Marathon Consulting Group

StrategyDriven Trusted Service PartnerMarathon Consulting Group

Led by richly experienced leaders and executives from the power industry, Marathon Consulting Group approaches regulatory recovery and other engineering, technology, and management challenges from a strategic and 100% solutions-focused perspective. Our services empower our clients for effectiveness, competitiveness, and compliance.

Organizational Performance Services

Frequently, an organization’s performance is driven by behaviors of leadership team members. Marathon has developed integrated tools and processes to help organizations reset standards and change the behaviors necessary to improving performance. We have been extremely successful in guiding our clients along their journeys to excellence.

Marathon organizational performance services include:

  • Nuclear and non-nuclear safety culture surveys, analysis, assessments, cause analysis, action plan development, implementation support, and effectiveness assessments
  • Regulatory Recoveries
  • Mentoring and monitoring as a part of improvement initiatives
  • Oversight and subject matter expert services
  • Cause Analysis and Corrective Action Program Assistance
  • Organizational and incident causal analysis and training

Marathon’s approach of precisely defining problems, determining causes, and determining effective actions in concert with the client has resulted in successful improvement strategies across our client base. From regulatory recoveries to improving internal client relationships and culture, Marathon’s sharp focus on problems and their solutions has been a successful strategy appreciated by our clients.

The power of our process becomes especially evident when senior management come to understand the actual and potential consequences of their behaviors and then engage more effectively with staff as a result. The organization becomes more aligned, engaged, and prepared to respond reliably and consistently to issues. Consequential events are reduced and regulatory margin is preserved.

Management Services

Marathon provides extensive management services to clients in the electrical generation industry (including nuclear, oil, and gas).

Marathon management services include:

  • Embedded and augmented line and project management experts
  • Mentoring and monitoring as a part of improvement initiatives
  • Oversight and subject matter expert services
  • Process analysis and improvement
  • Organizational and incident causal analysis and training

Marathon’s approach of precisely defining problems, determining causes, and determining effective actions in concert with the client has resulted in successful improvement strategies across our client base. From Work Management and Outage improvement to improving internal client relationships, Marathon’s sharp focus on problems and their solutions has been a successful strategy appreciated by our clients.

Engineering and Licensing Services

Marathon has successfully provided engineering and licensing services to the nuclear and non-nuclear electrical generation industry, national engineering labs, and the oil and gas refining and distribution industry.

Marathon Engineering and Licensing Services include:

  • Engineering project management and implementation
  • Managed task implementation
  • Maintenance Rule implementation
  • Engineering program development and reconstitution
  • Process improvement
  • Training
  • Oversight and review board participation and management
  • Design review
  • Equipment and process root cause analysis and resolution
  • Direct Licensing support
  • Regulatory Affairs analysis and resolution

Marathon’s approach in each of these areas centers on accurate and detailed definition of the problem or task and development of a plan of action in concert with the client and client’s requirements. Rigorous implementation of the plan while engaging the client results in accomplishment of the effort completely as expected and as scheduled. The depth of experience that Marathon’s personnel bring to the table, and the ways in which we collaborate with the client and across the Marathon projects clearly sets us apart.

Technical Services

Marathon provides technical services to the clients in the electrical generation industry, including oil and gas.

Marathon Technical Services include:

  • Managed task projects such as Bills of Materials solutions, Preventive Maintenance program development and optimization
  • Project Controls tools and techniques for managing large volumes of data, corrective actions, and commitments
  • Financial projection and tracking tools for projects
  • Financial projection and Client Relationship Manager (CRM) integration

Marathon’s tools and techniques are proven in the field to be accurate, intuitively useable by a variety of personnel, simple to maintain with minimal skills and are usually used by the client long after the Marathon engagement.

Contact Marathon Consulting Group

Phone: 678-879-8700

Email: [email protected]

Website: marathoninc.com

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Sevian

StrategyDriven's Turnkey Sevian Business Programs

Sevian

Sevian offers fully developed, immediately implementable, best practice programs based on decades of business management and operations experience. Leaders implementing these programs gain access to the aggregate experience of dozens of leading companies without incurring the high costs of benchmarking, research, and development.

Implemented by Fortune 500, large regional, and small companies, Sevian Business Programs enable rapid implementation and improvement of mission critical operational programs. Each program contains all of the components necessary to implement a fully mature program on day one – truly enabling turnkey performance excellence. Available programs include:

Sevian Business Programs are copyrighted and offered by StrategyDriven Enterprises, LLC. These programs support StrategyDriven’s commitment to providing executives and managers with the planning and execution advice, tools, and practices needed to create greater organizational alignment and accountability for the achievement of superior results.

Contact Sevian

Phone: (770) 765-3692

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.sevian.net

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StrategyDriven Enterprises

StrategyDriven Enterprises, LLC

StrategyDriven is dedicated to providing executives and managers with the planning and execution advice, tools, and practices needed to create greater organizational alignment and accountability for the achievement of superior results.

We help our clients create and execute a clear, forward-looking strategy – translatable to the day-to-day activities of all organization members – that’s critical to their realizing success in today’s fast paced market environment. Not only does a compelling, well executed strategy align individuals to a common purpose, it ensures that purpose best serves the company’s mission.

The StrategyDriven website provides access to a wide array of best practice business planning and execution tools, streamlined process flows, how-to articles, example-rich podcasts, and customizable ready-to-use program management templates. Premium Members receive access to over 200 members-only articles, whitepapers, models, and tools and templates; providing an in-depth look into critical business performance areas; placing specific focus on the alignment of organizational standards, programs, and behaviors to the optimal achievement of mission goals. Sevian Business Program purchasers receive fully implementable business performance improvement processes out-of-the-box, enabling the acceleration of business growth and heightening of operational efficiency needed to significantly improve bottom line results.

Collectively, our products offer business leaders the opportunity to access the knowledge of a highly educated and experienced staff without the associated overhead expense.

At StrategyDriven, our seasoned business leaders deliver real-world strategic business planning and tactical execution best practice advice – a blending of workplace experience with sound research and academic principles – to business leaders who may not otherwise have access to these resources.

Contact StrategyDriven Enterprises, LLC

Phone: (770) 765-3692

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.strategydriven.com

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Management Observation Program Best Practice 18 – Observation Transparency

StrategyDriven Management Observation Program Best Practice ArticleIndividuals naturally become edgy when monitored at work. Observation programs shrouded in secrecy further contribute to this sense of anxiety as observed subjects remain unaware of what is being documented and how it might affect their career. Consequently, observers can significantly reduce the observed subjects’ anxiety by making the observation, including observation documentation, as transparent as possible.[wcm_restrict plans=”42006, 25542, 25653″]

Observation transparency is most impactful when the to-be observed subjects are made aware of the available transparency prior to being observed. This transparency should include:

  • Reviewing the observation process
  • Reinforcing the management observation program’s role in the organization’s overall performance improvement efforts
  • Communicating that the observation is not intended to be used punitively against the individual though observed performance could contribute to the subject’s performance profile as maintained within the personnel performance management program (See StrategyDriven Management Observation Program Best Practice article, Feeding the Performance Management Program)
  • Specifying the actions to be taken by the observer
  • Listing the activities, documents, and/or technologies to be observed
  • Notifying the subject that follow-on questions will be asked so to ascertain the subjects’ understanding of management standards, why certain actions were or were not taken
  • Reviewing the completed observation form, including criteria scoring and substantiating comments, with the observed subject prior to the form being finalized
  • Informing the observed subject that, once completed, the observation form will be reviewed with his/her supervisor and submitted for aggregate analysis

Also note that details of the observation will not be shared outside of the individual’s chain of command and that the performance statistics gathered from across the organization are analyzed on a workgroup, department, division, and organization basis.

Final Thoughts…

Some organizations with represented employees may need a union representative to be present during an observation as dictated by their labor contract.

The labor contract may also permit the observed subject to not sign the observation document acknowledging the observer’s feedback. Some individuals may simply refuse to sign the observation document regardless of the labor contract or company policy. In these cases, the observer should sign the observation document noting the date and time the observed subject was briefed on his/her performance and any other noteworthy circumstances such as the presence of a union representative.[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember plans=”42006, 25542, 25653″]


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About the Author

Nathan Ives, StrategyDriven Principal is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.

Management Observation Program Best Practice 17 – Paired Observations

StrategyDriven Management Observation Program Best Practice ArticleManagers translate leadership’s vision into the day-to-day actions of the workforce. They do this through their decisions, published standards, and operational procedures. They reinforce desired behaviors through organizational performance measures and management observations. But how do executives ensure their manager and supervisor direct reports understand and properly translate and reinforce their vision with the workforce? One method of doing so is through the conduct of paired observations.[wcm_restrict plans=”41999, 25542, 25653″]

Paired observations are management observations performed by a manager or supervisor with his/her superior in attendance. During these observations, the superior performs an observation of the manager or supervisor; noting:

  • What activity, document, and/or technology the observer choses to evaluate
  • How the observer evaluates the activity, document, or technology (subject)
  • What subject characteristics the observer deems to be excellent, above average, average, and needs improvement (See StrategyDriven Management Observation Program Best Practice article, Criteria Scoring System)
  • What the observer deems important enough to document as substantiating comments
  • How and what feedback is provided to the observed subject or subject owner

The superior documents his/her assessment of the observer’s performance; providing coaching as necessary to better align the individual’s understanding with leadership’s vision.

Final Thoughts…

Paired observations further communicates the importance of the management observation program and helps ensure the program itself continues to provide quality reinforcement of expectations and input to the organization’s performance improvement efforts.

Like other observations, a standard observation form should be used during paired observations. In these instances, the focus of the observation and established criteria should align with the five goals listed above.[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember plans=”41999, 25542, 25653″]


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Sign-up now for your StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription for as low as $15 / month (paid annually).

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About the Author

Nathan Ives, StrategyDriven Principal is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.