When you’ve only got seven days to change a business . . . apply TAM

When fast action is needed to turn a business round, just give seven days to apply TAM

With “a relatively slow recovery in economic activity” forecast by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and every business having to adapt to harsh economic conditions, what real, immediate action can businesses take to accelerate sustainable recovery?

A proven methodology that continues to deliver fundamental and deep-rooted strategic change after 30 years is Team Action Management™ – TAM – which delivers visible results from just seven days of executives’ time.

Based on scientific research from Stanford Research Institute, gimmick-free and immune to fashion, TAM’s seven-day programme can lead to company turnaround, a return to profitability or the integration of merged teams into a single successful organisation.

How does TAM change a business in seven days?

Day One – Senior management team members gather off site where a TAM facilitator with real business experience introduces the scope of the programme and licences a TAM manual to each individual member. The team bonds, job titles are dropped and everyone becomes simply a TAM committee member in preparation for the real work ahead.

Day Two – The same facilitator demonstrates how to read and understand a company balance sheet. Fundamental knowledge perhaps, but how many executives can actually do this? Examples are illustrated with graphs and in the afternoon committee members look at practical ways to manage their own financials. Suddenly, everyone starts to understand how the company’s finances work.

Day Three – Simple planning approaches are illustrated with examples and experiences, and new planning tools introduced. A case study presents committee members with issues they’ve never considered before and raises key questions. The day concludes with the team agreeing to request anonymous feedback and opinions from the entire workforce to be posted in TAM collection boxes.

Day Four – The team learn about organisational understanding and strategy planning, now engaging in deep and open discussions on improvements to the company. There’s no defensiveness or departmental jealousy as members now work together as a real team. They discuss the next two-day session: the opening of anonymous feedback from employees.

Day Five – The managing director and finance director stress their full support in the TAM committee and its recommendations before the TAM collection boxes are opened for each feedback form to be filtered and accepted. Generally, feedback is constructive. Groups are allotted to deal with specific areas with no one allowed to handle their own area of prime responsibility.

Day Six – Creating programmes to act on the feedback continues with the TAM forms providing a simple, effective structure. Discussion, de-duplication and agreement results in a final list of projects. The TAM committee now owns the work and is energised to make it happen. Projects are assigned to individuals with support agreed. Company-wide publication of action plans to employees follows along with work on costing and other planning work. A direction, purpose and timescale all now exist.

Day Seven – Two weeks later the TAM committee reconvenes and will now meet monthly. With projects fully costed and revenue opportunities identified, the scale and benefits of planned changes are now obvious. TAM becomes a buzzword in the company as sub-teams are formed to implement projects and involve everyone in making them happen. Based on fair play and inclusion, TAM becomes integral to the daily progress of the business and its success.

Day After Day

Read an expanded account of a participating manager’s ‘Seven Days to Change a Business’ at www.tamplc.com for more details of how, after the initial seven days, the workforce readily adopts the TAM methodology as a natural driver in the everyday life of the business.

When action is needed to change direction fast, TAM delivers in just seven days.

• For full details ofTAMand how its seven-day programme can change your business, please callPhilip Webb, chief executiveofTAM (UK) plc, on07711 008350or any of the dedicated TAM team on0114 299 8885, or visitwww.tamplc.com

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