Internal projects naturally drive additional business activity and costs but our experience at ThinkEvans indicates they do not always result in an appropriate return on investment. So what is going wrong? Here we look at some of the classic issues we see in businesses and suggest a few actions to start successfully delivering the projects…
Tag: innovation
Productivity and Fair Work final report released
Client: the Australian Business Foundation The NSW Business Chamber has published online the final report of the project Productivity and Fair Work, an independent project led by the Australian Business Foundation Engaged by the Australian Business Foundation, ThinkEvans undertook research and investigation into how the Fair Work system impacts the productivity of businesses in Australia….
Is your organisation organised?
Before making organisational design decisions that will be productive and sustainable, enabling sound planning for the future, the organisation needs to be able to articulate its current state clearly. Already cringing? This is more than just consultant-speak or HR waffling: it is as simple as knowing where you are so you can work out…
Fair Enough?
Client: the Australian Business Foundation The team at ThinkEvans has today submitted its research report entitled Fair Enough? Investigating Productivity & the Contribution of the Fair Work System. The report is the outcome of investigations conducted as part of a project by the Australian Business Foundation, Productivity and Fair Work. “After conducting nearly 70 interviews with…
(No) Coffee on the road … in Japan!
Congratulations to our long time office support chap, Alan, as he leaves today for a scholarship semester at the Hijiyama University in Hiroshima, Japan. Alan, who has more recently become our adviser on languages, will study several subjects to complete a major in Japanese language as part of his degree programme. The innovation of having…
Is it Fair Enough?
Client: The Australian Business Foundation Fair Enough? A study of Australia’s productivity performance and the Fair Work system ThinkEvans has been retained by the Australian Business Foundation to investigate and report on Australia’s productivity performance. The particular focus of this independent study is the extent to which characteristics of the Fair Work System may promote or…
Preliminary sustainability briefing – Timor Leste
Client: Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart Second preliminary briefing on sustaining projects in evolving circumstances – Timor Leste Following on the recent trip to Timor Leste to see first hand the projects under way there and assess the microeconomic climate for achieving sustainable capacity development, the team will make a preliminary…
A new category of travel
Client: Inspiring Journeys (part of AAT Kings in The Travel Corporation Group) Launched in February 2011, Inspiring Journeys is well on the way to becoming a leading tour operator in Australia, specialising in experiential touring with journeys that focus on discovery, exploration, learning by doing and relaxation. The ThinkEvans team has made a variety of strategic contributions…
Coffee on the “road” … in Timor!
We really aren’t kidding about our whole coffee thing! This time around Managing Director Carolyn Evans and Creative Consultant Roslyn Hull have been experiencing the roads all around Timor Leste – no longer the most recent member of the United Nations but still awaiting their 10th anniversary of membership. Discovering “cafe Timor”, the local brew,…
Board challenges in nonprofit enterprise
Client: Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart A seminar was presented for over 70 board members from various not-for-profit enterprises working under the auspices of the Congregation. A variety of issues in good governance, board performance and succession planning will be addressed, in particular re-examining the purpose of the enterprise,…
Testing
Perhaps the biggest challenge for any writer is when they actually hear their words spoken by another – and the first time particularly so! So when Roslyn’s play The Test was chosen as one of the top 110 plays in the Sydney Short + Sweet Festival, we were all on the edge of our seats in sympathy…
The mystique of franchising holds past the (latest) GFC
Does franchising look more than ever to be the new black for small business? asks Tanya van der Wall and Carolyn Evans. Revisiting a paper developed originally for our client, the Australian Business Foundation, the team reviews signals that franchising is becoming a business model in itself, not just a vehicle for growth or a phase…
Preliminary sustainability briefing – Peru
Client: Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart First preliminary briefing on sustaining projects in evolving circumstances – Peru Following on the recent visit to Peru to see first hand the projects under way there and assess the microeconomic climate for achieving sustainable capacity development, the team have made a preliminary debrief…
Sustaining projects in evolving circumstances
Client: Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart Following on from series of papers developed for the NSW, SA, New Zealand, Queensland and Victoria Provinces to address issues of sustainability in institutional ministries, this work will now be extended to the works under the auspices of the Congregation.
Shine on!
It would be hard to find anyone who becomes more immersed in their work than our Ros! Seen here “in character” as a fairy, just think how she looks when being “Mrs Bunyip” for which she is famous with thousands of school children who have visited Canberra in recent years. So just when you thought…
Shiny!
It is no secret that we are very proud of our up and coming team members – not least Sharna, who has been with us since graduating from her double degree and completing her honours year. But wait – there’s more! We have just received confirmation that Sharna has been accepted to commence her PhD…
Inside the Innovation Matrix
Client: the Australian Business Foundation Subtitled ‘finding the hidden human dimensions’, this book is a compendium of expert papers from academics and business leaders that probe into the process of innovation to better understand the intricacies involved. Carolyn Evans, Managing Director of ThinkEvans, led this project on behalf of our client, the Australian Business Foundation….
Vail Alexander Solzhenitsyn, старший раскольник
Closer to the dawn of time, when I was at high school, the nerds of a generation got their illicit jollies by reading really daring, subversive things like One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. Subversive for both left and right – left because it discredited the communist motherland, right because well, it was…
Vive le revolution!
We are big fans of the ‘marketing chick’ (of unknown gender) who lurks on the team of our local pub. How so? Point 1: the pub will gear up and ‘celebrate’ at the drop of a hat, and show no signs at all of the sentiments found elsewhere (say, around a randomly selected stockmarket over…
Decision making for growth
Client: NSW Department of State & Regional Development Based on the success of the events programme in 2007, this was essentially an operations plan for 2008. The ask was to deliver a new series of events and to operate an online discussion forum for women engaged in manufacturing businesses. Based on this plan, a year…
On globalising research
Client: Centre for Defence And Industry Systems Capability and the University City Project, Premier’s Department (South Australia) This discussion paper was intended to engender debate in the defence and related industries present in South Australia about the opportunities that may emerge over an extended time horizon.
Ready to Grow
Client: NSW Department of State & Regional Development This exploratory engagement was undertaken to engender involvement of women in manufacturing businesses of all sizes. Essentially a programme of 6 events through 2007, women were engaged from sole trader manufacturers right through to women in the operations of Australia’s largest manufacturing businesses.
Service Desk Report Card
Client: CSC (Australia) Task – a computer services provided to many major Australian organisations and others around the world, CSC Australia requested an independent assessment of the performance of their service desk. Based on our observations on customer service, a full report to the company was provided; however, we also developed a submission on the…