to-one sessions which started some four years ago.
At the One-to-One sessions a myriad of issues have been addressed including; change in the marketing department, introduction of Tragic to Magic, innovation, motivation of the production manager, strategic direction and management in their German subsidiary.
One of the continuing issues has been communication with the US. The Managing Director has found that initiatives that he has been promoting, some of which are focused towards UK culture have been diluted not only by his US CEO, but by others in the US organisation who have neither the brief, nor the experience of this market. Examples of this include marketing plans, transfer pricing, and the MDs exit strategy.
Each of these three areas was the subject of a one-to-one during which we clarified exactly what his goals were for the company and himself, the barriers and what he could and would do to achieve these goals. This plan was submitted to the US and appeared to get lost with all the other initiatives.
The solution was to set up a two-to-one with the US CEO on one of his subsequent visits, with his prior agreement, with us acting in a facilitation role and enabling all the issues to be raised in a totally objective environment.
The Result
Both US and UK sides could air any doubts or matters that they had not previously raised, 'through' Unlimited Potential and reached a joint actions much earlier and more effectively as a result of that one meeting. They both agreed timed action plans which we followed up and all the outstanding frustrations were rapidly resolved.
The ongoing one-to-one sessions have now been set up to correspond with the US CEO's visits so that the new levels of openness and co-operation can be maintained.
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