Indigo Muse Business Consultant Coach Ology

I worked with Dawn during the implementation of a large change programme where infrastructure, organisation and strategy were addressed all at the same time.

During this project Dawn showed time and time again that she is able to look at situations in new and innovative ways that provides the ability to resolve issues in a means that are ultimately beneficial in delivering complete solutions.

Dawn proved to be able to understand individual’s opinions, objectives, and desires and work within constraints to manage these in a way that met all of the expectations of the stakeholders involved.

I found that when I was working with Dawn she encouraged to me stretch out of my comfort zone and helped me operate directly with senior directors within the organisation and handle myself with confidence assurance in these situations.

I recruited Dawn Dobson in 2007 to project manage a fundamental transformation of the Procurement profession in a UK Defence business. This transformation changed the organisational construct and the ways of working completely, assessed all current staff for capability and potential, recruited new people from outside the industry and devised training and development for all to drive continuous improvement and high standards of achievement.

Dawn made all the difference in the scope of the transformation we undertook and the results we achieved.

Dawn personally:

• quickly converted my broad ideas into an articulate strategy and a detailed plan of action
• constructed a compelling business for which we secured Board approval
• worked closely with a wide range of people to convert them from opponents or sceptics to positive supporters
• managed the implementation of a complex transformation programme across geographically dispersed locations, to time and budget
• supported effective relationships with Trades Unions throughout the transformation
• managed external specialist contractors contributing to the transformation
• gave me the confidence, through her broad skills and work ethic, to go for a highly ambitious transformation programme and to see it through in testing circumstances

The transformation raised the standards and reputation of the Procurement profession immensely and has yielded savings to the business in double digit millions.

Dawn helped my business through a major business change project. She provided real leadership and insight, challenging the status quo and stretching the organisation's thinking. She also marshalled the project's resources to ensure that the project competed effectively for the time and attention it deserved. Without Dawn's input the project would have failed to gain momentum and a real productivity improvement opportunity would have been lost.

In summary Dawn:

• Helped the team review their current processes and their use of ERP
• Challenged us to work more effectively - aligning roles, responsibilities and accountability.
• Helped us to define measures and processes that drove continuous improvement

I have known Dawn in various roles within BAE Systems and in them all she has provided clarity and leadership in challenging the status quo engaging the key stakeholders of the business to deliver a robust transformation plan.

This has typically required tenacity in implementation due to the geographically and culturally diverse set of businesses. Her last programme was implemented very successfully and this was recognised by senior management and peers alike. It was an excellent contribution to the business.

I had the fortune to experience the skill and experience Dawn can offer to a business enterprise earlier in my career when I was leading a multi-disciplined team delivering a £50m year related service and support package for a major defence business.

My team was dedicated and delivering but struggling to gain the advantage which a recently installed ERP system should have provided.

Dawns approach was very structured and with her experience of supply chain management in its fullest context very quickly identified areas of improvement, not necessarily restricted to ERP training:

In summary Dawn:

• Helped the team review their current processes and their use of ERP
• Challenged us to work more effectively - aligning roles, responsibilities and accountability.
• Helped us to define measures and processes that drove continuous improvement

This holistic and integrated approach delivered numerous benefits including:

• Relationships with key customers improved dramatically
• Customer service levels improved, supply chain management changed from being very reactive to proactive
• Financial measures improved, e.g. cash collection, WIP
• Staff morale improved, greater sense of purpose and direction

I worked with Dawn during the implementation of a large change programme where infrastructure, organisation and strategy were addressed all at the same time. During this project Dawn showed time and time again that she is able to look at situations in new and innovative ways that provides the ability to resolve issues in a means that are ultimately beneficial in delivering complete solutions.

Dawn proved to be able to understand individual’s opinions, objectives, and desires and work within constraints to manage these in a way that met all of the expectations of the stakeholders involved.

I found that when I was working with Dawn she encouraged to me stretch out of my comfort zone and helped me operate directly with senior directors within the organisation and handle myself with confidence assurance in these situations.

Dawn assessed the Business Change Strategy and Plan my team had developed and identified strengths and areas for improvement. Tapping into her knowledge and past experience was invaluable in developing a more robust Strategy. Dawn's coaching style is friendly and professional - it's clear that she is talking from experience and not theorising - as she offered pragmatic, meaningful suggestions for improvement.