Guest Blog by Sam Mead: How many consultants does it take to jumpstart a car?

I would say ‘it depends’ … a typical consultant answer.

This was the situation we faced as a collective of experts in their field with over a combined 300 years’ experience on the first day of a global Summit to identify and align how might we unlock the power of the collective.

We did get the car jump started; it only required two by the way. The summit was underway.

A car that won’t start may also be considered a metaphor for organisations that need external expertise. Something is not working and needs fixing. Accurate diagnosis of the situation, having the right people, capability and intent are a few of the ingredients to get your car running like a dream.

The Pure Blue Ocean Summit, the brainchild of Duncan Cawdell, Managing Partner at Pure Blue Ocean, had a vision: how might we partner better together to enable clients to achieve their ‘blue ocean’—their possibility, their best self, or their car to be atop the podium of whatever race and sector they are competing in?

Organisations, like cars, have lots of moving parts. When it works as it was intended, the purr of the engine creates the speed and momentum to travel far and wide. When it does not work, it’s about finding the right mechanic that won’t rip you off or stuff you around and hope they can get you back on the road as soon as possible with the least amount of time, cost and effort required.

Consultants, like mechanics and all professions, can be effective and ineffective. It is a privilege to be invited into a business to help it grow. The practice of consulting is to unlock growth within a business that it's unable to achieve on its own.

It is a specific field and can be bucketed up into 3 key areas:

1. Organisational consulting – how well is the overall car running, and are the parts working as they should? It’s the alignment of strategy to the operating model and the execution of that strategy with your people and customer.
2. Functional training – the nuts-and-bolts capabilities that we know have a positive impact on performance, people, and customers. These first two areas are about what the organisation is focused on doing.
3. Leadership and culture – this is the how and why. The collective mindset and behaviours of the organisation and how that impacts outcomes. The leader’s behaviour—how they drive the car—will determine how well it runs.

The PBO Summit explored these areas of focus, and it was an honour to listen, learn and share how a collective of experts across these three fields can be a fuel injection into organisations.

The difference between this collective and the multitude of offers out there was the humans in the room. We take our work seriously; we don’t take ourselves seriously.

The authenticity, playfulness and passion of this group is what most excited me. The quality of the humans, paired with extensive experience in the core areas that identify, build, and embed sustainable value, is a powerful offer.

An exciting proposition awaits. More to come on how this pit crew can help you. To find out more contact us: help@pureblueocean.com