Page 494 - Operations Strategy

caSe STudy
16 The ThoughT Space parTnerShip

nigel Slack

We need radical change
‘It was a total shambles. Thought Space is supposed to be one of the leading creative companies
in this part of the world. Yet we manage to come over as being indecisive and inefficient. We
always used to boast that we had the three Cs – creativity, commercialism and competence. We
had some of the best minds who were capable of the most creative solutions, we understood the
commercial priorities of our clients and we always delivered on time, and on budget. Not in this
case. The Cityscope project has been dogged by confusion and problems from the beginning;
we ought to rename the three Cs as confusion, criticism and chaos. Nor have we ever had such
bad publicity. OK, so it was not an easy assignment. The overall purpose and objectives were
never that clear and there was political interference from the start. The city council approved
the money but against such opposition that it was always going to be controversial. Also the
sponsors were being leaned on, politically. Some didn’t really want to contribute at all. On top
of that, the whole project was managed by committee. Some of them thought it was a kind of
theme park, others that it should be a museum, for some it was a performance space, for others
an Expo.
Yet we can’t blame them entirely. We should have known what kind of project it was. The
real point is that we might have been able to offer a leadership role if it wasn’t for our inability
to recognise the project for what it was. The different perceptions of each department in the
Partnership reflected the differences within the project itself. ‘ “Events” saw it as a cross between
an exposition and a performance. “3D design” saw it as some kind of gallery or museum.
“Technical Solutions” thought of it more as a theme park. “Graphics” just saw it as a nuisance.
None of them ever really worked together. They may be experts in their field but this type of
project called for some creative collaboration. It also called for some fast footwork as ideas
developed and as the political processes within our client group began to be evident. Relying
on a single project coordinator was crazy. Even an experienced guy like Gordon, could not get
everyone to pull together.
The real point is that large complex projects like this will soon become our main business.
Depending on how you define our assignments, around a third of our business is already heav-
ily cross-functional, we can’t afford to have “Tech Solutions” pleasing themselves what they
develop, “Events” always seeking high-profile business, irrespective of the internal chaos it
causes, “3D design” seeing themselves as the real creative ones and “Graphics” virtually declar-
ing independence. No, I would scrap the whole functional organisation. We need to form dedi-
cated but temporary teams for each assignment. These could then both integrate the various
skills we have and understand the exact nature of the task we are being set. They could respond
flexibly and appropriately to each assignment. When not engaged on a particular assignment,
staff could carry out some of the more routine departmentally based work. We are supposed
to be one of the most creative partnerships in the business. Why can’t we be creative with our
own organisation?’
(Caroline Hesketh, Creative Partner)

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