In the Client's Own Words... |
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| Jeanette Swan
Novartis I began working with Eddie , Susan and the virtual team at Pentacle in 1996 and it was definitely one of my work-life changing experiences.!!!The possibility of creating a 'tomorrows world' but having it today and in doing so creating a true competitive edge vs. others in the way we made our money was truly awesome ! ! As well as harnessing our management team behind a shared vision ,creating energy and momentum for change on the back of a successful business performance record , with a core group of catalysts within our midst , we actually did some courageous things to prepare the future. !! Breaking the mould , we organised in a truly innovative way ,seamlessly aligned with our money making processes. We helped our people to develop new skills and created new ways of working , we re engineered some of our processes and achieved amazing cost and time savings in some areas. We took the first steps in building a new culture as a result. It was about changing before we had to , to stay competitive in our fast moving and complex marketplace.Life interrupted us with a major acquisition but we used our new and different ways of working to create a common framework for our new larger business. Although we didn't achieve everything we set out to do , we did retain some of what we had built , and it has stood the test of time.Looking back I can say that the Pentacle principles were very much ahead of their time!! I attended a Harvard Business school programme last December 2004 and a very well known key note speaker ( whom I have heard speak many times before ) seems to have adopted the Money Making Process language of '' follow the money '' !! which thinking back almost 10 years ,.re -inforces this point. For me personally I recall with great fondness the sessions we had at Beaconsfield ... The chairs , the chocolate biscuits and Eddie in action ....red braces of course !!!! '' One step at a time , Chunks of change , the rules of the money making machines , where's the corking machine ?, fair isn't equal , the fat cigar smoking capitalist and the story of the mackerel flavoured yoghurt '' and may more .... All of this made a huge impression on me , not just because it was entertaining (which it was !!) but because I learnt so much and gained an extended perspective on organisation and business thinking , to challenge and improve the status quo ... It was energising and motivating , stimulating and practically applicable..... The books and exercises were about real life situations , easy to follow and with high "ahhah '' value and always '' grounded in operational reality '' !! This learning I have carried forward in my career and I can honestly say that I have successfully applied and still do apply parts of that Pentacle experience to new work situations and challenges...!! I would like to formally congratulate Eddie and Susan on their Pentacle brain child and on all their success over the past 10 years..They sincerely deserve every credit and recognition and have surely helped to enhance business and organisation practices in many many different companies.!! I am delighted to have shared in their experience and to have met and worked with such lovely and gifted people on such a journey! |
