The following business case studies demonstrate typical strategic engagements for L.B. Day & Co. If we may be of assistance with your company's unique problem, contact us for a discussion about how our strategic consultants might help.
Company 1: Realigning Organization for New Corporate Goals
A mid-sized company with a new CEO was over-reliant on one major customer, and was facing a newly challenging business environment. Concerned that the company might not survive the loss of the main customer, the CEO hired L.B. Day & Company for strategic assistance. L.B. Day & Company guided the executive team in developing challenging new corporate goals and desired results. They then led each department in planning and committing to actions to reach the corporate goals. The corporation’s performance has since improved, departments are sharing resources, and the company has expanded its market share and reduced dependence on its large customer.
Company 2: Uniting Internal Divisions Around a Strategic Direction
A company with superior expertise in a particular technology permanently lost business to lesser-priced competitors, and so decided to add production capacity to create a design/build capability as a saleable commodity. However, when they tried to combine the design and manufacturing subcultures, everyone resisted. The possible new markets had no waiting customers, and people were unwilling to take the resources to develop them from their present (remaining) business. The executive team called on L.B. Day & Company to help develop a marketing strategy that would effectively reposition the company. Working with key members of the design and manufacturing functions, L.B. Day & Company first helped them define a corporate culture all parties could support and achieve. They then positioned the company into several high-potential markets, created a fresh corporate identity, and developed an effective branding strategy. The company’s efforts have been rewarded with success, and it has been able to maintain its U.S.-based design and manufacturing jobs.
Company 3: Smoothing and Uniting Corporate Vision after M&A
Intent on market domination, a large company acquired a smaller technical organization. However, the match between the large company and the smaller one was such a misfit that the top talent of the acquisition threatened to quit. L.B. Day & Company led key executives of both companies through a strategic planning process in which they developed a plan to move ahead that everyone felt was strategically and culturally satisfactory. All key players have remained with the company, and it is rapidly gaining market share in the segments targeted with the new acquisition.
Company 4: Overcoming Executive Discord through Accountability
The executive team of a company was in turmoil. A disgruntled CFO had attempted to lead a coup against its CEO in a time of extreme market disarray. The board of directors called in L.B. Day & Company to unite the team and get them to define and commit to a winning market plan. Concentrating on the need to address the market, L.B. Day & Company worked with the executives on their team issues and helped them develop a plan that addressed the issues of the fast-changing market. They defined what each member would do under the plan, and everyone agreed and subsequently followed through. The executive team, including the same CEO and CFO, now functions well, and the plans they set carried the company through its worst times.
Company 5: Business Improvement and Operational Realignment following M&A
A Fortune 500 consulting firm called on L.B. Day & Company to design and lead a strategic planning process for a client company that had just acquired a division located 12,000 miles from its headquarters. The new division was experiencing tremendous conflict with its new parent company over lack of profitability and the parent’s management style. L.B. Day & Company assessed the organization, led the acquired division through an in-depth operational alignment and strategic planning process, and as a result of their improved functionality and the plans they laid, in the next year the new division was the most profitable in the company.