One Year On: Finding the Right Solution

Just over a year ago, I wrote about why I started DPW Solutions.

I wanted to take the experience I'd accumulated over my career and use it differently – helping organisations turn ideas and ambitions into something practical and deliverable.

Twelve months on, has it worked?

I think it has.

It's been a fascinating year. I've worked with Frimley Health Foundation Trust in NHS (UK) on the New Frimley Park Hospital programme and chosen to give some of my time, pro bono, to small businesses and emerging charities as they turn some genuinely inspiring ideas into reality.

Very different organisations and challenges, but with a common thread: bringing people together, creating structure where it's needed and turning ideas into action.

We've achieved some good results. I've worked with some great people and, importantly, we've had some fun doing it.

From Major Programmes to New Ideas

At Frimley Health, I worked with the team to establish and develop the programme management structures, governance, controls, systems and ways of working needed to support the New Frimley Park Hospital programme.

It's an enormously complex programme with a long journey ahead. We achieved a great deal in a relatively short period and I'm proud of what the team put in place.

At the other end of the scale, I've worked with small businesses and people establishing charities – helping them take an idea, agree their priorities, put some structure around it and decide what needs to happen next.

The scale couldn't be more different, but the fundamental question is often the same:

How do we turn an ambition into something that can actually be delivered?

A Toolkit, Not a Template

Over the years I've accumulated a fairly substantial toolkit: programme and project management, PMO, governance, risk and change, systems and processes, building teams and business development – taking a concept or opportunity and working out how to make it real.

But having a big toolkit doesn't mean using every tool.

A fledgling charity doesn't need the governance and controls of a major infrastructure programme. Equally, a complex multi-billion-pound programme needs considerably more than a good action list and a monthly meeting.

Structure has to be proportionate to the problem you're trying to solve.

And sometimes the starting point isn't a programme at all. It's an idea that needs shaping before anyone can begin to deliver it.

Understand First. Design Second.

This has probably been one of my biggest lessons from the year.

It's tempting to arrive with a methodology, operating model or set of tools and start implementing. But organisations aren't blank sheets of paper. They already have people, processes, systems, knowledge and history.

So understand what's there first.

Sometimes an organisation already has good people and most of the capability it needs. Develop the team, clarify responsibilities, improve the processes and give people the right tools.

Sometimes there are gaps and a hybrid approach works better – retaining internal knowledge while bringing in targeted external capability.

And sometimes a more fundamental reset, potentially including an outsourced model, really is the right answer.

You shouldn't know the answer before you've asked the questions.

It's not about protecting what exists or changing everything. It's about finding the right solution for that organisation and then helping people make it work.

People Make the Difference

One thing hasn't changed from the article I wrote a year ago. People remain at the heart of delivery.

I've seen some fantastic examples this year of teams embracing change, taking ownership and making things better. Give capable people clarity, the right tools and room to operate and it can be remarkable how quickly things move.

It hasn't all been straightforward, of course, and I've learned from the frustrations too.

Change in complex organisations is difficult. Structures, accountabilities, workloads and history can make apparently logical changes surprisingly difficult.

This year has taught me to be more pragmatic – understanding what can be changed, where compromise is needed and when it might be better to find another route.

The harder challenge is when we collectively recognise the need for change but become less enthusiastic when it requires us personally to change.

It's easy to support change when somebody else has to change.

That applies at every level – including leadership and those of us brought in to help.

Finding the right solution is only part of the challenge. You also need to understand an organisation's ability and willingness to make it happen.

And I've Learned Too

The learning certainly hasn't been one-way.

Every organisation and team has taught me something. I've learned new systems and tools and different ways of facilitating teams, structuring information and communicating complex ideas simply.

I've also been reminded of the value of curiosity.

Experience helps you recognise patterns. Curiosity stops you assuming that because something worked somewhere else, it must be the answer here.

What Next?

I'm deliberately keeping that broad.

DPW gives me the freedom to use my experience where it can make a difference. That could be an interim or fractional role, leading or strengthening a programme or PMO, working alongside a consultancy, or helping an organisation assess its capability and determine the right way forward.

And I want to continue setting aside some of my time, pro bono, for smaller and purpose-driven organisations where a little experience can sometimes have a disproportionate impact.

I don't know exactly what the next twelve months will bring. That's part of the attraction.

The first year of DPW has brought fascinating challenges, good results and the opportunity to work with some inspiring people.

We've built things, solved problems, helped teams move forward – and had some fun doing it.

That's a pretty good first year.

A year ago, I described the purpose of DPW Solutions as Turning Vision into Meaningful Action.

Twelve months on, that still feels exactly right.