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WHAT WE DO

What David Manning Consulting can offer your organisation.

Critical analysis of your organisation, advice, coaching and mentoring of you and your senior leadership team, in order to refocus your organisation and strategy. Thereby enabling continued growth and commercial success set within a complex and unstable globalised world. 

STRATEGY

"Strategy is a process, not an endpoint. It is a process of problem-solving in circumstances where much is outside one’s ability to control (in physics terms, an open, complex system), placing a premium on learning and rapid adaptation to develop integrated ways of achieving essential ends."
- General James Mattis

WHY DO YOU NEED A STRATEGY?

  • Organisations need a vison and end state to continue to adapt to a rapidly changing world – without a strategy organisations cannot keep up with their competitors and, worst case, the lack of vision creates inertia which causes the organisation to atrophy.

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  • As with any journey, you need an ‘end’ before you can undergo that journey.

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  • The journey is the ‘way’ you are undertaking it and the ‘means’ are the tools you require to enable the ways to reach your desired end state or vision.

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  • Good strategy should be 3 to 5 years in length with each year having clear deliverables by named accountable leaders.

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  • The Board needs to own and be unified in delivering the strategy.

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  • But the Strategy needs to be flexible to be able to cope with any shocks; however,  the end state needs to be constant – the journey may change and adapt as required.

Image by Julian Hochgesang

HOW CAN DMC HELP?

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”
- John Maxwell

David can:

  • Coach or mentor you and your leadership team by understanding the strategic context that your organisation is working in, or about to enter, from an independent and constructive viewpoint.

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  • Coach or mentor the development of your organisation’s long-term strategy utilising best practice with an eye to the future and emerging global opportunities.

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  • Coach or mentor your team to devise a clear vision for your company with a realistic and achievable end state.

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  • Advise on how to turn the strategy into a plan by understanding the ‘ways’ to achieve your strategic vision and understanding the ‘means’ available or required to enable success.

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  • Advise your team to devise clear measures of effectiveness or key performance indicators to ensure the strategic plan enables strategic success. 

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  • Best practice in the strategic management of the numerous and varied risks to your organisation. 

Beauty in Nature

COACHING

Guiding a person or organisation along a journey to enable them to achieve their desired end state – be that solving a professional or personal challenge or problem – via non-direct engagement. Coaching does not tell you the answer, it enables you to get to it.

MENTORING

Advising, guiding and offering wisdom based on significant professional experience.​

STRATEGIC ADVICE

  • Utilising extensive leadership training and education.

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  • The benefit of military-based decision-making at pace to enable your organisation to

plan for and cope with strategic shock.

 

  • The benefit and experience of board level, operational command, crisis management

and transformational leadership within complex environments to offer and alternative approach to enhance your output and ultimately increase profits.

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  • Viewing Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats through a different set of

lenses with a view to finding innovative solutions to problems – breaking the conventional mould.

 

  • Providing disruptive critical advice to politely and considerately

challenge the status quo to create the space to innovate.

Bridge into the Woods

EXAMPLES OF WORK

UK Defence Company: David is currently the strategic advisor and aviation consultant to a small company which is growing rapidly. He is advising on company restructuring and strategy development. 

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Oversees Client: David has provided aviation subject matter expertise for a procurement strategy.

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Ministry of Defence (RAF), UK – Air Mobility Force Commander: David commanded the Royal Air Force’s Air Mobility Force (medium sized airline) comprising c60 various types of aircraft employed on global operations and c7000 people with annual running costs of £153M as part of a c£800M pa Enterprise.  He devised and led a complete refocus of the organisation with a new strategy ahead of the 2021 Kabul Airlift while developing rapidly A400M capabilities to enable it to replace the C130J.

 

Ministry of Defence (RAF), UK – Capability Programme Leader: David was the programme lead for the introduction of A440M (c£2.4Bn) and Voyager (c£2.5Bn over 25 years). He was SRO for delivery of C-17 Through Life Training Solution (£162M over 19 years), C-17 In-service Support Solution (£325M over 5 years) and Augusta 109SP helicopter contract extension (£5M over 2 years) during FY21/22.

 

Ministry of Defense (UKSTRATCOM), UK - Defence Academy of the United Kingdom – COO/Dep Commandant: David led the restructure of the Academy and its new strategy, realising c£70m in savings over 10 years. 

 

Ministry of Defence (RAF) – Senior Operator to the 2 Group Operating Duty Holder: David directed operating risk-to-life advice for 28 different types of aircraft and 16 different parachutes and aerial delivery systems. He modernized and delivered aviation policy, regulation and air safety governance for the Group in line with the new Military Aviation Authority Direction. He has also been a Delivery Duty Holder and operational commander managing operational aviation risk within the duty holder construct. 

 

David speaks about leadership, teaches strategy development and carries out after dinner speaking.

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