3. about us
Promise
VSC Growth will partner with you to
grow the potential of your business.
We offer experience with a more
personal and practical approach that
delivers enduring value.
Vision
VSC Growth aims to be the preferred
trusted advisors to medium and large
businesses in the areas of strategy,
organisational performance and
leadership.
Mission
We will earn our preferred trusted advisor
status through:
• Understanding our clients
• Personal service and
considered advice
• Developing our network,
experience and approach
• Focusing on creating enduring value
Managing a business presents challenges
daily. Steve Coote, Director of VSC Growth,
understands those challenges. With over 30
years operational experience, Steve appreciates
business demands faced by senior executives.
Steve founded VSC Growth Plus Pty Ltd in 2001.
For a number of years Steve contracted his
services almost exclusively to leading professional
services consultancy Cardno (ASX:CDD). In
his tenure at Cardno, Steve held various senior
management roles, from leading business
units and divisions to General Manager, Group
Operations of the global group of 3000+ people.
Following an association over 30 years with
Cardno, Steve left in 2009 to focus on building
his VSC Growth consultancy.
In his career Steve has participated in the merger
and acquisition of more than 30 companies - from
identification to due diligence to integration, he
understands the process. Steve also offers direct
experience in business planning and all corporate
services (such as operational finance
& budgeting, business systems, IT, marketing, HR
and administration) functions. He has experience
managing profitable businesses in good times,
and the not so good.
Steve has a reputation for building strong
professional relationships, analysing businesses
and improving their performance - by building
teams, setting goals and coaching managers.
Steve believes the success of VSC Growth will
be judged by the success of its clients. His
commitment to delivering solutions which match
client needs and expectations is his business goal.
5. strategy
business
In today’s dynamic business
environment having a well thought
out business strategy is essential.
Planning and implementing
a successful strategy for the
future mitigates risks and opens
opportunities for growth and
sustainable profits.
At VSC Growth we help businesses
produce strategies that increase
potential. We help you clarify your
goals, engage your key personnel,
assess the current state, explore
possibilities for the future, and identify
boundaries. Our services can help
you develop practical implementation
plans that engender the commitment
of the organisation and lead to
improved bottom line results.
Should Mergers & Acquisitions
form part of your growth strategy,
VSC Growth can assist. We provide
support services in the areas of M&A
strategy, due diligence, and integration
that are focused at increasing value.
Questions that you might be
asking…
• What will my business look
like five years from now?
• How will we grow in a
dynamic economy?
• What impact will market
changes and competition
have on my business?
• Which are the most important
actions I need to take to
implement our strategy?
• Who in our business
should I engage to help
implement the strategy?
• How can I be confident that I will
get positive returns from M&A?
organisational
performance
clients
Successful organisations enjoy the
spoils of high performance because
their teams are aligned, know exactly
what they have to do, and have the
necessary skills and resources to
deliver. They also have the policies,
processes, systems and controls that
regularly deliver high quality services
and products to clients.
VSC Growth’s experience in business
operations can help you review and
optimise your organisational capacity,
capability, structure, and business
practices or, more simply, your
“readiness to achieve”. We establish
performance systems which align
with your strategy and encourage a
healthy performance culture within
your teams.
In business things don’t always go
to plan and an under performing
business unit or division can decimate
company profits and shareholder
returns. VSC Growth has significant
experience in “turnaround” projects
and will provide fresh insights that
will make a positive difference.
By developing client relationship
strategies we can even help you
turn your high maintenance/low
profit clients into champions of your
business.
Questions that you might be
asking…
• We want to grow, but do I have
what we need to deliver?
• How can I get my leaders and
teams working together better?
• How do I improve quality
and client satisfaction?
• Can I reduce our costs without
impacting on quality or service?
• Why can’t my direct reports
sort out their unit’s problems?
• We are working hard but why
aren’t we making more profit?
leadership
results
The responsibilities and expectations
of CEO’s and Senior Executives are
constantly increasing in a business
environment that is always presenting
new challenges.
Continuously developing the health,
breadth and depth of leadership within
the business is paramount to growth
and sustainable success.
VSC Growth can help your key people
meet the challenges of today and
transition with the business into
the future.
We can provide support to all levels
in your organisation in the form of
practical “sounding board” advice to
question and explore specific issues,
through to more structured mentoring
programs. Our coaching programs
include tailored personal growth plans
that align with business objectives.
It is no surprise that Boards and
Directors are also exposed to
increasing responsibility and
expectation. Access to VSC Growth’s
operational experience can provide
Boards with a valuable resource to
contribute to governance and risk
management.
Questions that you might be
asking…
• How might I approach this
current issue differently?
• I (or my reports) are not
achieving the expected
results, what can we do?
• Who will replace me, or
my leaders, in the event
of a departure?
• How do I help our key
people and future leaders
grow with the business?
• Our CEO says everything is under
control but how can I be sure?
• How effective are our
governance procedures?
services
7. Initial Conversation
Each engagement starts with an initial conversation. We
want to get to know you and your business and begin
to explore how we might be able to help. We find that
when we collaborate with clients, we can jointly develop a
strategy to solve your problem. If VSC Growth can’t help,
we will try and connect you with people who can.
Proposal
After the initial conversation, and once we have agreed
to an overall approach, we will provide you with a formal
proposal. The proposal will detail the goals, service
type(s), delivery method, program and fees. We will
discuss the proposal with you to ensure that it meets your
requirements.
Engagement
VSC Growth will usually adopt the following methodology
for an engagement:
Deeper Understanding - We have a natural instinct for
engaging, questioning and investigating.
Open Collaboration - We respect experience and
facilitate shared thinking and evaluation of solutions
and risks.
Practical Action Plans - We plan actions,
responsibilities, time frames and budgets to fit your
requirements and participants’ capacities.
Effective Implementation - We coach and mentor
participants, remove road blocks, and encourage
timely and effective action.
Monitoring & Review - We report on progress and
agree with you any adjustments needed to achieve
your goals.
Evaluation
Ultimately, achieving tangible results for you, on time and
within budget, is our objective. We will review the success
of the engagement with you. If something needs to be
done to complete the engagement we will work with you to
address you concerns. Our guarantee is that if we haven’t
delivered on our promises we don’t expect you to pay us.
At VSC Growth we pride
ourselves on successful
strategies and proven
methodologies. We thrive
on challenge and draw
upon our skills to help
clients grow their business
in line with long term
objectives, leveraging
opportunities while
effectively managing risks.
Change can be seen as
a challenge for many
leaders, the true challenge
however, is not simply
managing change, but
successfully motivating
and leading others.
VSC Growth offers tailored
consulting solutions that
help you to think, plan,
perform and achieve
results that deliver growth.
thinkplanperform=growth
methodology
8. sustainable
outcomes
“Steve Coote worked
for Cardno over a
period of 30 years.”
- Managing Director Cardno Limited
(ASX:CDD)
I worked with Steve from 1997 when I joined
Cardno as Managing Director, and was
involved with his progression from being
a senior engineer, through a business unit
manager, division manager, to General
Manager of Group Operations.
Steve’s approach to management was at all
times thoughtful, consultative, and strategic.
Steve was heavily involved in assisting me
to develop Cardno’s Strategic Plan for 2005
to 2010 including midterm updates and was
a key participant in our merger & acquisition
integrations.
Steve also contributed to specific areas
of the Cardno group that required change
including increasing the service focus
and financial performance of parts of the
business.
He was a highly trusted advisor to me
as Managing Director, and also showed
a great skill in pulling teams together
including teams from new merger partner’s
organisations.
Overall Steve Coote made a strong
contribution to Cardno over a long period
of time and was highly regarded in our
company.
Andrew Buckley
Managing Director
Cardno Limited (ASX:CDD)
9. “Steve was able to
establish personal
relationships with
the owners and
gain a thorough
understanding of TBE’s
people and processes
for his cultural and
technical assessment.”
- President Cardno USA (ASX:CDD)
Steve and I enjoyed working closely
together on strategy, M&A, and business
operations over a seven year period with
ASX Listed Cardno. In my current capacity
as President of Cardno USA, I have been
charged with the challenge of growing and
managing Cardno’s entry into the North
America market.
To assist me with this expansion, Steve
provided M&A due diligence, M&A
integration, and business operations
assistance. As a member of Cardno’s due
diligence team for the acquisition of the
Florida headquartered, 450 person firm
TBE, Steve was able to establish personal
relationships with the owners and gain a
thorough understanding of TBE’s people
and processes for his cultural and technical
assessment. Steve also oversaw the
Cardno corporate inputs into all of our North
American M&A implementations and chaired
the integration committees for merger
partners EMG, WRG, and TBE.
While over-seeing transition and change
programs, Steve demonstrated a capacity
for engendering trust and respect from our
new partners. Steve in his capacity as GM
Group Operations, helped with monitoring
the ongoing health and performance of all
our business operations in North America
and UAE.
When required to question or challenge
our approach, Steve did so with a healthy
balance of support, diplomacy, and tenacity
- with the aim of helping us deliver positive
and sustainable commercial outcomes.
Michael Renshaw
President Cardno USA (ASX:CDD)
“Steve is armed with a
vision of what can be
achieved. He provides
a path for successful
and sustainable
outcomes”
- Brown Consulting
Steve Coote commenced working with
Brown Consulting to undertake a high
level project design role in configuring
a prospective Enterprise System to suit
current and/or desired business processes,
which included (among other things) a
detailed project implementation strategy.
Early in the project it became apparent that
Steve could offer much more to the project
and the scope was extended to consider
the strategic aspects of future project
and business performance management.
Through a series of high level meetings
and workshops, Steve firstly gained a
solid understanding of the nature of Brown
Consulting’s current environment and plans
for the future, then reviewed the systems
and processes currently in place. From that
he determined the resources and capacity
gaps in implementing prospective changes
in the context of the internal and external
risks that may have an impact.
Steve’s knowledge provided a valuable
insight and contribution in preparing and
planning for the risks of such a major
organisational change initiative. His
experience in mergers and acquisitions
and the challenges facing the effective
use and integration of systems to achieve
a competitive advantage were vital in
establishing a robust business case. Steve
can work at all levels in the organisation
and gained the respect of both board
members and line managers throughout
his involvement. His professional approach
encourages open discussion, constructive
debate and a high level of commitment
and participation. He has perhaps seen the
best and worse of enterprise systems in
his diverse roles and armed with a vision of
what can be achieved, he provides a path
for successful and sustainable outcomes.
I would be pleased to recommend Steve
for any similar or related project where
his senior leadership capabilities together
with his extensive operational experience
and practical approach would ensure a
successful outcome
Shane Fracchia
Chief Operating Officer, Brown Consulting
“Steve helped us
quickly negotiate a
35% price increase
with our major
client, and this has
immediately increased
our overall profitability
by a third”
- Sandra Nanka
My partner and I engaged the services
of Steve Coote from VSC Growth to help
improve our business performance. We were
in a business that we loved, but we were
working too hard and not getting the returns
we were looking for.
After our initial interview, Steve undertook
a complete audit of our current business
operations and financial performance. We
were hesitant of being told what we were
doing wrong, we knew our business and we
also knew our profits were not great. But
Steve’s approach was a pleasant surprise!
While the audit identified things that needed
to be fixed, Steve had undertaken some
additional market research. He showed
us the high value of our brand as a leader
in the marketplace and he encouraged
us to recognise the level of skills already
available in our organisation that we were
underselling.
Over the following months we jointly
reviewed our business strategy including
new opportunities and agreed on an
implementation plan. Initially we had a lot
to do, but during our monthly meetings
Steve has helped us focus on actions that
would have the greatest impact first. In fact,
Steve helped us quickly negotiate a 35%
price increase with our major client, and
this has immediately increased our overall
profitability by a third.
We have more to do but thanks to Steve's
positive coaching approach, and continued
support through follow up meetings, we feel
more confident about our ability to control
the direction of our business going forward.
Sandra Nanka
Partner, Mudbrick Cottage Herb Farm
testimonials
10.
11. maximise
your potential
Not sure where to start?
Call us for a confidential no obligation discussion
and see how we can help maximise your potential.
Steve Coote, Director
Phone +61 412 148 428
info@vscgrowth.com.au