[su_tab title=”Close the deal“]
[accordion multiopen=”true”]
Content for item 1 Content for item 2 Content for item 3 Content for item 4
- SGD 3m for strategic advisory to a Board of Directors, turnaround of a stalled $1bn program, and the prototyping of an IT governance solution
- USD 66m for the sale of a wide range of enterprise applications to 5 strategic Oracle strategic accounts
- USD 150k for a strategic study securing the win of a $12M SAP implementation at a key Deloitte account
- USD 118m for 2 reverse logistics and repair outsourcing deals with Nortel and Hewlett-Packard for Solectron
- USD 3.2m for the turnaround of 2 failed programmes for KPMG clients
- USD 87m for the sale of a global business transformation and SAP deployment at Honeywell Aerospace
- USD 250k for a $150m investment due diligence, a market positioning advisory at Aceva
- USD 110m for the deployment of 26 SAP web-enablement solutions for KPMG clients
- USD 19m for 10 deployments of KPMG SAP B2B procurement solution and 8 deployments of KPMG-MS2 agile product management solution
- USD 1.3m for a rapid implementation of SAP automotive OEM for FSD/Koni in ’98
- EUR 500k for partnership, grants and sponsorship of programs by Hewlett-Packard in ’95
$408m contributed to through large, mostly long-shot deals and small strategic ones with large pull-through; mix of green field, account take-over and growth.
Win a long-shot, $87m deal for BearingPoint with a long flight read
In 2004, large opportunities were rare. When Honeywell Aerospace bid for a global SAP transformation, I was asked on Jan 2nd to join the team to win it, then lead the services stream. The moment of truth would be a session with the client experts on the 5th. I knew SAP well, but only train maintenance and aircraft manufacturing. 2 lucky finds in a bookshop saved me. I digested aircraft maintenance during the 15-hour flight from Paris to Phoenix, and the short night that followed. The client said they were impressed. So was I, by the miracles of Red Bull, disciplined study and an engaging behaviour.
Odds were stacked against us. SAP had partnered with Ernst & Young, so we had to pursue this opportunity on our own. The 7 of us spent 5 weeks in Phoenix, breathing in Honeywell leadership vision, business challenges and hopes by day, and working out a relevant plan and team at an acceptable cost by night. Some wondered why we had booked hotel rooms, given how rarely we visited them. The response came on a Thursday afternoon early February, when we learnt we had won the USD 87m 3-year program.[/symple_accordion_section]
Unearth a $50m deal for Oracle in 2 Jerry-Maguire-moments
In 2008, the economy had started to tanking the US, and large deals were more important than ever. When Filippo Paserini, CIO of Procter & Gamble, and Charles Philips, then President of Oracle, decided they should investigate what Oracle could do for P&G beyond, it was both an unprecedented opportunity for Oracle to grow at a large SAP and Microsoft client, but also a chance for the sales team to make a mark. And I did not make the team. Not at first, that is (being new in the firm). But having heard about the deal and listened to the conversations in our sales calls intently, I spent a day thinking of the problem and an all-nighter writing a memo ala Jerry Maguire. It stated clear facts beyond fantasies: SAP mastered transactions, Microsoft mastered individual and team productivity, leaving a vast gap in the middle.
Our strategy was hence obvious: we should not try and replace SAP or Microsoft solutions with Oracle, but complement, enhance, and connect them, through visibility and business automation solutions.This memo did not get me fired, though. He did get me into the team, with a dual responsibility: leading one of the three strategy streams of our joint inquiry, and leading the team creating a demo and organizing its delivery on the big day. the connection was … The client appreciated seeing a consultant in a team of sales people. Call it a lesser evil.
Bring a new insurance client without the industrial expertise
Accordion ContentIn 2011, 5 days after joining KPMG Singapore practice, I was asked to (then not to) work on an opportunity with one of the largest insurance providers in Indonesia. The initial question was “we are growing and our system is reaching capacity. What should we do?” A couple of days later, I was asked not to get involved, as I was not an insurance expert. It was too late, though. I had already reached out to the members of the Board of Directors; and we had had two excellent fact-finding and visioning sessions. The question was not technical, as assumed by the team at first, but strategic: “how to support a 40% year-over-year compound growth?” Being on the right track, we decided to proceed, adding to the team an industry expert who took care of industry-specific issues, while I looked after cross-industry strategic and operational, and human matters.
The ini
[/symple_accordion]
Who is your most important prospect today ? Your most pressing opportunity ? What deal do really you have to win today ? Add it to your win list.
“In an engagement where it was incredibly difficult to find people who “got it,” Frederic took the extra time to explore different angles and penetrate the real problem. Frederic’s ability to critically analyze technical, political, and cultural issues was incredibly valuable, and I always found our interactions thought provoking.
Frederic is a master of asking the right question. I hope our paths cross again in the future.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed working with Frederic on a strategic project for a major Houston based client. Frederic elevates the conversation and helps clients see the forest through the trees.
He is an excellent leader and consensus builder with a unique ability to bring teams together for a common goal. It was a pleasure working with Frederic and I look forward to working with him again.”
“I had the pleasure of working with Frederic on a very important project for a F100 customer that was very visible to the key executives. Frederic is one of the most creative, innovative and well-rounded individuals that I have ever worked with.
He is very astute technically and brings a tremendous amount of energy, excitement and passion. He is definitely an “out-of-the box” thinker with great ideas.”
[su_tab title=”Turn around situations“]
“Frederic is a creative, driven strategy director. He has considerable consulting and IT skills in addition to his ability to create intriguing content, unique perspectives, useful frameworks and models. Frederic also possesses a great spirit and is a team player. His innovative ideas and strategic thinking can help any organization move forward.”
“Frederic can take very complex concepts and break them down into simple, easy to understand graphics or animated videos to highlight facts or findings. Frederic’s enthusiasm, creativity, attention to detail and analytical mind makes him an asset to any team.”
“Frederic has deep consulting skills and a great ability to get to the root of a problem; and his energy, enthusiasm, and positive attitude are remarkable.”
[su_tab title=”Develop your leaders“][su_accordion]
Convert a laid-back internal hard-drive repair facility into a driven everything-electronic reverse logistics superhub
In 2001, .
Build a coherent productive team from a host of temporary individuals In 2001, .
Turn a band of rebels into a team of navy seals
In 2008, when a start-up with presence in the US, Eastern Europe, was struggling with high-growth but a total lack of organization,
List of revelations of the magic in people
- Defined positioning, solutions and market offerings
- Trained teams on basic consulting skills, listening, communication, crisis facilitation, innovation
- Mentored consultants to managers, and coached executives at clients
- Forecasted required staff and assignments across multiple projects and programs for the practice
- Facilitated FY sales and account planning meetings
- Fine-tuned and utilization, level rates and pricing to reach expected revenue and profitability
- Coached 80 warehouse personnel trained on through “drinking games” / I challenge you to get better results with PowerPoint slides
- Helped a dozen executives address personal limits hindering their careers through Immunity to change, by Robert Keegan and Lisa Lahey
- Worked with a dozen teams on habits acquisition after their training cycles, to really put in practice, and benefit from what had been taught
[/su_spoiler] [/su_accordion]
“Frederic is one of the most amazing people I have ever worked with. His thought process and hunger for details is the thing which makes him different from others. He is a fine counsellor, full of humorous analogies that make you relate to your current situation in a better way.”
“Frederic’s honest, outgoing personality made it easy to form a great mentoring relation, where I could share openly.
His advice is candid, practical and humane. He is very good at inspiring people to push their limits, keeping challenges realistic, and helping find ways to achieve them. He applauds the good and points out what is lacking – always showing how to transform it into good.
He was very quick to understand my strengths, weaknesses, preferences and personality, and his advice reflected this. His counseling was largely responsible for me getting promoted earlier than expected.”
“Frederic was the manager of one of my projects. I enjoyed working for him because he can: (a) provide clarity around the goals of the project, (b) clearly segment the project into feasible milestones, (c) develop an executable action plan that met the needs of the client, (d) control project scope creep, and (e) provide the appropriate balance of autonomy, direction, and support. I’ve worked for many managers and a good one is worth their weight in gold. I recommend Frederic because great managers are few and far between – and they make a critical difference when it comes to project performance, client satisfaction, and employee growth/morale.”
[/su_tab] [su_tab title=”Find new ideas, make them happen“]
Connecting partners simply, in the age of E
In 1999, large SAP deals were rare. Everyone seemed to focus on Year 2000 and E-everything. Dozens of consultants were on the bench. With such a problem, experience of the web from HP, a specialty in SAP and time on my hands, there was an opportunity. Playing around with web solutions made it obvious that these applications addressed many gaps of SAP. It was also evident that e-consultants didn’t understand SAP at all and SAP consultants did not even know the web offered anything else that stock price tickers.
The idea was simple: enable all the external relationships businesses were relying on, but could not interact easily with, due to SAP internal focus, the lack of connection between web applications and SAP, and the immaturity of mobile solutions then.
And making it happen was not that hard: Roaming the corridors for consultants on the bench, going down to the data center for servers, reaching out to innovative companies of the time like HP, 3Com, Haht, Siebel, Ariba, Commerce One, Epiphany, etc. we secured what we needed to make the dream happen. We then worked in small iterations to make the best of people who came and went in the team in between chargeable projects. We produced really great results, such as mobile sales and services back in ’99. This also allowed to inspire new advocates for our solutions. In the end we sold more than USD 120m worth of such enhancements, around the globe.
A way to innovate on top of a mountain
In 2012, the market of the organization I interacted with had grown to USD 95 billion, from a mere USD 5B 15 years earlier. They had grown from USD 2B to USD 3B during the same period. This was a problem. They had just established an “innovation group” to change things. Unfortunately, this was likely to frustrate all the people who had not made the cut. And since there was an uncomfortable silence when it came to the only important question: “what to innovate on?”, it was also likely to stress the people who had made it.
We explored a simpler way to make new ideas arise and happen. It involved forgetting about the innovation group, and creating an innovation space. It relied on everyone’s contribution, not a chosen few. It required only cellphones, pen and paper, boards and blue tacks. and a very, very different way to innovate, without brainstorms, or brain freeze – whatever they call it.
Innovation is simple actually: Look and listen (and touch, smell, and taste) first: what you do, what people experience, and what they don’t but do with competitors. Then notice patterns: how things are, how they make you feel, how they align, or clash, with your values and goals. Finally, work on the dissonances: what seem broken, what competitors do better, and how other disciplines and developments can bring to your offer to a whole new level. Repair what is broken. Copy what is better elsewhere. Mix what completes you.
19 years of high impact innovations
- 2013 Advisor to 3 startups focusing on consumer solutions
- 2012 New approach to innovation for a casino
- 2011 New route for growth for an indonesian insurance provider
- 2008 Feedback system for teams and individuals
- 2006 SAP Intellectual Property Management for Warner Bros.
- 2001 Agile product management solution for KPMG
- 2001 Reverse logistics solution for Solectron
- 1999 SAP web-enablement initiative at KPMG
- 1999 First Business-to-business procurement
- 1998 First SAP Automotive solution deployment in France
- 1996 First Perl-based automated customer support solution for Hewlett-Packard Facility Management
- 1994 turnaround a maintenance practice transformation for highly unionised Paris Transportation Authority RATP
“Among many outstanding achievements, Frederic was one of the first to e-enable SAP.
He identified transactions to bring to the web for partners and customers, found tools to connect with SAP, sold the idea of SAP web-enablement to KPMG global Senior leadership in USA and EMEA, and put together a team that built prototypes and demonstrated new capabilities at large trade shows with great success.
All that as a Senior Consultant!!! A great experience and I was glad to be part of that team!”
“Frederic is very personable, intelligent and passionate. His ideas are non-conventional, compelling and very thought-provocating.
I enjoyed his sense of humour and “out-of-the-box” thinking. Frederic helps organizations re-invent themselves and implement new ideas.”
“Frederic is a gifted strategist. He taught me ways to tell a story that can be understood by both technologists and business people.”