Corporate strategy and portfolio reshaping for a diversified manufacturing company   We first needed to understand the competencies and strengths of the corporation, its business units, and its managers. These would determine the new corporate direction, direct the reshaping of the business portfolio, and inform the implementation program. There was little consensus or understanding within the client organization of what these competencies and strengths were. Objective Assessment of Competencies   Our first task, therefore, was to provide a fact-based, objective assessment of these. Our approach was to engage intensively with the leaders of a half-dozen business units, helping them redevelop their business strategies as part of the company’s annual planning process. We chose the business units with the most shareholder value at stake (upside potential or downside risk), and worked with them for 2-3 months. This had two benefits: it immediately helped these businesses sharpen their strategic focus and clarify their plans; it also provided the foundation for understanding what the company’s business unit and corporate competencies were. Evaluation of the Company's Portfolio   We then leveraged this knowledge to evaluate the company’s complete portfolio of businesses. We assessed industry attractiveness, competitive position and fit with competencies for each of their two-dozen business lines. We worked with senior management to articulate a new corporate direction based on the company’s demonstrated competencies and their aspirations for new competencies. We then compared this new corporate direction with our assessment of the existing portfolio, and split the portfolio into thirds: businesses which clearly fit the new direction, those that clearly did not, and those that could fit with additional work and reshaping. In addition, we identified a large number of businesses that the company did not own, but that fit well with the new corporate direction. Developing a Transformation Plan   We then developed the transformation plan, laying out a multi-year plan to exit businesses which no longer fit the strategy, enter new businesses that would fit the strategy, and reshape businesses that could be made to fit the strategy. The transformation plan included everything from how to build consensus among the broad management team, to shareholder communications, to an M&A program to reshape the portfolio, to a redesign of the corporate center. The result: Development of a transformation plan