Time spent together: one and a half days

Time spent on the actual presentation: 25 minutes.

What else happened? During the mediated session the following emerged:

1. There were serious resourcing problems for this contract should it come off. However, the people who knew this remained silent, not wishing to burst the boss's bubble of enthusiasm or be seen to be negative in any way. This was a creative team with a can-do attitude. Saying 'no' was not an option.
2. It was discovered that the MD (also the owner of a company that had been family owned for over 150 years) was frustrated with his role and his team knew this. He had ideas and interests for developing the business.
3. It was assumed by everyone that the core business had to stay. No one dared say that it was time to close it down or reduce the importance of it so they could concentrate on new opportunities that would secure the company's future. The core business was consuming resources, including skilled people, and therefore adding risks to anything new.
4. Meetings were becoming all consuming. They were also frustrating because not everyone could attend when they were needed. Colleagues understood why they could not attend and yet they still became frustrated that decisions took so long.

Outcome:

1. More junior staff found the courage to speak up and share the knowledge they had. A better understanding of the opportunities and risks allowed them all to design a risk management programme.
2. The MD decided to redesign his current role and do what he most wanted to do within the business. He had the full support of the rest of the team for the transition. A very happy MD and a very happy team. Subsequently, he has been able to develop the future business with outstanding results.
3. The company decided to reduce the traditional business in order to focus on new technologies. They could do so in a way that was the least destructive to the business and to their existing customer base. They knew they needed a migration plan and what that plan would need to include.
4. They decided only to have meetings when one of them needed a meeting. They agreed to honour the request - even if it was the most junior member of the team making the request. This may have been the hardest insight to implement since it is counter intuitive.

Presentation:

The presentation came together very quickly because everyone was very clear about why they wanted the business and why it would be good for their future wellbeing. The presentation was very short and very powerful. The presentation team had found a deep-seated confidence about their future direction and what would serve that so the could answer any questions the interview panel might have in a way which was good for their businesses and themselves.

The presentation went very well. They were advised within 30 minutes that they were on the preferred supplier list. The following day they received a call and their first significant piece of work. Value circa £250,000.