People make companies

Whether they're driving a large scale IT enabled business change programme, leading a major outsource or re-engineering an under-performing technology operation, DAV's people will typically be working at a client's site between 6-12 months, and possibly longer.

Such an extended spell, sometimes in an executive management capacity, requires people who are highly competent leaders, experienced in business, programme and project delivery and technology. These qualities ensure they will understand both the cultural and technical environment in which they are working, and ensure that all parties are engaged in the right way to turn business vision into reality, delivered through a managed programme of change.

DAV people are special individuals, and their desire to leave no stone unturned is what makes the difference between DAV and some of its competitors.

One of the fortes of DAV's people is their unique ability to integrate themselves so well into the client's business that they are frequently seen as being part of the organisation. And yet because they are DAV people and they relish the independence that brings, they can be robust, impartial and tough on decision-making when they have to be.

As well as understanding the business and cultural aspects of the organisations they'll be working in, DAV's people must also be flexible and use their considerable experience gained in the field to play with the cards they're dealt at different companies and in whatever situations arise. That means, for example, knowing the particular characteristics of the people they're working with, including sponsors, opinion formers, supporters, and those that are yet to be convinced. And each one must be treated differently. Often, that means meeting problems head-on: typically forcefully, but always diplomatically, with the customer's best interests in mind.

The DAV article 'People Make Companies' discusses the 'Fried Egg Analogy', the idea that although the project is the yolk, DAV's people have to deal with all the 'egg white' around it; explains who the 'Nancy Reagan' is on a project (i.e. the key influencer with unofficial decision-making power); and concludes with a tale of what life can be like for a DAV consultant trying to make it home from Guatemala.

To read the full 'People Make Companies' article, please click on the adjacent link.