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A. Background
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R-e-volution
a unique, South African based, management consulting
firm was established in July 2001. Ours is a small, highly focused,
consulting firm - our entire focus is on enabling our clients to address
and solve the business problems, issues and opportunities they are faced
with, commencing with the strategic issues CEO’s are grappling with and
culminating in operational capabilities that meet the challenges.
A clear understanding of our strengths
and capabilities has enabled us to turn our small size into a source of
competitive advantage, as we are able to develop and implement solutions
that address client requirements, without being burdened with existing
relationships that may detract from the requirements of the solution.
Early in our existence we realised that
we could not (and did not want to) compete head-on with the large,
multinational, or audit-based consulting firms. Thus, in order to
achieve our strategic objective
of being the premier solution enabling firm, we have differentiated
ourselves by not having a wall-to-wall solutions capability under one roof
– we prefer to identify and work closely with service providers most
appropriate to resolving our clients’ issues.
To underpin our objectives we have
adopted an approach, which has seen us focus on developing a deep
understanding of the business’ requirements in meeting its strategic
intent and objectives – thus the competitive challenges that face the
organisation.
Leveraging this deep understanding we
work with our clients and potential service providers to develop
comprehensive blueprints, encompassing strategies, structures, processes,
measurements and enabling technologies, to ensure that the optimal
solution can be attained through an integrated approach to the
implementation of the blueprint.
R-e-volution’s
normal style of engagements sees us working with our clients by, not only
developing, but also implementing the blueprint, thus ensuring that the
set objectives are realised.
Our collaborative and integrated working
style ensures that we develop and leave behind the capacity and capability
to entrench the solution development approach throughout our clients’
organisations.
The key to our success lies in the broad
knowledge and skills levels of our people in enabling them to deal with
the intricacies of the multifaceted situations our clients are faced with.
We are equipped to facilitate our
clients through interventions that require either revolutionary changes
("radical action") or, conversely, evolutionary changes
("evolutionary action") to address the issues confronting them.
Our involvement with our clients is treated with the same intensity and
sincerity as if we were involved in a real life revolution. As a result we
believe in assertive, yet empathetic, interaction because human lives are
at stake, while a successful outcome is based on significant commitment to
the cause (of our clients), supported by thorough planning and rigorous
effort.
We at R-e-volution
take tremendous pride in
our passion about what we do – making a significant difference to our
clients - and our commitment to the cause of our clients (like true
revolutionaries).
While it is important to note that
ensuring the future competitiveness of our clients is key, which implies a
constructive engagement (we thus fulfil the roles of activists), we are at
times compelled to be anarchists to bring about the required
transformations to achieve the required outcomes.
B. How
we work with our clients
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Once we receive our brief from our
clients we take a step back and develop a deep understanding of the
organisational environment and the context within which it is functioning
- thus building up a view of the business imperatives, strategic intent,
current implementation actions, challenges and issues. In developing this
understanding we not only look at the current context, but also identify
what developments will influence and impact the organisation.
We measure our success by our ability to
ensure that our clients become more competitive and effective in what they
do. To realise our engagement objectives we will do whatever it takes to
ensure that the most appropriate solution is implemented.
In cases where skills and capabilities
beyond our ambit are required, we take great pride in our role as the
"honest broker" between our clients (and their specific
requirements) and the suppliers of goods and services. Since we focus on
the desired outcome, we will introduce, after rigorous assessment, the
most suitable suppliers to deliver the required result. Clearly we do not
endeavour to be all things to all people – our role is to develop and
scope the blueprint, as well as bring together all the elements and
service providers that are required to enable the solution.
Our involvement in the realisation of
these solutions is to maintain the role of "honest broker",
acting as the custodian of the client’s requirements. We therefore
manage the content of each of the dimensions that are being addressed in
the implementation process, rather than managing the project/programme per
se. Refer to Figure 1 for an overview of how we interact with clients and
other contributors to the required solution.
Click on the Thumbnail to enlarge the
diagram
R-e-volution’s
core competencies revolve around our analysis and facilitation expertise.
These are augmented by our ability to take a systemic view of our clients’
organisations because we are unfettered by allegiances and alliances with
potential service providers – we work with whoever has the resources,
skills, capabilities and technologies that are most suited to each client’s
unique requirements.
Due to our understanding of our client’s
requirements we are ideally placed to be a link between business and
technology – we are able to guide business towards and through a
transformation resulting from the introduction of new technology, while
conversely pulling technology back from the white spaces to ensure the
required functionality to meet our client’s requirements.
In embracing a solutions enabling focus,
we have developed our approach to suit two different client operating
environments:
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We work with our clients to
implement solutions to problems and issues they (the clients
themselves) have developed, but do not possess the skills, and/or
resources to implement and
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We work with the client to fully
explore the underlying issues that need to be addressed, followed by
the development of a solution blueprint, with an implementation
plan. This blueprint can be handed over to the client for
implementation, or the consulting firm can facilitate implementation
In a nutshell, as a solution enabler we bring the
following skills and capabilities to our engagements:
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Business
performance assessment (along multiple dimensions),
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Issue
identification and analysis
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Creative
thinking
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Solution
development
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Implementation
planning
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Project
management
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Implementation
and facilitation skills
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Understanding
human behaviour and performance management
Combining these skills and capabilities with broad
industry and business functional knowledge, as well as an understanding of
the role and use of technology, we, as a solution enabler, have superior
ability to unlock substantive value for our clients.
Typically our engagements would follow the four-step
approach as depicted below:
Figure 2. R-e-volution’s
Engagement Approach
Click on the Thumbnail to enlarge the
diagram
Click on the Thumbnail to enlarge the
diagram
The power of this approach is based upon the ability to assess
the current situation, measuring it against benchmarks, past
experience and global trends to determine performance gaps and overriding
issues that have contributed to these gaps. This assessment enables us to
develop an informed opinion as to the opportunities for improvement, as
well as scoping the underlying risks attached to the implementation of the
required improvement initiatives.
Exploiting this four-step approach, we are able to focus
on enabling:
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focus is on organisation positioning and demand/revenue generation.
The emphasis is on competitive strategy development - how do we
capture the white spaces and create a sustainable competitive
advantage? and
Improved profitability by embedding operations
improvement - focusing on cost reduction
initiatives, as well as cycle time compression through the application
of improved/new work methods, techniques and technology
Benefits of our approach include the following:
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We do not engage into dialogue with our clients with
preconceived ideas
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We gain an understanding of and insight
into the issues and challenges faced by the executives
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We enter into a dialogue to gain a shared insight
into the issues and challenges
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Through close collaboration with the
executives
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We develop an action agenda to address the
issues and challenges identified during the insight phase
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Finally, we facilitate the implementation of
the agreed upon action agenda through intensive interaction with the
broad employee base
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As a result of our interaction we enable and
empower our clients to achieve substantive
benefits
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We partner with our clients to facilitate
their journey to competitiveness improvement/the achievement of their
strategic intent
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Due to our commitment to enable our clients to
achieve their desired/targeted outcomes, we are prepared to share
in the risks and rewards - thus committing us to ensure the
ownership of the clients progress to achieving their objectives
R-e-volution
delivers high value
consulting services in this manner to overcome the problems/flaws
encountered with traditional consulting services and their projects:
defines projects in terms of
very specific performance goals to be attained - a project is
defined in terms of the outputs and results the client’s organisation
requires and is not driven by the consultant’s expertise or products
R-e-volution
determines the project’s scope based on an assessment of what the client
needs to do to increase competitiveness, taking into consideration the
organisation’s readiness for change and transformation – we structure
projects around a business case, or compelling reason for a project and
specify benefits and costs up front
R-e-volution
divides projects into increments with rapid cycle times for quicker
results – this approach ensures greater buy-in by our client’s
organisation, creating a virtuous cycle with success after success
breeding a winning culture. The emphasis is therefore on creating
long-term relationships with our clients
R-e-volution
encourages both parties to work and learn together, in full partnership
mode, through every stage of a project. We bring our intellectual capital
and willingness to make a substantial difference to the table and work
with client staff to most effectively bring about sustainable, real-world
solutions
R-e-volution
makes leveraged use of consulting
inputs. Apart from our core consulting team, we generally make use of
internal, client resources and skill-up and
transform and adjust where
necessary. In addition, this approach ensures that the
improvement/solution is embedded when the initiative is complete.
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C. Vision and Strategy
R-e-volution’s
intent is to become the supplier of choice for South African companies
seeking high value-added consulting services due to the fact that we:
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Bring exceptional intellectual
capabilities to the table
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Have exceptional commitment and
passion to make a difference
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Have an extensive network of
associate companies we can network in to most effectively address our
clients’ needs and
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Best understand the local and
global demands of South African companies.
To fulfil our intent R-e-volution
will harness the skills and
capabilities of the diverse groupings in South Africa in an organisation
that encourages shared ownership – of both the destiny of the
organisation, as well as the manner in which solutions are delivered.
We believe that the critical analysis, as well as the
multiple perspectives and insights of our multicultural organisation,
linked to our absolute focus on enabling workable solutions, will make the
difference to the way our clients compete – this in turn will result in
the success of our firm and our people.
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D. Organisation
Structure
R-e-volution
has a simple organisation structure – there are
currently two directors, Pierre Kotzé and Eugene Klopper. They are
responsible for Business Development, as well as oversight of the operations
(project execution). It is a known fact that they roll up their sleeves
and actively participate in project execution. Although they comprise the
leadership team of the firm, the openness of our organisation culture
allows anyone working for the firm to question, challenge and participate
in decision-making and the way we do things.
Below the directors are senior consultants and junior
consultants, spanning a broad range of expertise and capabilities. We have
made a firm decision not to structure along industry, or functional
expertise as we believe that this does not foster the much sought after
collaboration and cross-pollination of ideas, thoughts and practices.
In keeping with our intent to focus on value delivery we
have outsourced our financial and administration management to Intellect
Direct, a Centurion-based organisation. In addition to the above areas,
they also serve as our legal council.
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E. Location
Although R-e-volution’s
registered address is at 5 Bellingham Street, 1 Highveld, Centurion, it is
very much a virtual organisation and has no formal head office. Should we
need to conduct meetings and presentations, we use the facilities at the
above address on an as required basis.
Our
other contact information is as follows:
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Telephone
number: +27 12 665-9013
Facsimilee
number: +27 12 667-2795
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