get work moving in the right direction and establish a framework to keep activity aligned with goals

The early stages of change are the most critical. Setting the tone, direction and imperative to change and - even more importantly - building the team will either provide the bedrock on which a successful project can thrive or ultimately put delivery at risk.

Creating a clear definition of what success would look like whilst ensuring strong and open stakeholder engagement is at the heart of the approach taken by London Market Consulting.

Frameworks are essential. The nature and style of framework, however, must blend with a business rather than sit above it. London Market Consulting will understand the controls and governance already in place, consider the change required and recommend processes that support - but don't smother - change team players.

understand the health of an in-flight initiative, identify barriers to progress and recommend ways to overcome them

It is inevitable that programmes of change will encounter issues. Results depend on how and when such issues are dealt with.

Symptoms can vary - budget overrun (or even occasionally under-spends), milestone slippage, team unrest or stakeholder conflict to name a few. London Market Consultants are able to recognise symptoms, rapidly trace the root cause and work with the programme team to recommend solutions.

Correcting problems - and implementing actions to help maintain the course - draws deeply on the breadth and depth of experience only gained through delivery of many programmes across a variety of organisations.

working with executives and delivery teams to ensure that objectives, priorities, motivations and resources are correctly aligned

Making change deliver goes far beyond project plans and risk registers. It requires leadership - the most vital element of this leadership coming from within a business's own management team.

A seasoned Change Manager will guide leadership teams through every stage of a change process, avoiding pitfalls, maximising opportunities and helping to overcome any disconnects. Importantly, a change manager's focus will not be diverted during the process - whilst key business players will almost certainly be required to contribute to business imperatives that emerge from time to time

Introducing a change specialist into the process alongside the senior team recognises the complexities and criticalities of changing a business. The process is made more secure by applying highly experienced resource alongside existing specialists.

working with project boards and work-stream leaders to manage risk, flag issues, report progress, manage dependencies and control change

Few organisations function without controls. And few attempt any project without applying some level of control.

Typically, however, cost controls are more advanced than risk management; systems delivery timeframes more closely watched than associated business process change; easily addressed issues more actively managed than those than have the potential to most dramatically affect an outcome.

To redress these imbalances and make delivery of benefits most secure a range of controls must be introduced. Controls should be as light-touch as possible, with time spent understanding necessary detail rather than collecting and collating data.

The prudent and common sense application of controls leaves a programme team in control of the detail whilst remaining in touch with the ultimate aims.

it's not the change that matters - it's all about delivering an improvement in business performance

A business's operational readiness to take an idea and make it fly is often not given the same amount of attention as the associated delivery project. And yet the realisation of goals is nearly always in the hands of the business.

Some organisations require sign off to Profit and Loss statements to ensure a business leader's commitment to making change work. This style does not suit all organisations though, and even where it does, grass roots behavioural, procedural, service levels and staff changes need managing through. Demanding results is not always enough.

London Market Consulting will work with a business to identify how it would like to be operating once the project has successfully delivered. Comparison to today - not the today of procedure manuals but the reality of current operations - will then define the transformation required. The same planning and controls must then be applied as for all other elements of the change.