Your company isn’t producing software like you need it to, and repeated attempts to fix it have failed. Maybe you’re missing market opportunities, or you’re falling behind the competition, or you’re having trouble meeting your board’s expectations. You might be seeing slow delivery, weak ownership, poor coordination, declining quality, or more. They’re all related.

I improve your company’s ability to deliver valuable software. In collaboration with your people, I lead a targeted transformation. Together, we identify the constraints that are holding you back, remove them, and strengthen your organization’s ability to execute effectively, even after I’ve left.

How We Begin

It starts with a conversation. What do you want to accomplish? How will you know it’s successful? Why is it valuable? You don’t need to have all the answers. We can figure it out together.

This conversation defines the outcomes of our work together. Once we’re satisfied that it’s a good fit, I’ll send a concrete proposal for you to approve.

Because this conversation forms the basis of all my work with your company, it needs to involve your executive decision-maker. If that’s not you, don’t worry. We can lay the groundwork together before bringing in your executive.

What Happens Next

Every engagement is different, but they do tend to rhyme.

First, we need to understand your risks. Are the goals we laid out together achievable? What will get in the way? I’ll have a rough idea, from our initial conversations, but now I’ll dig deeper. If we discover that the risks are too high, no problem. We’ll end early, for minimal cost.

Risk identification leads into diagnosis. Change management begins here, too. One big risk in any transformation is people’s willingness to join in. I’ll involve influential team members in my diagnosis work, share findings, and start seeding ideas back to teams.

Based on the diagnosis, I’ll help you choose a targeted set of changes to pursue. Then the meat of the transformation begins. It’s a collaborative, iterative process that keeps your people involved and gives them a voice, without overly distracting them from their regular work.

As the transformation rolls out, I’ll teach influential team members to play a prominent role. I’ll lead from the front at first. Then, as we see results, I’ll gradually back off my involvement, transferring ownership and responsibility. Success comes when your organization has reached your goals and can sustain them without my involvement.

“[Jim’s] thoughtful, thought-provoking engagement model achieved top-to-bottom buy-in across a wide spectrum of yea and naysayers. He forced management to tackle tough questions we would have sidestepped. His honest mirroring of who we really were at all levels of the organization helped us break through our denial-based blind spots and embrace the real work of change.

...In my 40+ years working in the industry, I have worked with many consultants. I can honestly say that none has meshed as well with my team or achieved nearly the results that Jim has. I give Jim my highest recommendation.”

—Mikey B., Senior VP Engineering

Let’s Talk

It all starts with a conversation. No pressure, no obligation. We’ll talk about what you want to achieve and how I can help.

Email me at jshore@jamesshore.com and we’ll set up a time.