Case Studies

 



Issue: The highly successful founder-directors felt they needed their Heads of Departments to step up a level on the journey to help grow a much bigger business. What got the agency to 45 staff wasn’t going to get them to 90!

How: Strategy awaydays and focused workshops were held to get full buy-in and commitment to the new plan and its roll-out.

Solution: Robert Craven worked with the founder-directors and a newly formed senior team to clarify and deliver the vision for the future. A plan for clarifying, defining and nurturing the business and leaders of the future was developed.

Results: Heads of Departments took on the challenge of how to become the senior leadership team; they understood what needed to happen over 12 months for them to become the ‘board’ of the future.

Other benefits: The new model of working released the founder-directors from working in the business to work on more important strategic issues of growth and expansion.

 

Robert brought his unique agency experience and sector expertise to a complex series of inter-related issues we had been wrestling with. His deceptively simple approach to solving thorny issues and creating clarity is mixed with some straightforward honest talking.

Steve Hyde, CEO Push Group

 



Issue: The business was growing steadily but with little direction or plan for continued growth. Things wouldn’t continue organically forever so a plan and focus was needed.

How: Having attended several of Robert Craven’s courses it was identified that whilst the business was doing brilliantly in some areas, it wasn’t in others. The process of the course made the delegates have their own individual “Ah Ha” moments and identify their individual business areas to grow.

Solution: Following each course day, the MD created new processes and systems for the business as well as promoted and hired as needed for future growth. We reorganised the way we handle many aspects of the business and defined a clear strategy for the long term.

Results: Turnover increased by over 300%, NP increased by 400%, Client base increased from 15 to 55 and all prices for new clients increased.

Other benefits: The key results allowed the business to create a new company that is targeting digital agencies to support them technically and as a result of the course, the right strategy is already in place.

 

The way that I have learned these lessons was perfect for me. I was very arrogant in how the business was run in the past but realising, through rational argument and processes, that I wasn’t the centre of the business has humbled me. That was the point where I was more able to work much more ON the business than IN the business with clear focus, which has resulted in incredible changes for the better. Both personally and professionally.

Chris Simmance, Founder



Issue: During growth the agency experienced some problems with scaling the business.

How: The MD attending the growth program ensured information, new tools and workflows where installed, enabling the management team to create a more scalable agency.

Solution: The program and one-to-one coaching sessions provided the solutions to problems that were hard to tackle alone. It created the opportunity to install different workflows and additionally created mid-term and long-term business perspective.

Results: +3 FTE’s, 60% growth compared to previous year. Profits increased by 15%.

Other benefits: A more clear understanding/vision of the MD’s role as a business leader. The creation of a long-term plan and objectives.

 

Robert has given me and my agency an energetic boost and the tools to transfer the energy into a more structured and a more profitable agency.  In some areas we were operating in the dark, the coaching sessions created light in those dark areas: resulting in clear view in the areas where we were blind before.

Sam Dierckx, MD