Somerford Business Advisory was founded by Mike McKeown who has 25+ years’ experience as a senior executive at major organisations including Cisco Systems, Synamedia, GCHQ and Network Systems (an Oracle Company). Depending on the assignment we may also engage others from a broad network of skills and backgrounds.
We offer a wide range of consulting and advisory services to business and organisations large and small. Typically working on a part time basis for either direct fees or outcome-based reward. Geographically we typically work within Europe, but we do have experience working in APAC, Latin America, and North America.
Mission
Our mission is to help people and organisations change and become the best that they can:
- The best place to work
- The best customer experiences
- The best products and services
- The best for the environment
Values and Beliefs
| Rapidly Changing World | The world is changing, and the rate of change is accelerating. Changes that are reshaping our world include: Automation & Artificial Intelligence: In the long-term it will change the nature of work for much of the workforce and will likely mean that in time society will have to adapt to a world where there isn’t full time employment for a significant part of the population. In the short-term it is enabling organisations to become more efficient and make more informed decisions faster Home Working: COVID-19 has dramatically accelerated home working and for many organisations there will never be a return to an office working centric environment. There will be a new equilibrium that balances the benefits of home and office working for both employers and employees. Finding this equilibrium will need significant planning and change management eCommerce: Globally eCommerce is less than 20% of the total retail market (source: Shopify), but it is growing rapidly and of course COVID-19 has driven many people to use eCommerce more, a change that is likely to accelerate the transition. There are also technology developments, such as Augmented Reality (AR), that will transform sectors or retail, such as clothing and furniture. The impact is already being felt on the high-street and is bring challenges and opportunities to much of the retail ecosystem. EVs and Autonomous Driving: In July 2020 Tesla become the most valuable car company in the world. With a tiny, but rapidly growing, share of worldwide car production this all about future expectation. Tesla is seen to be in a strong position to win during two related major inflection points for the car, van, and truck industry. First the complete transition from Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) to EVs. Second the realisation of fully autonomous driving. The later will transform the car industry with many people, particularly in cities, moving away from car ownership to Robo-taxi’s. Both of these transitions will have enormous knock on effects beyond the car industry. We seek to help our clients grasp the opportunities and avoid the pitfalls that these changes bring. |
| Innovation and Change | Organisations that innovate fast and adapt to change quickly and effectively have always had an edge. With the world changing ever more rapidly the ability to innovate and change will become even more critical. We love innovation and change; it excites and motivates us. We seek to help our clients increase their rate of innovation and implement change quickly and effectively. |
| Technology | Technology is the catalyst for much of the change in the world. It can help organisations and people work and collaborate more effectively with more real time data to make decisions from. However, effectively adopting technology and reaping its benefits frequently requires people to change how they work. For the majority change isn’t easy and often not welcome. For example, there is much research showing the benefits of a “Modern Workplace” using collaboration tools, such as Microsoft 365, Google G-Suite, Slack, WebEx, and Zoom to work and co-author in real time. Yet many organisations struggle to move away from working via email and file attachments. We love modern technology, but we also understand and have real world experience in helping our clients understand technology’s business benefits and most importantly driving adoption. |
| Communication | “There is no such thing as overcommunication” (Brandon Busteed, Forbes) The success of any change program is reliant on everyone involved adapting to the change. The success of getting people to adapt in turn is reliant on the quantity and quality of the communication to them. (Harvard Business Review). We help our clients create clear communications that are repeated frequently and bring everyone along with the change by explaining why. |
| Ethical | Ethics are at the core of everyone’s belief system. Our ethics drive how we conduct business with clients and the type of work we will do. Always: honest, reliable, dedicated, collaborative, open and clear communication, emphasis on quality and detail, respectful, determined, humble, passionate, goal oriented with a clear sense of responsibility and accountability, creative, innovative, adaptable, and flexible. Never: Procrastinate, blame, lie, be negative, inattentive, tardy, rude, work in isolation, lack communication |
| Environment | We care about the environment and believe climate change is an existential threat and plastics are poisoning our oceans. We believe we should tackle the environment challenges at all levels, governments, organisations, and individuals. Wherever we can we use renewable energy, drive EVs, avoid travel using technology, offset our carbon emissions, recycle, and avoid the use of plastics |