Situation overview
This situation arises when a business is fundamentally sound, but performance is not where it should be.
Complexity has crept in, priorities have multiplied, and execution no longer matches intent. Management teams are often busy and well-intentioned, but effort is diluted and outcomes are inconsistent. Over time, this erodes confidence and makes improvement feel harder than it needs to be.
This is rarely a strategy problem.
It is usually an operating rhythm and execution problem.
Operational Reset and Performance Improvement focuses on simplifying how the organisation actually operates, restoring clarity, cadence, and accountability so leadership effort translates into consistent delivery.
What this situation often looks like in practice
While each business is different, common characteristics include:
- A sense that the business is working harder than it should be for the results achieved
- Too many priorities and insufficient focus on what genuinely drives performance
- Management information that explains the past but does not support action
- Unclear accountability and slow decision follow-through
- Leadership frustration that plans are not translating into results
The risk is not failure.
It is persistent underperformance becoming normalised.
Selected Case Studies
Restoring workplace productivity and operational control through on-site leadership
Context
A private equity-backed portfolio company had experienced a steady erosion of productivity and operational control following a prolonged period of remote working.
Customer complaints had increased, response times had deteriorated, and operational controls had quietly fallen away. Administrative headcount had grown disproportionately, costs had escalated, and leadership visibility within the business had diminished.
Senior leaders were rarely present on site. Middle management resisted any move back to office-based working, fearing significant staff attrition. Despite these concerns, performance data showed clearly that remote working had not delivered the productivity or control the business required.
NorthCo was engaged through an interim CRO assignment to help the business regain operational grip and restore workplace stability.
My role
As Interim CRO, I worked alongside the senior leadership team to assess operational reality and implement a structured, evidence-led plan to restore productivity, accountability, and leadership presence.
The remit required firm decision-making, careful communication, and practical implementation in the face of resistance and uncertainty.
What mattered operationally
The core issue was not employee intent, but loss of structure.
Operational controls had been abandoned, productivity had declined, and leadership had become disconnected from day-to-day delivery. Financial oversight weakened as administrative roles expanded unchecked and cost discipline slipped.
Remote working arrangements had become inconsistent and, in some cases, unmanaged. Some employees had relocated significant distances from the office without leadership awareness, further eroding cohesion and accountability.
The data was unambiguous. Productivity, customer response times, and service quality had all deteriorated. The organisation needed visible leadership, consistent standards, and a return to operational discipline.
Outcome
A structured return-to-office plan was implemented, supported by contractual review, transparent communication, and tailored one-to-one engagement.
Operational controls were reinstated, productivity rebounded, and customer response times improved materially. Administrative headcount was rationalised, restoring cost discipline and financial control.
Despite initial resistance, staff turnover was minimal. Over time, morale improved as structure, collaboration, and clarity returned. Leadership presence strengthened, accountability improved, and a consistent operating rhythm was restored.
Twelve months later, productivity remained at its highest level, customer satisfaction had increased significantly, and operational stability was firmly re-established. The board later described the intervention as a decisive turning point.
Restoring operational control in a portfolio business experiencing performance drift
Context
A private equity-backed portfolio business with a strong brand and capable leadership team had gradually become operationally noisy.
Layers of process, reporting, and internal commentary accumulated over time, obscuring rather than supporting performance. Teams were busy, meetings were full, and data was plentiful, yet delivery against plan was inconsistent and confidence was beginning to erode.
The concern for investors was not failure, but drift. Underperformance was becoming normalised through complexity rather than crisis.
My role
I worked alongside the CEO and senior leadership team to reset how the organisation actually operated.
The brief was not to redesign strategy or introduce wholesale structural change. It was to restore clarity, cadence, and accountability so leadership effort translated more directly into performance outcomes.
What mattered operationally
The problem was not capability, but loss of operating discipline.
Management information had expanded significantly but become backward-looking and explanatory rather than decision-led. Finance was absorbed in reporting and narrative management, leaving limited capacity to support forward-looking performance decisions.
Operational priorities had multiplied. Teams were working hard across too many initiatives, diluting focus on the few activities that genuinely drove results. Ownership blurred, follow-through weakened, and execution slowed.
The work centred on stripping away noise and restoring a clear operating rhythm. Priorities were simplified, accountability clarified, performance cadence tightened, and management information refocused on action rather than justification.
Outcome
The reset created a marked shift in how the business operated.
Leadership discussions became more focused, forward-looking, and action-oriented. A smaller number of meaningful performance measures replaced an overextended reporting set, sharpening accountability and decision-making.
Bottlenecks reduced, follow-through strengthened, and delivery against plan became more consistent. The organisation moved from reactive management to a calmer, more controlled operating cadence, restoring confidence across both leadership and investors.
The business did not need reinvention.
It needed operational clarity. Once restored, performance followed.
Additional relevant work
Additional funding and investor-readiness work includes:
Additional operational reset and performance improvement work includes:
- Operational review and reset for a portfolio business experiencing siloed working, commercial drift, and inconsistent execution, restoring operational rhythm and leadership focus.
- Independent support to a manufacturing business implementing a headcount reduction, ensuring cost savings were achieved without loss of productivity, service continuity, or operational discipline.
- Support to leadership teams in establishing effective rhythms, routines, and performance disciplines.
- Board-level input to align operational priorities with strategic intent and execution reality.
Experience and judgement
This work is typically undertaken in close proximity to boards, investors, and lenders, often at moments where clarity, judgement, and credibility materially influence outcomes.
Credit to Trev for enabling this mentality as well as bringing a steadiness and structure to the operating model.
In these three weeks of onboarding, I can see an organisation that has come through a turbulent time but has emerged with both a calm resilience, and an eagerness to understand and contribute to a longer term accelerated plan for the business. Credit to Trev for enabling this mentality as well as bringing a steadiness and structure to the operating model. These provide good foundations for the Executive team to build on as we head into H2.
Michael Yates – Chief Executive – Mr Fothergills Seeds