Case Study: Rebuilding Organizational Clarity at a 350-Employee CRO in 40 Days
Client Overview
A mid-sized bioanalytical CRO (350 employees) experiencing rapid growth, shifting leadership structures, and operational strain across commercial, technical, and scientific functions.
Challenge
The organization faced systemic issues that degraded execution:
unclear ownership across departments
redundant initiatives competing for the same resources
inconsistent handoffs between BD, PM, Ops, and Marketing
fragmented data systems and unintegrated merger documentation
leaders sensing friction without clarity on root causes
The CEO and CCO needed fast, accurate intelligence to understand how work actually moved through the organization.
Approach
1. “30 in 30” Trust-Building Sprint
Met with 30 employees (entry, mid, senior) to surface hidden workloads, informal workflows, and institutional knowledge living outside the org chart.
2. System Mapping Across Seven Departments
Mapped the entire client-intake-to-delivery workflow, identifying:
a 92-step process
a 4.7× cascading failure pattern
major visibility gaps between teams
process divergence between acquired and legacy sites
3. Unowned Strategic Analyses
Investigated issues no function formally owned:
a 5-year-old merger never integrated into production systems
150+ redundant email distribution lists
BD → PM → Ops handoffs with inconsistent quality
an orphaned data dictionary causing CRM/LIMS inconsistencies
4. Executive-Ready Synthesis
Delivered clear materials for CEO/CCO decision-making:
workflow visualizations
department-level findings
implementation-ready recommendations
zero-budget operational improvements
ownership pathways and risk notes
Timeline of Work (Condensed)
Week 1
Day 1 — Shadowed Director reporting to CCO
Day 3 — Launched enterprise intelligence project across 7 departments
Week 2
Day 11 — Consolidated 100+ commercial battle-deck slides
Day 12 — Mapped intake process across 6 touchpoints
Day 14 — Delivered competitive insights to CMO
Day 16 — Documented 92-step workflow + quantified 4.7× failure pattern
Week 3
Day 17 — Designed cross-department survey (100% participation)
Day 18 — Automated workflow using VBA for real-time visualization
Day 19 — Aligned with CSO on disruptive tech & AI boundaries
Day 20 — Updated external conference deck for first time in 20+ years
Week 4
Day 23 — Identified single-point knowledge dependency
Day 24 — Secured IT approval for company-wide collaboration tools
Day 27 — Identified redundant initiatives across systems
Week 5
Day 32 — Completed 15+ stakeholder interviews
Day 34 — Completed full “30 in 30” sprint (mapped 8% of workforce)
Day 35 — Documented 150+ redundant distribution lists
Day 38 — Delivered eight zero-cost operational improvements
Week 6
Day 40 — Presented 10+ strategic recommendations to CEO & CCO
Impact Summary
Organizational Insight
Mapped operations across 7 departments
Conducted 15+ structured interviews + “30 in 30”
Identified structural failures and quantified 4.7× amplification
Executive Alignment
Established direct working relationships with CMO, CSO, CIO, CCO, CEO
Provided synthesized intelligence for executive decision-making
Shifted Marketing–BD alignment via data-driven survey
Operational Improvements
Implemented 8 zero-cost fixes
Eliminated 3 redundant initiatives
Resolved communication gaps affecting 375 employees
Modernized conference materials for the first time in 20 years
Cross-Functional Execution
Consolidated 100+ battle-deck slides
Automated workflow visualization (VBA)
Achieved full participation in a cross-team survey
Rebuilt BD–PM–Contracting–Marketing signals
Why It Matters
This engagement exposed the invisible patterns constraining the organization:
legacy decisions embedded in workflows
misaligned expectations between functions
institutional knowledge held by only a few
broken systems inherited across years of growth
Overall we mapped seven departments, quantified a 92-step workflow with a 4.7× failure pattern, uncovered a forgotten merger, and exposed 150+ redundant communication loops. The result: eight zero-cost fixes, three redundant initiatives resolved, modernized commercial materials, and a set of CEO-ready insights that reduced friction and improved cross-functional execution.