Case Study

DuoProjects

DuoProjects is a successful project and development management consultancy for the property and construction industry in Australia.

Why DuoProjects chose to work with Three Chairs Consulting

In 2019, Executive Manager Huy Chau joined DuoProjects to help set up the business strategy, including the organisation’s vision and values. After going through the process internally, DuoProjects concluded that they needed external support to provide an independent and external perspective that could really drive the strategy development and identify the steps needed to take the business forward.   

“Melanie Bois and Three Chairs stood out for a couple of reasons,” says Huy.

“One – her approach in terms of quickly identifying the problem and outlining how to solve it. Two – her interpersonal skills and the rapport that she built with us. We felt very comfortable working with Melanie and her team. Lastly, we were looking for someone outside of the property and construction industry – and she came with a completely different perspective.”

The strategic facilitation process

Three Chairs Consulting began by conducting discovery interviews to better understand DuoProjects and its needs. We then introduced the strategy process to the Directors and Associates and facilitated the strategy development over several workshops.

“Melanie was very hands-on, she was in every single meeting. And in between the phone calls and emails she was super proactive. She even adopted our templates, which I thought was amazing,” says Huy.

“The approach that Three Chairs have is to throw themselves in and really unpack and understand the business very quickly. They quickly identified some of the chief concerns, issues and gaps, and strengths and weaknesses, and helped us shape where we needed to go.”

“Having access to their senior team, and the value they bring in terms of their perspectives and experiences, is quite phenomenal.”

“At the end of the all-day strategy session, one of the founding Directors said to Melanie that this is the best thing we’ve done for the business.”

Three Chairs Consulting also supported DuoProjects to run an all staff forum to launch the strategy and shape the organisation’s values. The solid foundation set up by Melanie and the team enabled the Directors and Associates to confidently talk about the new purpose, vision and strategic objectives and staff were genuinely heartened to hear the focus on people and their growth.

During the all staff forum, Cathy Singleton, Three Chairs’ Principal and Executive Coach facilitated a real time assessment of the current culture and future culture. This led to a deeper understanding of how DuoProjects would need to come together to deliver on the strategy.

Outcomes

According to Huy, working with Three Chairs Consulting gave DuoProjects greater clarity on who they are, what they do and where they want to go.

“They really unpacked our culture and our values base, and then quickly identified what that looks like for our business. It gave us more focus in terms of what we need to do over the next three to four years,” says Huy.

Since working with Three Chairs Consulting, their purpose, vision and values have been integrated into the fabric of the business.

“Our purpose and values are now part of our code of conduct. And in our performance reviews we ask our team how they are aligned to our vision and values and how they assess themselves to that.”

“We’re trying to focus on how we live and breathe those values, including thinking about the type of people we want to work with in future. We’re reassessing our client base and making sure we are aligned on a similar set of values.”

“Even though our engagement with Three Chairs Consulting has ended, Melanie is still checking in on us and making sure we’re ok.”

“I have no hesitation in recommending her.”