Tag Archive: forecasting

  1. Consulting Services Delivered in Today’s Crazy World – Part 3 of 3

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    A frequent question with potential clients recently is the ability to deliver value in a virtual environment. While we are providing targeted value for all our current clients virtually today, we will explore some of the most demanded services with the current economic environment in the last part of our 3-part series.


    There are existing methods we use that make providing our services easily consumable and still provide huge value.  We highlighted this with the first of several examples in part 1 where we covered Assessments and in part 2 with Cash Management and Forecasting types of projects.  We show a few more relevant examples in this segment.

    Transformation initiatives – where companies are taking advantage of the current business climate by revamping how they operate their businesses and position for large growth as the economy comes back online.  These services are composed of linking the business strategy to organization change strategies, major initiative definition and prioritization and fanatic program management to drive to results.  This is all supported by effective change management strategies that communicate to the existing team members that are buried in their caves around the city working remote.

    These engagements are delivered via many methods previously discussed in Part 1 and they also draw on our Program and Project Management skills defined below.  The engagements also require more face to face or video enabled calls especially for the Change Management techniques employed.  In addition, there are typically layers of reporting/dashboards given the various audiences involved with these efforts.  It is not uncommon to have 3-4 different reporting documents since these types of initiatives can have Board of Director involvement down to line manager involvement.

    Some transformation initiatives are based on new business directions while some are based on the underlying technology required to enable massive change.  Other transformation efforts involve Mergers and Acquisitions that require integration of company culture and organizations.  Needless to say, the more complex these get, the more difficult it is to handle everything using only remote techniques.

    Program and project management services – usually underpinning most of our efforts discussed above and in Part 1 is a heavy dose of program and project management services (what we are known for).  This is sometimes not visible to the end client other than the final results.  In most cases however, there are easily observed artifacts that can be developed and shared in a remote environment.  Some examples include:

    • Project charter documents – typically MS word documents with embedded diagrams and tables
    • Project business cases – a combination of documents and spreadsheets
    • Project Plans – can be developed with various project management software tools based on client preferences
    • Risk management logs – typically MS Excel based
    • Project/Program status dashboards – can be built from various reporting tools and depends on client preferences
    • Status reports – standard report templates modified for client specific needs
    • Issue management logs – typically MS Excel based though in some cases can be enabled by a trouble ticketing software

    As we covered in our first segment, all of this is enabled by tools and work processes that have been put in place and perfected years ago.  Each of our consultants operates in world of ‘have laptop, will travel’ and is accustomed to working remotely or at the client site.  The common denominator is that our team is focused on the goals of the project regardless of how the work is delivered day to day.  Our reputation is built on successful delivery of projects and a high level of trust with our clients.  We take that trust extremely seriously.

    This demonstrates with examples how our consulting projects can be delivered in today’s changing business environment and we have many more success stories beyond these.  Please don’t just ask us though, ask our many clients for their views on the work our team does, how we do it and the business results we help to drive.

    Jim Wadella, Managing Member

  2. CORE CATALYSTS Rapid Cash Management (RCM) Assessment

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    We’re all in uncharted territory with the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Companies that last through this crisis will have Executives who rapidly assessed these new circumstances, recognized patterns and opportunities, and acted with urgency to take immediate action to pivot and financially secure their companies. Those that don’t may not survive.

    Right now, your company’s responsibility as an Executive team is to do your best to ensure a solid financial situation for your company and to ensure your employees, customers, and vendors have what they need to minimize damage.

    Putting it even more bluntly, your company’s survival in this downturn can be captured in a simple formula:


    SURVIVAL =

    The speed and time to take to reach an understanding of the situation
    x
    The size and kind of pivots, cuts, and ‘lifeboat’ decisions you have to make and implement
    x
    The speed and time you take to make those changes


    It is unfortunate, because Core Catalysts has deep experience jumping in to organizations, running 13 week cash flow forecasts, and then identifying and implementing action plans to maximize cash flow, our five day Rapid Cash Management (RCM) Assessment™ playbook is readily applicable to those who are in a cash-flow negative situation, or who are about to enter one, meaning we can help assess the new normal and respond with speed and urgency …

    We have a proven approach and teams of experienced ‘hands-on’ people that mean we can help your organization align across all business functions, do the critical analysis and planning within the space of a week, and to start implementing, to make all of this achievable.

    Interested / want to find out more? Please give us a call at 913-752-9406 or click here for other ways to contact us.

    Mark Jacobs, Client Service & Delivery