$80 Million Delivered by a Virtual Power Team: Client Story Revealed!

I’m proud to share a case study of an FMCG client who leveraged diversity and achieved unprecedented success on an ecommerce opportunity.?

This FMCG powerhouse, specializing in baby food, discovered Chinese traders were purchasing their products from six countries - Australia, France, the UK, Germany, Ireland, and more, to subsequently list them on Alibaba for the vast Chinese market.?

The accumulated sales volume? An astounding €1 billion.

Recognizing the potential, the Vice President of Business Development envisioned a collaborative effort among the general managers of these countries, aiming for a consolidated deal with Alibaba.?

However, a year passed without any action.

Distinct cultures, busy schedules, and perhaps personal egos seemed to have put the initiative on hold.

This is when they shifted strategy and we started a consulting project.

The first step?

Assembling a dedicated project team, comprising the six general managers, supply chain manager, finance director, HR, and the PMO.?

In a day-long workshop in Amsterdam, we helped the team work to align their cultural dynamics across three pivotal scales:

1. Leadership Style

In this scale, we discussed the balance between hierarchical style where you wait for permission and there is a big distance between manager and employee versus the egalitarian culture where there is almost no difference between manager and the employee; team members are expected to be proactive and make decisions on their own.

They debated it as a team in three groups and came to their AHA moment when they decided that until they reach a project mandate to be more egalitarian they will apply the culture but when they have the high level project definition, they will be more hierarchical.?

2. Decision-making Process

The second scale is all about decision making.?

In top down countries like the U.S., you are perceived as a weak leader if you are a slow decision maker, as you are empowered to make decisions without consulting everyone.

But in most European countries, particularly Germany, before making any particular organizational change, you are expected to take your time to consult all the parties impacted before making a decision.

After a round of discussion and debate, the team came up with their optimal position as a team.

Emphasizing a blend of the swift decision-making seen in the USA and the consensus-driven approach of Germany, the team leaned slightly more towards consensus for their collective goals.

3. Conflict Management

The third scale deals with the confrontational scale or conflict scale.?

Most Asian cultures are non confrontational, where it is perceived that challenging their point of view can be taken as an attack to their overall personality.?

In European countries, challenging point of views, opinions or statements has nothing to do with the overall personality, just that particular variable.?

Children in European countries are encouraged early on in school to debate and come up with counter arguments and to distinguish between the person and the statement.

They debated on this issue until they have reached the optimal position as a team

Between the confrontational style embraced by many Western cultures and the non-confrontational approach of many Asian cultures, the team decided to lean slightly towards the confrontational side, focusing on fact-based discussions.

After defining the cultural positions, the real work started with implementation.?

The team debated on two questions.

How can people commit to the culture?

How can the leader enable the chosen culture?

Each team member, irrespective of their original cultural background, made a personal commitment to live this chosen culture.?

They brainstormed not just how they, as individuals, would embody the culture, but also how their leadership could champion this cultural transformation.

Once they did that, and made the personal commitment, then the ball started rolling,?

Eighteen months later, the project didn't just achieve its objectives, but also realized an impressive €80 million profit.?

The harmonized team culture where everyone is held accountable, was a significant key behind this success.

Remember these key points:

1. Culture should be shaped by the team, not imposed.
2. Individual commitments to the chosen culture ensure its practical execution.
3. When team members hold each other accountable, it solidifies adherence to the chosen cultural norms.

This Alibaba case study stands testament to the fact that when diverse teams come together, and when their cultural harmonization is done right, success isn’t just a possibility – it’s a guarantee.

If you want to replicate such success, the foundational step is to establish a shared culture that everyone buys into.?

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