Each year, ES&E invites experts and leaders in environmental consulting to share their opinions, experiences and values with our readers. We continue to be honored every year with erudite responses from some of our leading consulting engineers. Their opinions are based on many years of collective experience in maintaining high standards, while keeping up with the diversity and complexities of environmental engineering and managerial leadership.
Understanding our shifting consulting landscape – narratives versus numbers
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he mission of Consulting Engineers of Ontario is to “promote a sustainable business environment for membersâ€?. Its strategic goals are aimed at shaping public policy through Government Relations, promoting fair procurement and EXVLQHVV SUDFWLFHV DPRQJ PHPEHU ÂżUPV (Client Relations), better communicating the CEO message (Communications and Public Relations) and providLQJ VHUYLFHV LQ VXSSRUW RI PHPEHU ÂżUPV (Member Services). This is all well and good and necessary to enhance the sustainability of RXU LQGXVWU\ DQG PHPEHU ÂżUPV but it doesn’t explicitly address the needs of our clients and our interconnection. Our landscapes are constantly changing, whether we are in the public, private or government sectors. This is a situation that necessitates a periodic re-think of strategy. While we typically use traditional analytical tools (numEHUV WR UHGHÂżQH DQG UHÂżQH WKRVH EXVLness strategies, it has been proposed that a narrative approach may serve us well as we move forward. (Michael G. Jacobides, Harvard Business Review, January-February 2010, pp.77-84) Jacobides feels that the use of words over numbers allows entities to focus on
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the causes of change, allowing enablers to update their strategy constantly. He does this by setting up a playscript, wherein characters and their roles are described, followed by the evolution of plots, sub-plots and story lines. This may seem far-fetched to those of us with technical backgrounds. However, most people can understand and visualize a verbal presentation more easily than they can comprehend the impact of numbers when describing the performance of a sector, company or public entity. Simply put, a playscript is the framework within which the analysis takes place. The outcome is then set up at the corporate and business levels, prior to being translated into the day-to-day opHUDWLQJ OHYHOV LQ D ÂżUP The corporate playscript speaks to value generation, and is further broken GRZQ WR ORRN DW V\QHUJLHV DQG ÂżQDQFLDO sub-plots. The synergies subplot looks at the various parts of an organisation and KRZ WKH\ FROOHFWLYHO\ DGG YDOXH 7KH Âżnancial subplot looks at how the company uses its assets to generate a return. The business playscript is important in that it describes the main players in a sector and how they interact. It covers linkages between companies in the in-
Bill De Angelis, P.Eng., MBA
dustry, and story lines about how competitors in a sector generate value. $ ÂżUP FRQVLGHULQJ WKH SOD\VFULSW DSproach would follow a three-step analysis process, with a fourth step added for implementation: 1. How do we work today? Write current corporate and business playscripts. Describe the current setting in ZKLFK WKH ÂżUP RSHUDWHV OLVWLQJ RWKHU players (including regulators) and their UROHV /RRN DW KRZ \RXU ÂżUP LQWHUDFWV with others in the same sector, then outline your value proposition and how it currently works. 2. How can we be better? Rewrite the playscript, rethinking and reshaping LW WR IDYRXU \RXU ÂżUP /RRN DW ZD\V WR identify and respond to customer needs and at other options for adding value. 3. If we make these changes, are they sustainable? Future-proof the playscript. Make sure it can survive by understanding customer needs and market trends, being aware of competitor actions, and anticipating how others will respond to your approach. 4. Can we actually do this? You need to ensure your organisation is prepared to re-tool to implement the QHZ VWUDWHJ\ ,GHQWLÂżFDWLRQ RI RUJDQLsational capabilities and gaps needs to
Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine
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