Company Outline

Kerry Bloor and Jeanette MacLennan have owned and operated timber treatment plants and priming lines in New Zealand and abroad in Vietnam for over 16 years. Their New Zealand based company, Lumber One Limited, is involved with the treatment, priming, and packaging of wood for both local and exported products.  Their Vietnam based enterprise, Timbalink, provides a range of specialist wood processing services to the Vietnamese construction industry. Across the two ventures, Kerry and Jeanette employ almost 100 staff; 68 in New Zealand and 30 in Vietnam.

Problem

The duo noticed a lack of overall cohesiveness and team alignment and were concerned about the consequences this was having on the performance of their companies. They knew that they were not operating at their full potential, so they brought in Nick Harvey of Deep Waters Consulting to help pinpoint the source of their problems. After thorough analysis, Nick reached the conclusion that there was an absence of a strong organisational culture, which was leading to a lack of team engagement and overall connectedness. This wasn’t helped by a shortage of goal setting and personal accountability by the management and the wider team alike. Together, these issues resulted in the lack of direction and stagnated growth which had alerted the owners to seek outside advice.  

Solution

Nick held a mirror up to Kerry and Jeanette as the business leaders, and he made them aware of the importance that goal setting has on the direction a business takes. Together they put in place a variety of clearly defined and challenging goals. Nick had them looking at where they wanted to be in, not only the upcoming quarter, but as far as 10 years down the line. Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) were introduced to add accountability within their businesses; they could be closely monitored to ensure that they were on track to accomplishing their goals. The problem of insufficient team engagement was tackled from the top down. A leadership team was established to set the direction of the companies using their long-term goals as a pillar, which helped to rally the wider team around them, resulting in better engagement of the wider team.

Outcome

Kerry and Jeanette’s companies have gone from strength to strength after making vital business changes in the pursuit of achieving the goals they put in place with Nick. They further developed their skill sets and were able to grow as leaders. They have managed to create a strong culture based on individual and team accountability alike, and have promoted performance through measurement.

Summary

Over the past 8 years, Nick’s relationship with Kerry and Jeanette has grown from not only that of a business consultant and mentor, but that of a trusted friend. The pair consult with Nick on a weekly basis and are reassured with the knowledge that he is only a phone call away when they would like a third-party perspective on any business decisions that arise. With the changes made and the culture created, their companies now have a strong direction, goals put in place, and the means to achieve them.