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Worked with the senior management of a firm that was a relatively
small player in a rapidly consolidating industry. Initial fears
of being acquired by another company motivated a search for
strategic options. The process was used to model the entire
industry to determine both threats and opportunities. Investment
bankers and legal advisors were included in the project team
in addition to industry experts. Target acquisitions were identified,
as were actions to avoid being acquired. Key proprietary technology
held by the client proved to be particularly important. As a
result, the client made several key acquisitions and is now
a leading player in the industry.
Worked with the plant manager of a firm that had manufactured
its product for 50 years. An unavoidable byproduct of the manufacturing
process is a toxic chemical, which had been passed directly
into the environment for most of the plant's history. At the
time of our first involvement, the plant was receiving punishing
daily fines for exceeding acceptable discharges. Game Theory
not only showed the client that funding a new municipal water
treatment plant would create local support, but also showed
that the main danger was not from the community or state Environmental
Protection Agency, but from its own corporate parent. Although
conflict persisted between the plant and government agencies,
having both community and the corporate support the company
was able to continue to prosper.
Worked with the senior management of a firm that had profitably
provided a regulated monopoly service for decades but in recent
years was adapting rapidly to a deregulated market. A crisis
had recently occurred when former customers and a competitor
created a viable alternative infrastructure to provide directly
competing service. Using the process management was able to
realize that the correct strategy was to first use legal delays
to postpone implementation of the competitive system, and then
to build a cooperative relationship with the competitor for
the benefit of all parties. Management also was confronted with
their lack of understanding of the needs of their customers
that was a legacy of their years as a monopoly. This made them
recognize the need to adapt their entire corporate culture to
the new competitive environment.
Typically, our involvement begins 6 months to 1 year prior to
contract expiry. Operational managers and the senior executive
group are engaged to determine preferences for all stakeholders
in the negotiation process. We then model the development of
an initial strategy and subsequently update the model, if necessary,
as the negotiations proceed. In every case, our clients have
reported greater insights through the process and in many cases
previously unexpected positive results were achieved. These
included: a settlement when management thought a strike could
not be averted; dismissal of a confrontational local union leader
by the national union, union acceptance of an early management
offer, and union acceptance of a two-tier wage structure leading
to a significant improvement in the overall manufacturing cost
structure.
Worked with the senior management of a resource company to determine
the best strategic direction to deal with resource rights negotiations
between the company, various levels of governments and numerous
citizens groups. Prior to our process, management felt that
the only way to obtain rights in a timely manner was to offer
a package of benefits to certain players. The modeling session
validated this core strategy but also identified a significant
'creeping commitment' risk involving the transference of leverage
against the company. The company is currently seeking strategies
to reduce the impact of the identified risks. As a further benefit,
the decision team felt that they had gained significant insight
into the interests and behavior of the various stakeholder groups.
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©
2002 CCS Incite Inc.