Case Studies

Our clients span a wide range of industries and issues. Clients value the multi-disciplinary perspectives we bring, along with stakeholder involvement techniques that build the commitment for sustained success.

Here is a sample of the projects we have conducted, presented as brief case studies. Terry Schmidt served as project manager or principal consultant on in each one.

Develop Strategic Plans for U.S. Supercomputer Leadership –

National Nuclear Security Agency

Situation Snapshot:
Maintaining global leadership in supercomputer development is a U.S. national priority. The driving force has been the National Nuclear Security Agency’s Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) program. ASC unites the resources of three national laboratories (Livermore, Los Alamos and Sandia) with computer manufacturers and university researchers. Their goal is to develop and deploy advanced capabilities that can simulate nuclear weapons tests to ensure the safety and reliability of the nation’s nuclear stockpile without underground testing. While the various labs and programs all had individual plans, the lack of a single overarching plan resulted in overlap and gaps.

Align Computer Systems –

Boeing Company

Situation Snapshot:
The Boeing 787 is a breakthrough aircraft that utilizes a supply chain of partners around the world to build various parts of the plane. Doing so efficiently required that the computer systems of the various partners be synchronized so that information flows on a timely basis. But these systems were not originally intended to communicate with each other. Breakdowns in communications occurred between Boeing and other supplier platforms in other countries, which delayed rollout.

Lean the Global Supply Chain –

Timex Group

Situation Snapshot:
The Timex Group produces several hundred different watches under multiple brand names. Their supply and manufacturing operations took place in many different countries. It was a huge challenge to make sure that their supply chain was smoothly aligned to ensure the right watches in the right quantities were produced and distributed through multiple layers and players to reach retail and online outlets.

Launch a Major Information Technology Initiative –

PATH Global HealthCare

Situation Snapshot:
PATH is a nonprofit global leader which delivers health care in developing countries. PATH operates overseas programs funded by the World Health Organization, USAID, the Gates Foundation, and other donors. With major new projects and rapid expansion of field operations in many countries, their systems became overburdened. In particular, their finance and human resource management systems were no longer adequately serving field or headquarters staff.

Combat Fraud Schemes –

DirecTV

Situation Snapshot:
DirecTV is a national leader in providing satellite television service. The many different entities involved in marketing, installing, and delivering broadcast signals have made DirecTV and other providers vulnerable to a variety of organized fraud schemes, such as identity theft and fraudulent credit card use. Two separate departments needed to work together to combat these problems.

Integrate Multiple Companies –

Robbins Research International Inc.

Situation Snapshot:
Before Anthony Robbins became the world’s best known performance coach, he found himself burdened with nine different companies with little synergy amongst them, and a series of effective but disconnected workshops. Tony hired Terry to provide strategic planning to Anthony Robbins and his executive team.

Manage Comprehensive Training Programs –

Washington State Department of Ecology

Situation Snapshot:
The Washington State Department of Ecology chose us to design and deliver their largest ever management training program. This one year program would upgrade the skills of 80 mid-level managers in a number of critical areas.

Create Leading Engineering University in Southeast Asia –

King Monghut University, Thailand

Situation Snapshot:
King Monghut University of Technology, Thonburi (KMUTT) was a middle-ranked university in Thailand that offers many programs. Their Faculty of Engineering, with some 200 instructors, has committed itself to upgrading and transforming itself so they can graduate more talented students capable of working internationally as “global champions” and operating effectively in Thailand as “knowledge entrepreneurs”.

Create Enterprise Revitalization Plans –

U.S. Department of Energy

Situation Snapshot:
The Department of Energy’s National Training Center (NTC) is responsible for training personnel who protect government and commercial nuclear assets from theft, disruption, and attack. Over the years as the threat profile changed, their training methods had become antiquated and the courses needed updating.

Build Management Culture and Systems –

Blizzard Entertainment

Situation Snapshot:
Blizzard Entertainment is the global leader in mass participation online games, with over 10 million customers worldwide paying monthly fees to play World of Warcraft™ and other games. This high-spirited company was growing fast, but the management team came from a “gamer culture,” which sometimes considered management systems to be “corporate BS.” Although approaching one billion dollars in sales, the company had never formally defined their mission, vision, and values.

Leverage Six Sigma –

Sony Electronics

Situation Snapshot:
When Sony Electronics wanted to further improve the quality of their monitors and laptop computers, they trained internal staff to implement a Six Sigma Total Quality Management (TQM) program. Successful implementation of TQM required strategic thinking and client engagement skills which were missing from traditional TQM curriculums. We were hired to build those skills.

Streamline Government Operations –

Washington State Efficiency Commission

Situation Snapshot:
People who enjoy fishing in the state of Washington were forced to buy their licenses from two different departments, depending on the type of fish they sought. The Department of Fisheries issued licenses for salmon and trout, while steelhead licenses were handled by the Department of Wildlife. This overlap resulted in duplicate systems and staff. We were selected to guide a special task force charged with streamlining the licensing operations by integrating overlapping systems.

Develop Long-range Energy R&D Plans –

Sandia National Laboratory

Situation Snapshot:
Energy independence and security is a major US national priority. Sandia National Laboratory’s Energy Center (6100) is a key player in conducting research projects to keep the national energy grid safe, secure, and free of cyberterrorism, as well as to integrate renewables into the grid.

Manage Spectacular Growth –

B.E. Meyers & Co. Inc.

Situation Snapshot:
B.E. Meyers & Co. is a leader in applying innovative electro-optics technology to national security, defense and civilian purposes. For example, their non-lethal vision disruption laser (GLARE) – used by U.S. forces in Iraq to slow down vehicles approaching checkpoints – has dramatically reduced civilian fatalities. Success of this system and other breakthrough products resulted in spectacular 300% growth in one year!

Win the Peace –

Sultanate of Oman

Situation Snapshot:
In the mid-1970s, the Sultanate of Oman’s Dhofar Region was wracked by insurgents from Yemen who organized the local population to rebel against the government. After years of fighting, the rebels surrendered. Having won the war, attention then shifted to “winning the peace,” a much tougher job. We were called in to help.

Achieve Strategic Alignment –

Port of Seattle

Situation Snapshot:
The Port of Seattle needed a single strategic roadmap to integrate various plans and policies. These include Port Commission policies, the recommendations from a community advisory committee, their mission statement, the Seaport’s 20-year vision, the 5-year business plan, and the budgets. They needed to unify these separate plans.

Reduce Threat of Dirty Bombs –

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Situation Snapshot:
In decades past, the U.S. government has licensed thousands of sealed radioactive sources to industry and to universities for medical research. But no process existed to permanently dispose of these sources when no longer needed or wanted. This constituted a potential health and safety risk to U.S. citizens. In the wrong hands, these materials could be used by terrorists to make dirty bombs.

Gear Up Fast When the Stakes Are High –

Washington State Dept. of Agriculture

Situation Snapshot:
When the Asian Gypsy Moth entered the forests of the Pacific Northwest via Siberian freighters docking in U.S. ports, this voracious pest threatened to cause environmental and economic damage estimated at $34 billion. Executing an eradication plan would require expanding the responsible Washington State Department of Agriculture team from 3 to 300 people in just 8 weeks. They asked us to help them gear up and get moving before the weather became warm enough for the moths to quickly hatch and spread.

Consolidate Duplicate IT Systems –

AEGON USA

Situation Snapshot:
After the Fortune 500 company AEGON USA acquired Transamerica and several other insurance companies, their Information Technology Services division needed to consolidate overlapping facilities and redundant services. AEGON identified over 100 projects underway in different locales, but the project plans lacked clarity and alignment with central strategies. Their geographically dispersed team members needed to collaborate, but their roles were unclear. Confusion and duplication of effort was obvious.

Enhance Service Delivery for R&D Support –

UCLA Academic Technology Service

Situation Snapshot:
UCLA is a world leader in research, education, and public service. When their Academic Technology Service (ATS) needed superior ways to deliver technology resources and services to on-campus researchers, they turned to us. They also wanted to increase faculty utilization of their state-of-the-art facilities, which include a Technology Sandbox and Visualization Portal.

Build a Solid Organization –

Washington State Auditor’s Office

Situation Snapshot:
The Washington State Auditor wanted to take a fresh look at his agency’s mission, goals and strategy. The Auditor was motivated to provide better customer service, ensure policy consistency, and achieve compliance with financial requirements when his staff carries out their annual performance review of every State government agency.

Create a New Service Organization –

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Situation Snapshot:
During a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory reorganization, their networking, LAN, and technical support services were centralized. These services had previously been delivered to 8,000 desktop users throughout several research directorates. Under the new matrix management structure, all services would originate from one department. This required a new organizational structure and operational procedures for users and support services.

Gain Market Share –

Guggenheim Dental

Situation Snapshot:
Guggenheim Dental Supply Company, a major Southern California distributor, faced strong competition in a market where product demand was flat. Dentists were seeking better ways to improve the profitability of their practices, a trend Guggenheim saw as an opportunity.

Improve Internal Operations –

Holiday Group

Situation Snapshot:
Holiday Group is a national leader in time share resales, and the first company to market exclusively on the Internet. However, they never had an integrated plan and their internal departments experienced conflict. In addition, many new industry entrants made competition tougher.

Improve Project Design and Handoff –

U.S. Agency for International Dev., Thailand

Situation Snapshot:
The U.S. government’s foreign aid program provides billions of dollars annually in soft loans and grants to developing countries. These funds support innovative and pilot projects in health, education, agriculture, and industry.

Strengthen Multi Country Research –

Caribbean Agriculture Research & Dev. Institute

Situation Snapshot:
The Caribbean Agriculture Research and Development Institute (CARDI) is a collaborative organization comprised of 11 Eastern Caribbean and other small nations who pool their technical talent to conduct farming systems research in a variety of livestock, poultry and crop arenas. CARDI planning and administration was difficult because the small research centers in each country spanned five time zones and different agro-economic conditions. Financial transactions occurred in six different currencies. Employees came from several different cultures and different technical disciplines.