{"id":3627,"date":"2024-03-26T20:39:02","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T20:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/?page_id=3627"},"modified":"2024-03-26T20:39:02","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T20:39:02","slug":"solution-paradigms-application","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/?page_id=3627","title":{"rendered":"Solution Paradigms Application"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lauren managed to enter the board room a few minutes before the meeting began, and blinked in surprise at the sight of Brendan, the marketing department head of their modelling agency, Fine Talents Inc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAm I late?\u201d Lauren glanced at her watch, as she slowly made her way to one of the many empty seats, choosing the one directly across from Brendan. She started setting up her laptop, preparing to wait for the others to discuss a plan of action that would hopefully get them out of the slump they were in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all that\u2019s in attendance, I\u2019m afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauren frowned, but Brendan answered before she could ask the question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, the CEO assigned all four of us, his cross-disciplinary team I believe he called us, to review and recommend \u2018what next\u2019 as we turn this agency around. I have spoken with Serena and Andrew. Serena is taking a few models to some fitness modelling auditions and is booked for the rest of the day. Andrew is in the middle of a career management workshop for some of our existing models. Both asked us to carry on in their absence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauren sighed in frustration. \u201cWell, this is a prime example of one of the many issues we\u2019re facing. Everyone seems to be overloaded with work, our output is lower than it should be, and we don\u2019t even know what the main cause is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d say the main cause is we\u2019re trying our best to control costs and improve our job margins. Everyone is trying to implement the changes our profitability review recommended,\u201d Brendan added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cYet, our performance is down on what it was six months ago, and whatever plans we have made and are implementing, as you said, are not exactly showing any tangible improvements, and may not for another 12 months.\u201d Lauren looked at the business\u2019 revenue from the last six months and saw that the business was still barely breaking even.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis meeting was supposed to help us regroup and come up with a better plan of action. I suppose it is more frustrating to think about this because we know what Serena and Andrew are doing right now is important, yet the results of those endeavours hardly contribute to noteworthy organisational benefit.\u201d She finished, looking at Brendan somewhat helplessly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll admit this meeting, it was a last-minute decision, but they both agreed that drastic changes are necessary. We really do have a challenge to face. We are repeatedly finding we have to compromise on the changes agreed. For example, the recent decisions we\u2019ve been making have been continuously prioritising one department, mainly Andrew\u2019s since the priority was given to retaining our models. As a result, your and Serena\u2019s department has been suffering access shortages to models and this has pushed up your overtime costs. Now, with the company-wide board meeting looming over our heads, everyone\u2019s agreed to cut a new plan that will pull us back in the right direction. The one thing I think we can all agree on is that \u2018It is clear now that what makes sense to operations does not make sense to accounting, and vice versa.’ The agenda today is to go over everything we\u2019ve done so far and see where improvements can be made.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fine Talents Inc. was a small modelling agency, consisting of three main departments. The marketing department was in charge of both representing their models and finding the right jobs that fit them, as well as pitching their models to any creative directors who might be interested in hiring them. Brendan mostly handled this side of the business. Next was the model management department, which focused on guiding models into different types of modelling based on their interests. The model management department primarily represented fashion, fitness, and editorial modelling. Lauren took over the fashion and editorial models while Serena managed the fitness models. Andrew, on the other hand, was head of the career management department. His duties consisted of providing career guidance and support to models, helping them to develop their skills and build their careers, which was particularly useful to new recruits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, we\u2019ve got bigger fish to fry.\u201d Lauren looked over the notes she\u2019d made and wanted to address in the meeting. \u201cAnother fashion designer has decided to cut ties with our agency, siting inflexibility and repeated disruptions to their test shoots, and all the models working on his collection are being sent back right after his fashion show. That\u2019ll conclude sometime this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat triggered this?\u201d Brendan asked with a frown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur models have not been attending all the rehearsals booked as we had one-off jobs lined up for them some days. Since these were our more talented models, we decided to skip a few days, thinking it would not be a big issue considering their experience, but\u2026\u201d Lauren trailed off, whilst she consulted her list. \u201cHere\u2019s another. A local fashion house seemed interested in forming a long-term partnership with us and wanted to see our models in some of their newest fashion collections, maybe even test their runway skills. They were on a strict timeline and needed the models ASAP, so I sent a few over. Unfortunately, this clashed with a few of our advertisement slots, and they cancelled our advertising contracts.\u201d Lauren took a deep breath before continuing. \u201cThe good news is that the fashion house has agreed to partner up with us. However, they won\u2019t be needing any models until their autumn fashion week event which isn\u2019t for another month. We incurred costs as a result, but no new sales.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDid you update the task management board?\u201d Brendan questioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, I cancelled the tasks that were affiliated with the advertisement slots.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBother, another case of prioritisation gone wrong, eh?\u201d Brendan stated, shaking his head with a sigh. \u201cOverall, our costs are getting higher due to such issues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OK, let\u2019s just have a run-through of everything we\u2019ve done so far and see where we\u2019re at. It\u2019ll help us get an overview of the situation and see what needs changing. We\u2019ll soon have the board meeting with our CEO to review our reports for this month, and we need to have some semblance of a solution in place by then.\u201d Brendan said, before starting them off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere have been fewer creative projects due to the recessionary pressures of the last few years and we\u2019ve changed our strategy accordingly. Instead of simply depending on existing partnerships with select creative directors, magazines, and fashion houses, we decided to market our models to a wider market. This includes accepting one-off jobs which we didn\u2019t used to do. This helped keep us afloat whilst we weathered the recession, but now that the economy is expanding again, accepting miscellaneous advertisement jobs is not doing our branding any favours.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauren nodded, continuing from where Brendan left off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, a few months back we started reaching out to local fashion houses and magazines to revert to our original brand of supporting and being affiliated with specific names, and they were very positive. However, we still accept miscellaneous work, so we aren\u2019t facing any gaps in modelling jobs while we reach out to more people. Now we have a backlog of demand, but output hasn\u2019t increased. This increase in demand does however mean models have been jumping between assignments, which in turn means that our model\u2019s skill development, being Andrew\u2019s area of career management department, was being deferred. While career management felt like it was dispensable at the time, we subsequently have had some models leaving the agency as they felt their futures here were too ambiguous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lauren sighed for what felt like the thousandth time. \u201cThus, we are now focusing on doing small group workshops like the one Andrew is conducting right now and we assigned them higher priority.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd that means we haven\u2019t had enough people to meet with the local creative directors for meetings and we have resorted to taking our models to open auditions like Serena is currently doing.\u201d Brendan offered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhich takes us even further from our management style and the general direction we want to take the company. I\u2019d swear, whatever yardstick one of us uses to measure how well we are doing, it invariably hurts the others,\u201d Lauren said. Lauren then looked through her laptop until she pulled up the task management board that their company used to manage their daily tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet me summarise. In our efforts to realign ourselves with our company motto, we have been in talks with multiple local artists, but our models have been busy fulfilling one-off jobs, and we haven\u2019t been able to align our models well with the test shoots. This means our costs are higher due as we move models around to manage our customer promises. The problem seems to be that we\u2019re constantly juggling between developing our models, resourcing <\/a>the modelling contracts we have won, and resourcing the modelling contracts we want to win.\u201d Brendan concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHere\u2019s an example, Andrew is scheduling a team-building outing for the models?\u201d Lauren observed, seeing the task in Andrew\u2019s channel of their task management board. \u201cHang on, what is going on here?\u201d Lauren asked looking at the upcoming tasks. \u201cWe have a backlog, and clients to meet, yet this looks like Andrew has most of the models away for the week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, remember how you were saying that the model\u2019s career management was being deferred. Well, priority was given back to Andrew to stop the exit of models to other agencies. We found that many of our models are reporting feeling insecure and afraid for their futures, so Andrew suggested a trip might help. His idea was that having the means to go on a trip itself might be a confidence boost for our models as it shows that the agency is doing OK.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cYeah, tell that to accounting,\u201d Lauren remarked drily. \u201cApproving this means that the models will not be available for any jobs or auditions for a few days, which I believe is much more real to them than their current fears. While this might be impactful to Andrew and what his department stands for, we will be taking a commercial hit if we don\u2019t have access to our models.\u201d Lauren gave Brendan a meaningful look, making him nod glumly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, having uncomfortable conversations with accounting has become somewhat of a norm around here\u2026 that should also go into the list of issues we\u2019re facing and a problem we want to solve ASAP.\u201d Brendan mused and jotted down \u2018What makes sense to operations does not make sense to accounting, and vice versa,\u2019 before continuing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll have a chat with him. In the meantime, we definitely have to change our approach to scheduling. It sounds like we are perpetually chasing our tails. It doesn\u2019t seem to matter what we prioritise. It is damned if we do, and damned if we don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauren mused for a while before deciding to state the suggestions she\u2019s been ruminating over for the last few days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHere\u2019s a thought. We have been scheduling each model\u2019s time keeping them fully deployed. Maybe it\u2019s not the models we should be scheduling but the modelling engagements. Think about it. Do we really benefit when a model is fully loaded? Does that make them more or less available for test shoots, auditions, or career management? Currently, we pack each model\u2019s schedule and then we spend time and cost chopping and changing the model\u2019s assignments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour point?\u201d Brendon asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we are wasted a lot of a model\u2019s week, and this full loading approach means every week one model or another is overloaded and feeling overwhelmed. I do agree, it is affecting their mental state. I think we need to pick one thing that is consistently loaded, and schedule that. A focus on our constraint, so to speak. Not make work to keep everyone busy. Maybe it is about getting the most test shoots done a month that we can, maybe it is client auditions, but I think even Andrew will agree that it is not adding more and more career management tasks for models to engage in. Don\u2019t misunderstand me here, we do need all three. I suggest we figure out what it is we need to schedule, such that we get more of it done every month and that in doing so we increase our overall output in both the short and long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI hear you,\u201d agreed Brendon. \u201cBut, we will have to change our measures. Currently, we all compete for model time and that will break what you are saying. Each of our departments measures a different priority as goal number one. We will have to synchronise. It won\u2019t be easy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAgreed, I reckon the proof will be that \u2018we get more done and have less-loaded models.\u2019 When that happens, it will be clear that we can meet all three needs, Marketing, Career Management, and Model Management.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSound idealistic and impossible. I like it. How can we test it?\u201d asked Brendon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s try and free up model time and see what really is constraining us. For example, we could change the group workshops to one workshop a week that requires mandatory attendance. We can think about team and morale-building outings further down the line, but it is off the table for now. I think we should focus on meeting local creative directors to build long-term clientele as well as improve our branding. So, we could take fewer one-off jobs. I won\u2019t say reject all offers, just prioritise the meetings with creative directors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauren looked at Brendan, trying to gauge his reaction. Seeing his nod of approval, she went on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSerena and I can take a few models along with us when we have these meetings, so that they can have their practice run right away, which might help the directors reach a decision quicker, instead of scheduling this for another day. We should update our task management board with these meetings as assigned jobs so that we can look at our availability. Let\u2019s try and clear from our tasks anything that burns model time and doesn\u2019t convert into near-term useful outcomes .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAndrew might not love that, but I know Serena definitely will!\u201d Brendan joked, a small smile pulling at his lips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauren laughed, nodding her head. She\u2019d been there, dragging her models to open auditions alongside many other models, hoping they\u2019d be chosen. It is simply not the way they should be doing things if they want to realign themselves with our company motto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI like your approach. It will make our model availabilities clearer, and it won\u2019t feel like they\u2019re always busy, whilst nothing is getting done at the same time.\u201d Brendan continued. \u201cWe need some sort of output measure that ties to our profit and loss measures as well, so we can show accounting that implementing our plans is producing the right financial results.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll let Serena and Andrew finish their auditions and workshops for the day and schedule a mandatory meeting tomorrow to go over this. We might be on uncertain waters for a while, but it is nothing we can\u2019t handle. As for the profit and loss measures, I have a few advertisement jobs lined up as well which I\u2019ll add to the task management board so we can work our schedule around these. The key takeaway is that we are scheduling to deliver on our customer\u2019s needs without compromising our current financial situation or branding. You know, Lauren, I do hope it is the test shoots that we discover we should be scheduling. My gut says it is, and these are billable events. So, the more of them we do the better.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBrendon, I think your gut is right, but let\u2019s test and find out for sure. Once everyone\u2019s on board with this approach, we can present a more unified outlook during our company-wide board meeting in front of our CEO.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSounds reasonable. By doing this, we will have, I think you called it, a system constraint which is going to help us stay on track easier, and ensure the models have time for their career management activities\u201d Brendan agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou might not like this though,\u201d added Lauren. \u201cWe also need a meaningful change in reporting lines. Having us each focus on managing our own departments doesn\u2019t synchronise us; we fight because we see each other as a disruptor, an obstacle to be pushed aside in pursuit of our own goals. We need a unifying measure that goes across all our departments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight, did you have something in mind then, Lauren?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was thinking you\u2019re the right fit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brendan looked at her in surprise, making Lauren smile and explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re our head of marketing and I was thinking, instead of Serena and I looking for clients and going for open auditions, we\u2019ll let you facilitate that exclusively since this is outside of our scope, anyway. You\u2019ll still be setting up jobs for our models but there won\u2019t be anyone else making decisions behind the scenes that will clash with the schedule you produce.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brendan nodded, prompting Lauren to go on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis way, Serena and I will be organising our models based strictly on your schedules. Andrew will have a transparent schedule, where he can see the model\u2019s available time for scheduling in career management activities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHem, I think I should say thank you, but\u2026 All right let\u2019s try that, we can always change it back when the test results are in. I\u2019ll work through it with Serena, Andrew, and yourself,\u201d Brendan offered, making Lauren nod gratefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThanks, Brendan. I have a few meetings with a local magazine editor and another fashion house director, so I\u2019ll grab the models from the workshop as soon as it\u2019s done and head out. This will be the last meetings I\u2019ll be organising so as not to step on your toes!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll the best!\u201d Brendan smiled, before he checked his watch. \u201cAndrew should be just about done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauren stood up on cue and, with a wave, left the office in search of some of their veteran models who were more familiar with meeting clients and performing test shoots and walks for them. There would be a more comprehensive meeting tomorrow with the rest of the missing crew, so they could jump straight into actioning the points Lauren and Brendan spoke about. For now, though, Lauren needed to focus her day on explaining the changes to those affected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lauren managed to enter the board room a few minutes before the meeting began, and blinked in surprise at the sight of Brendan, the marketing department head of their modelling agency, Fine Talents Inc. \u201cAm I late?\u201d Lauren glanced at her watch, as she slowly made her way to one of the many empty seats, …<\/p>\n

Solution Paradigms Application<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3627","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3627"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3627"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3627\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3645,"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3627\/revisions\/3645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}