Response to Brief

The Background

Reading between the lines it appears that Martin and Elena have combined forces to form IKOS, with Martin apparently strongly in the technical aspects of Hedge Fund creation and Development supported by Elena who in addition appears to have strong Marketing/Sales and Administrative Skills.
Both Partners have been heavily involved in all aspects of the Business and are still the major contributors to the Business. As the Business has grown it has divided and multiplied creating Technical and Commercial functions within the Business, each with their distinct separate and important sets of needs, and resource demands.
Each partner is responsible for approximately 20 staff, directly or indirectly, and staff feeling that they can interrupt Partners, and challenge them in similar ways to the way it was in the early stages of growth.
Moving forward and growing whilst retaining the old “start-up” culture creates many demanding issues for Partners and Staff. These issues affect perceptions, motivation and performance, and need to be addressed and channelled into a higher performing and professional Customer /Stakeholder delivery performance, through Staff Recruitment, Training and Development. This level and volume of pressure of work, business and staff needs is extremely demanding, and can be positively de-motivational and at times depressing at a human level. Few people consider partners as people; Partners are somehow regarded as “superhuman”, and to a certain extent that has been true in achieving the present position.
Some of the staff that were original contributors to the business may no longer be the valuable asset they once were, and may become disruptive or difficult, and use the previous relationships with Partners to maintain the currency of their power, knowing that the Partners would have great difficulty in disciplining/dismissing them.

Growth and Expansion

It would appear that with growth and expansion a number of factors have become evident:
1. The pressure of performing as a major Business contributor, and in a Managerial Role, is difficult and demanding. It also means that unless it was planned and managed, Martin and Elena have suffered personal difficulties due to conflicting demands of the need, for the Business to be managed and directed more effectively to support increasing Customer, Stakeholder and Management/Staff demands.
2. There is a clear need to determine and define a structure that meets the demands of the Business, its Customers and stakeholders, as well as the needs of Management and staff. (Partners are included as Staff/Management).
3. The Resources available and the demands placed upon them demand a highly professional “Project Management” set of disciplines that need to become the cornerstone of Business Development, and Projects planned and delivered in a Professional Business manner by Project Managers who may very well exist within the Company.
4. There appear to be very many projects underway, and undertaken. It would be nice to see the defined Project Manager, with Project Plans, Objectives, review and implementation strategies, with completion and delivery schedules, with the Resource and risk implications identified etc.
5. As a result there appears to be a series of relatively immediate requirements:

5.1 The development of a clear Organisation Structure with defined Goals and Targets that relieves the Partners of the continuously increasing pressures to which they have been subjected during the Company’s growth. Probably a version of a Project Management Matrix structure, with clear Project delivery methodology, reporting structure, and quantifiable outcomes. The following issues are equally relevant to the “Technical Research” areas of the Business as well as the Commercial areas of the Business.
5.1.1 Recruit, develop, and train replacements for Martin and Elena.
5.1.2 To redefine the Roles and responsibilities of Martin and Elena, with less of the daily demands of Customers and Staff. More effective delegation to release their Entrepreneurial resource to review what they have achieved, and what more they can achieve with the resources now available to them.
5.1.3 Develop a high performing Management Team (Including Research/Technical)of which Martin and Elena are part, that Manages and directs, drives and manages the Organisation, its strategy, projects and Business Objectives and Mission. The Management Team are responsible for the Business and its performance, any issues that exist prior to the setting up and operating of the Management Team, become its ongoing responsibility
5.2 Identification of individuals capable of delivering the performance required.
5.2.1 Staff Job descriptions
5.2.2 Staff/Management Appraisal
5.2.3 Management/Leadership Training and Development.
5.2.4 Motivation
5.2.5 Change Management.
5.2.6 Reward and Compensation (including share option/company ownership and participation considerations).
5.2.7 Company/Personal Training Plans to meet identified needs
5.3 Identification of skill and competency Gaps, Organisational and performance gaps, or risks.
5.4 Recruitment Plan to fill any gaps, with clear definition of Role, responsibility and performance contribution.
5.5 Management Team need to define key performance indicators and review Customer and Stakeholder satisfaction levels regularly against them.
5.6 Determine areas of best practice and benchmark against them e.g.

5.6.1 Technical Research/Business/IT areas collaborating with Universities and Research institutions to maintain leading edge position and provide a channel for recruiting “new blood”, new technology, and new products ( Chair in Hedge Fund Strategy – Major Business School or Oxford and Cambridge)(MIT style)
5.6.2 In House research facility linked to University
5.6.3 In house training and Development programme offered to Universities for their Research and Doctorate candidates, moderated by IKOS staff.
5.6.4 Determine robust IT systems that are integrated both Technically and Administratively incorporating Sales, Marketing, HRM self service, Finance, Compensation, CRM, capable of delivering Global support, Culturally and linguistically.

6 The development of an Integrated Management Team, with integrated systems and processes, supporting and facilitating, Customers, stakeholders, Partners, Management and staff, together with an intensive programme of Change Management formally, Coaching, counselling, mentoring etc will achieve a significant change in Cultural and performance norms. But the change programme will become an ongoing part of IKOS culture. Making it more able to respond to changing demands of Market, Customers, Stakeholders, Management and Staff. ( attached brief PowerPoint example of Change Management introduction)
7 Communications and reporting systems need to be more formal and robust in order to reinforce the changed culture, keep all parties informed of Company wide issues and feel more part of the Business, and enable every body to feel that they have an open channel of communication. (Robust, “friendly” IT System that requires communication and interactive Management/ Customer/ Staff dialogue). Changing communication methodology, and enabling remote Customers/ Stakeholders/ Individuals still feel part of the Company. It will also be useful to provide key performance measures, responses, response times, project progress etc


Conclusion


At times it is said that it is easier to deal with a Company that fails, than one that succeeds, because of the problems associated with growth, in personal and Organisational terms.
Companies that succeed are definitely demanding, and people that succeed with them are people who view growth and change as an opportunity, not a threat or imposition.
IKOS has an interesting set of opportunities with which to move forward. I am more than capable of delivering into all of the issues outlined above, and look forward to the challenge.
My motivation is the personal challenge of this situation, having lived through the Partner Experience in setting up my own group of companies.
I have produced this Outline response to the brief as a “Blog” with additional supporting Blogs as suggested resource links.
My strengths are my creativity, determination, resourcefulness and tenacity to deliver bottom line performance and excellence in everything I do, and my biggest weakness is that I think and feel that if I can do it, so can others. This weakness make me very empathetic to the needs of individuals, and my perception of their capabilities.