Management Consulting and Mentoring As business consultants, Evolutionary Management, Inc., focuses on organizational change, often at the interface between technology and business. We provide value via the following services to investor groups, corporate management, scientific or technical personnel, government agencies and/or focused interest organizations: - Proactive challenge to and perspective on assumptions underlying business or scientific/technical issues - Assistance in futures assessment, environmental scanning and strategic or tactical planning - Design and implementation of organizational change - Participation in human resource decisions and programs - Scientific expertise for the conduct or evaluation of advanced technology research and development - Involvement in fund raising (including sometimes taking an investment position ourselves) - Representation in negotiations or collaborative alliances - Advisory or corporate board membership - Internal, market, governmental or special interest education and relationship management - Advocacy and promotion of corporate responsibility and ethical practices Our recommendations typically combine elements of: - Management (vision, strategy, implementation, system design and optimization) - Technical knowledge (specific markets, discovery, R&D) - Human factors (education and training, creativity, motivation, feedback and rewards, ethics and responsibility) Services to Start-Ups Most new organizations (including companies) begin with a potential solution to a perceived need. Such start-ups can often benefit from assistance in putting together (i.e. planning, organizing, staffing, funding, etc.) the operational structure to carry their concept to market delivery and success. Although funds are typically tight at this early stage, many sources are available, and no other expenditure brings as great a return as getting things right from the beginning. Assistance in formulating, financing and operationalizing business plans and organizations are the most common services that we provide to young firms. Further participation in negotiations and alliances, regular operational and strategic reviews, Board membership, etc., are also available. Services to Established Firms Survival, growth and "success" can bring their own set of problems to established organizations. Typically, the products, approaches, personnel, structures, etc., that enabled earlier success often become enshrined, and further adaptation to changing circumstances and challenges can be more and more difficult. This almost universal process leads to the frequently valid (but not inescapable) generalization that change and innovation are usually the province and prerogative of younger organizations. EMI provides the following three offerings to help larger and more established organizations escape the shackles of prior success and regain the promise and potential of earlier days: 1) Creativity and Innovation workshops and training (ranging from single-day events to multi-session programs), for individuals and organizational components. 2) Organizational Change advice and programs (requiring the support, input and active participation of Senior Management and Human Resources staff.) Organizational culture and compensation/benefits are the major levers that can and must be manipulated in concert for an organization of any size to regain and maintain its innovative character and competitiveness. 3) Corporate Responsibility input and advocacy. Corporate (ir)responsibility can be a specific outcome of the "success as its own worst enemy" syndrome discussed above. When earlier assumptions, values, procedures, benchmarks, etc., become fixed within an organization, environmental change and the perspectives of and consequences to other parties often seem less clear and important. An organization simply living off past success often does not display Corporate Responsibility. While some view Corporate Responsibility as a matter of altruism and generosity, we regard it as good citizenship and enlightened self-interest. Responsible organizations are typically more successful than irresponsible ones due to greater environmental scanning, awareness of the myriad dependencies and consequences of their actions, planning for a range of opportunities and threats in their future, etc. Public reputation and positive impact usually follow naturally from sustained business success. EMI can make a meaningful contribution to Corporate Responsibility through Board membership or shorter term education and advocacy efforts. Services to Universities and Research Institutions Universities and other not-for-profit research institutions are a major source of new technology and commercializable concepts (being socially supported in large part for just this purpose), and are increasingly interested in seeing their advances exploited for both their own and the public's sake. Simultaneously, large numbers of corporations and pools of capital are eager to apply this intellectual property for social benefit and economic profit. Realistically, research institutions and their personnel are usually not skilled, experienced or focused on commercialization and venture creation, and potential for-profit partners typically lack access and technical expertise to find the most promising investigators and opportunities. Evolutionary Management, Inc., is ideally positioned to bridge this gap. Retained by a university or research institution on either a fee-for-service or venture participation basis, Evolutionary Management, Inc. is well-versed in both the technical world of scientific research and the practicalities of commercialization. Examination of research funding, scientific publications and investigator interviews, together with experience and contacts in the venture and intellectual property arenas, allow us to identify promising investigators and their programs. We can then help organize and launch commercial ventures based on these resources, with appropriate participation of and benefit to the researchers, sponsoring institutions and for-profit partners.