Photo: Giacomo Berardi / UnsplashTECHNOLOGY
Invest heavily, or merge?
Board, management committee and executive committee committed to a three-year action plan to accelerate.
Read the caseCEOs, partners, leaders
You know how to decide.
But on some issues, you stand alone.
[engaged.] partner, your special advisor to the CEO, to:
- see your ecosystem clearly, from the board to the front line;
- engage your teams in your decisions;
- speed up delivery, without losing course.
[your situation.]
The more the issue matters,
the less you are told the truth.
On an issue that matters, everyone around you has a stake in the decision. Their view counts, but none of them is neutral. So what is really at play no longer reaches you. That is what leaves a CEO alone: they can no longer speak freely to anyone.
Board
Those who decide with you: they want proof that it is worth it.
Executive / management committee
Around the table: everyone sees what they gain, or what they lose.
Your managers
Caught up in urgent work, they wait for a decision.
Support functions
Finance, IT, HR, legal: brought in too late, they block.
The front line
What is said on the front line no longer reaches you.
[moments of tension.]
How long have you been in this situation?
“I am caught between a rock and a hard place.”
My board or executive committee on one side, my teams on the other. Communicating and deciding become difficult.
“My executive committee goes round in circles. Nobody decides.”
The options have been on the table for months. The deadline is getting closer.
“The decision is made, but nothing moves.”
The plan exists. On the ground, everyone is waiting to see.
“My shareholders, or my partners, are not aligned.”
Everyone has something to gain or lose, and nobody says so.
“The deal is signed, the integration is stalling.”
Merger, acquisition, combination: two teams, two cultures, one organisation to run.
“I have to prove it is worth it.”
Win over those who decide with me, and bring on board those who will deliver.
[our style.]
Straight-talking support.
No corporate speak.
01
We speak plainly.
We tell you what we see, unfiltered. Loyal to you, honest with everyone.
02
We start from your real goals.
Not the ones in the presentation: the ones you are set, the ones you aim for, and what is really blocking. Everything is on the table from the first meeting.
03
We talk to everyone.
Board, executive committee, managers, support functions, front line. We meet each person alone, to hear what is not said in meetings.
04
We open the difficult subjects.
The ones nobody wants to handle because they are too sensitive. That is almost always where everything is decided.
05
We act.
A strategy, a shared roadmap and an action plan that move the whole organisation forward. And we stay until it is done.
[they called us.]
Three CEOs, three issues.
Photo: Giacomo Berardi / Unsplash
Photo: Fabrizio Conti / UnsplashINDUSTRY
Two companies, a combination to build.
A framework set with both companies and their investors.
Read the case
Photo: Max Fitz / UnsplashSERVICES
A three-year course, the whole organisation in the plan.
Over 90% satisfaction among employees involved in the plan.
Read the caseFrequently asked questions.
What is a special advisor to the CEO?
An advisor who stands at the CEO's side on a specific issue they cannot carry alone: a strategic decision, a combination, shareholders to align, a plan that is not being executed. They are loyal to the CEO and honest with everyone who matters in the decision, from the board to the front line. At [engaged.] partner, this role is held by two founding partners, both former CEOs.
How is this different from a strategy consultancy or executive coaching?
We do not deliver a recommendation and leave, and we do not work only with the CEO as a person. We take our place at their side on a specific issue, with everyone who matters in the decision, and we stay until it is done.
Which leaders do you work with?
Chairs, CEOs, partners and executive committee members, in SMEs, mid-sized companies and large groups. What matters is not the size of the company but the issue: a deadline, tension on all sides, a decision impossible to carry alone.
How does a mission work?
The mission follows three steps: the ecosystem of your issue, team engagement, then on the ground. It all starts with 2 hours with the CEO, cards on the table. Each step ends with a deliverable and you decide whether to open the next.
Where do you work?
We are based in Nantes and Paris, and we work across France and Europe, in French and English.