Five Tiers to Guarantee Future Renwick Success

Any plans for transformation must be undertaken in a structured manner and this is where the guidance of Managing Director of Strategic Alignment Limited, Robert Wynter, comes in. Wynter is known throughout the Caribbean for facilitating organizational transformation and leadership development. His work and expertise have even been sought after by governments throughout the region.

He told Business Focus that for Renwick, there is a five-tier process of organizational change and conditioning that is currently ongoing under his guidance – so seamlessly that the public seems not to have caught on.

This process began with mobilizing the company’s leadership in a manner that looked to convince them that the strength of the company’s future demanded change. And him simply being on board, was enough to cement this fact and “unfreeze” the Renwick leadership.

Establishing and conveying the vision for the future of the company was tier two and this was purely to determine what Cheryl Renwick and by fair extension the founder, Christopher Renwick, wanted the company to look like by 2025. With Cheryl Renwick well on her way to fully taking over the company, it is important that this vision lines up with her first.

“This is looking forward and it is almost like we want to create our own vision and path and create a way to get there,” Wynter explains.

Having established this new and exciting vision, the next challenge in the five-tier process was strategic thinking. Now, while strategic thinking is something that must always exist within any organization, it is with most significance that this is intensified and takes a focal point during a period of transition and rethinking.

“How do we get from here to 2025,” Wynter questioned. “There are choices to be made and strategic planning must be employed – because we have limited resources and because we must make choices in keeping with the limits of these resources.”

According to the renowned consultant, lines, focus and possibilities for expansion are important, and Renwick is ensuring that these are all aligned to guarantee a secure and bright future.

“As long as we make these choices and there is a roadmap we then need to realign the company to that new strategy,” he said.

And this is precisely what the fourth tier entails – realignment.

Wynter explained that some changes in even major companies fail because of attempts to employ new strategies and policies without either reshaping the thinking of the existing leadership team, or – more drastically – replacing these talents where necessary.

“It is tantamount to trying to pour new wine into old wine spaces. So the challenge is realigning the organization to the new strategy,” he said.

Completing the structure is what Wynter rightly calls, “flawless execution.”

His excitement in this particular process coupled with the energy of the Renwick team, leads him to believe that the future of the company in Saint Lucia and possibly across the Caribbean, is indeed a bright one.

“I think the 2025 vision is bright. Renwick has a bright future ahead and I think moving forward it will be able to adapt. How they prepare for changes in the future is equally important as how they prepare now.”

Management, he said, has been slowly accepting the realities of the change necessary for the company’s future, but this – he admits – is a “normal part of the process.”

“There have naturally been hiccups and resistance along the way and that is good, it simply means that the process is working.

“I am very convinced that they will be able to achieve the required change and secure the kind of future that Christopher Renwick would be proud of,” Wynter said.

Moreover, he advised the environment for growth and development can only be created by the synergy, effectiveness and efficiency of every single Renwick director, department head and team member.

He said improving Renwick’s performance, and that of any business, can be achieved through either continuous improvement using a tactical approach or by fundamentally transforming itself using a strategic approach.

The conclusion is simple, according to Wynter, and that is that these initiatives could require minimal expenditure but must be driven by sheer will.

(First Published Business Focus St. Lucia April 2016)