
Company website
Industry: Construction
Company Size: 51-200 employees
Headquarters: Sydney, NSW
Type: Privately Held
Creating a stong company culture, inspiring people and innovating workspaces that goes beyond just profits
The Challenge: Building a profitable enterprise
'One of the challenges with changing a business is that these things take time - changing strategic focus or building a high-performing team all happens slowly. The challenge is to keep the business ticking over and at the same time developing a long-term plan.'
When Amicus first started, James and his team experienced rapid growth, both in revenue and personnel. However, while the company's income grew rapidly, the company's profits weren't matching the increase in business activity.
This was prior to the global financial crisis in 2009, which significantly altered the commercial office landscape for a whole range of companies operating in the construction sector. Faced with a rapid drop in new projects, James and the team were forced to reevaluate how the company was performing.
Among the first decisions the company made was to slim down the number of staff, reducing the number by a third. The changes at Amicus went much deeper though, and involved a complete rethink of the company's strategy.
'In 2009, we said let's not just grow, let's focus on getting quality, profitable work. That's really a journey the company has been on since then,' said James.
One of the biggest obstacles here was the existing work Amicus was taking on. The company had been competing for lump-sum tenders where they were only involved in the building stage. That market was incredibly competitive, with low margins, high risks and very little room to differentiate their work from competitors.
Equally challenging though, has been the implementation of this strategy. James has seen firsthand how gradual the process is when changing the direction of a company.
The Solution: A three-pronged approach to business success
'The business was about a year old and joining TEC was a great informal network, but it also gave me access to really high-quality speakers. For those first few years, having access to those speakers helped me developed my own leadership style that was a bit raw and a bit rough around the edges when we first started Amicus.'
The Results: Rapid change leads to a profitable organisation
'I love to get the message across that businesses need leaders and workers who love what they do. If you aren't really passionate about what you are doing, go and focus on something else.'