<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[smart/tasking]]></title><description><![CDATA[smart/tasking]]></description><link>https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Mon, 26 Oct 2026 17:11:05 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Don’t jump ahead: why 80% of enterprise AI initiatives stall (and how to fix the operations underneath)]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Adam Young, Managing Partner at smart/tasking Having spent nearly four decades building, scaling, acquiring, and transforming businesses, I’ve seen the exact same technology trap play out in every major cycle. Organisations invest heavily in shiny new platforms, expecting tech to solve underlying performance issues. Yet time and again, they leave the underlying operating model completely untouched. Today, the pressure on C-suite leaders to deliver an AI strategy has brought this pattern to...]]></description><link>https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/post/don-t-jump-ahead-why-80-of-enterprise-ai-initiatives-stall-and-how-to-fix-the-operations-undernea</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6ad78f7ce05e3b1ea4eaf15a</guid><pubDate>Tue, 20 Oct 2026 16:07:34 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_716ae26849334a76a704fc204a9316c5~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Adam Young</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Spotlight On... Rob Bullen]]></title><description><![CDATA[Commercial Transformation Leader &#38; Client Partner at smart/tasking With over 25 years of board-level leadership experience, Rob Bullen is a commercial transformation leader who excels at restoring performance and driving lasting results. Having worked across private equity-backed businesses, SMEs, and global corporations, Rob combines sharp commercial insight with deep expertise in business transformation, operational excellence, procurement, and commercial turnaround. As a Client Partner at...]]></description><link>https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/post/spotlight-on-rob-bullen</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6ac506cc6c2ede7806218585</guid><pubDate>Tue, 06 Oct 2026 14:49:10 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/63c2ff_73940bfa74814be9b182e670ff951429~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_950,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>danieldunlop</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Lesson 6: Collaborate and co-create value - don’t impose solutions]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Niall Anderson   Traditional strategy consultancies love to sell a beautiful, static blueprint, hand it over, and call it 100% of the value. But real, sustainable impact cannot be imposed from the outside - it has to be co-created.   In this instalment of our 10 Lessons for 10 Years series, our co-founder and CEO Niall Anderson breaks down what true, embedded collaboration looks like on the ground.   Sophie Pentony: Niall, this lesson stresses that real value must be co-created, not...]]></description><link>https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/post/lesson-6-collaborate-and-co-create-value-don-t-impose-solutions</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6aba42d82c4f838a255850b8</guid><pubDate>Mon, 28 Sep 2026 13:42:27 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bc8505_b2d890ec47b445be8d4b07beee8f71bd~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Niall Anderson</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Lesson 5: Managing expectations means holding stakeholders to account early - before the horse has bolted]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Gary Gamp For the fifth lesson in our 10 Lessons for 10 Years series, Sophie Pentony sat down with our CXO, Gary Gamp, to discuss why managing expectations isn't a corporate cliché - it's the foundation of accountability. Because once the horse has bolted, every conversation starts to sound like blame. Bringing people on the journey Sophie: Gary, talk me through what this lesson means to you, and where it comes from.   Gary: It goes back to why we started smart/tasking. Most organisations...]]></description><link>https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/post/lesson-5-managing-expectations-means-holding-stakeholders-to-account-early-before-the-horse-has-b</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6ab50888462042fa0a592d4c</guid><pubDate>Thu, 24 Sep 2026 13:51:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_0031705ef65940a4b0a2eb10832435d5~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Gary Gamp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Lesson four: Differentiate, disrupt and don't blend in]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Niall Anderson Lesson four: Differentiate, disrupt and don't blend in If Lesson two, was about understanding your client, Lesson four is about making sure they remember you. In crowded markets, it's easy to become just another provider saying the same things, using the same language and offering the same solutions. According to Niall Anderson, that's exactly where businesses get into trouble. The organisations that win aren't always the biggest. They're often the ones willing to be bolder,...]]></description><link>https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/post/lesson-four-differentiate-disrupt-and-don-t-blend-in</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6ab3d4cfeaae7499e9e32092</guid><pubDate>Wed, 23 Sep 2026 15:12:15 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_7c0eb7d0def8480a85ef6197608967a4~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Niall Anderson</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why your Target Operating Model should never really be finished]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Gareth Greppellini An acquisition or transformation programme can reshape a business overnight. AI and automation redefine capability needs. Cost bases shift, customer expectations evolve, and executive leadership adjusts the strategy. None of this means your original operating model design was wrong. It simply means it was designed for a version of your organisation that no longer exists. Over time, this creates a dangerous strategy execution gap between boardroom ambition and daily...]]></description><link>https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/post/why-your-target-operating-model-should-never-really-be-finished</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6aa9088831b7de7b20e07a85</guid><pubDate>Tue, 15 Sep 2026 09:18:10 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_1e18abaa7ad445cba875f0aa03112b28~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Gareth Greppellini</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Before you change the organisation, understand the one you already have]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Adam Young When we're brought into an organisation, there's usually already a view about what's wrong. There are too many layers, a team doesn't have enough capacity, a process isn't working as it should, or perhaps the structure simply needs to change. That's completely understandable. Leadership teams know their businesses well and, often, there's a good reason they've reached that conclusion. The only thing we'd caution against is assuming that the first answer is necessarily the whole...]]></description><link>https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/post/before-you-change-the-organisation-understand-the-one-you-already-have</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6aa00b9c6dbbe8c95dd4d7b1</guid><pubDate>Tue, 08 Sep 2026 13:50:48 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_b7ab4155c15742bfb8534a154efd6c63~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Adam Young</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Do you know what your operating model is costing you?]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Chris Carlisle  Most leadership teams can easily tell you what they spend on people, technology, and suppliers. What is much harder to calculate is how much of that investment is lost in the gap between strategic ambition and daily execution. Individually, routine hand-offs, duplicated tasks, and management layers don't look like a crisis. But across an enterprise, they add up to a substantial drain on capacity and margin, leaving you paying for a team setup that isn't built to deliver...]]></description><link>https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/post/do-you-know-what-your-operating-model-is-costing-you</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a9e96b3456d471f0df9f012</guid><pubDate>Mon, 07 Sep 2026 11:38:50 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c1646a6e7cb74ad2a58fe9382b1ad877.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Chris Carlisle</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sometimes a cost problem isn't really a cost problem.]]></title><description><![CDATA[We worked with an organisation that needed to find £500k of EBITDA from its back-office operation. On paper, the numbers immediately pointed towards headcount. There were 45 people working across nine sub-functions, with 15 managers. It would have been very easy to look at that structure; decide it was too big and start cutting. But spending time with the teams told us a different story. There were good, capable people working hard across the business. The problem was that the work had become...]]></description><link>https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/post/sometimes-a-cost-problem-isn-t-really-a-cost-problem</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a9e946bd22484005499ecba</guid><pubDate>Mon, 07 Sep 2026 10:48:16 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/63c2ff_befb3e13430f4b41bfe9d952b0ddc606~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>danieldunlop</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[You cannot hire your way out of demographics - you have to build your way out]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Gary Gamp Your workforce is ageing out faster than the next generation is coming in. The maths is already fixed, the shortfall is already booked, and the young talent arriving is arriving underprepared. Early careers has quietly stopped being a corporate social responsibility line and become a supply chain risk. Most leadership teams I sit with have a plan for everything except the thing that will actually constrain them. They can model demand three years out. They can name every...]]></description><link>https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/post/you-cannot-hire-your-way-out-of-demographics-you-have-to-build-your-way-out</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a99374a20b9c897c303a6b9</guid><pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2026 09:51:57 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/63c2ff_a7424e003825479dab24b2af6ab2d6af~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Gary Gamp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Your business has changed. Has your organisation changed with it?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Think about how much has changed in businesses over the last five years. New markets have opened up, acquisitions have been made, products and services have evolved, technology has moved forward, and customer expectations have continued to rise. More recently, AI has created another wave of opportunity, while the pressure to improve productivity and manage cost has rarely been far from the leadership agenda. Through all of that, organisations adapt. New teams are created to respond to new...]]></description><link>https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/post/your-business-has-changed-has-your-organisation-changed-with-it</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a96a6815bedecf2a6428276</guid><pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2026 10:48:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/63c2ff_843e510b286745edab6d7ddcb4df9456~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_720,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>danieldunlop</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why great operational leaders don't chase every fire]]></title><description><![CDATA[Every struggling organisation has one thing in common: sooner or later, the senior leadership team becomes involved in everything. Every escalation lands on their desk. Every difficult customer ends up in their diary. Every operational issue demands their attention. It often feels like good leadership because everyone can see they're busy. In reality, it's usually a sign that the operating model isn't working as well as it should. One of the biggest misconceptions about leadership is that the...]]></description><link>https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/post/why-great-operational-leaders-don-t-chase-every-fire</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a969015e25608e51aadda5b</guid><pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2026 09:02:11 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_12568f280e304a668e2920040f718284~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Chris Carlisle</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[APMG and smart/tasking Launch Career Ready Academy to Help Bridge the Gap Between Education and Employment]]></title><description><![CDATA[New workplace-readiness certification designed to equip learners with the skills employers consistently look for. Global certification body APMG International and learning consultancy smart/tasking  today announced the launch of Career Ready Academy, a new certification programme designed to help individuals develop the practical workplace skills needed to succeed in an increasingly competitive job market. Recent research from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that only...]]></description><link>https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/post/apmg-and-smart-tasking-launch-career-ready-academy-to-help-bridge-the-gap-between-education-and-empl</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a732c385d7bc426a549f597</guid><pubDate>Thu, 13 Aug 2026 07:30:04 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bc8505_94fefdd53ad1458c8c3b37a023e2d500~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>smart/tasking</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Lesson 3: Outcomes win every time - the mindset of accomplishment ]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Gary Gamp Enterprise transformation frequently suffers from a metrics problem. Progress is too often measured by the volume of tasks completed rather than the actual commercial value delivered. This creates an environment where project trackers look entirely healthy, yet the business transformation itself remains stalled.  This challenge forms the basis of the second installment in our 10-part series on enterprise performance, where we isolate the recurring execution patterns that hold...]]></description><link>https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/post/lesson-3-outcomes-win-every-time-the-mindset-of-accomplishment</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a6b0c975329f38dcec98d96</guid><pubDate>Thu, 30 Jul 2026 08:41:26 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bc8505_fc02234afbd04e81bf9320e690d04c3f~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_720,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Gary Gamp</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[From PowerPoint to EBITDA: Bridging the delivery gap in realised value ]]></title><description><![CDATA[These days, any business leader can use ChatGPT to generate a slick strategy document in minutes. It will feature sharp market analysis, industry language, and a convincing growth story that stands up to peer critique. The problem I’ve seen, however, is that investment committees frequently mistake a strategy deck for a guaranteed outcome.  A slide deck is just a document. It is a feeling. It is not a target operating model, and it does not guarantee growth. Value is rarely lost in the cells...]]></description><link>https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/post/from-powerpoint-to-ebitda-bridging-the-delivery-gap-in-realised-value</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a5117afcaeb8c9a2507e1c3</guid><pubDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2026 16:23:13 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bc8505_b516871a3bc14ab6b484f959f344b399~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Adam Young</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[10 Lessons from 10 Years in Business Lesson two: Qualify well and know your client inside out]]></title><description><![CDATA[A conversation with Niall Anderson  For the second lesson in our 10 Lessons from 10 Years in Business series, I sat down with smart/tasking CEO Niall Anderson to talk about something he believes sits at the heart of successful consulting, sales and transformation work: truly understanding your client.  Not surface-level research. Not generic discovery questions. But deep context - understanding the market, the pressures, the ambition, the politics, the risks and the real consequences of...]]></description><link>https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/post/10-lessons-from-10-years-in-business-lesson-two-qualify-well-and-know-your-client-inside-out</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a6881e74ea5d7da7852950d</guid><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2026 23:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bc8505_35468d5414d14a179504bb74811fc0d3~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_720,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Niall Anderson</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The business protection mandate, part 2: The operating model cure ]]></title><description><![CDATA[In the second part of this two-part series, we identify the structural taps that lock-up your internal capacity, and what you can do about them.   Once you recognise the mathematical velocity required to protect your margins, the question shifts from when to act to where to intervene. When a business model is under pressure, executive teams often try to solve the problem by pushing for more volume. They run the sales dice faster around the board, assuming growth will erase structural...]]></description><link>https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/post/the-business-protection-mandate-part-2-the-operating-model-cure</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a3b9732433568818444ef94</guid><pubDate>Wed, 24 Jun 2026 08:41:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bc8505_d3a0847c991a40afaf3d579ac2d533ad~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>pauldunlop96</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The business protection mandate, part one: Fiddling while Rome burns: why indecision is your most expensive operating cost  ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Over the last 12 months, the smart/tasking team has seen the real cost of delayed decision making. Leadership teams can lose millions in margin, not because they lack strategy, but because they delay difficult operational decisions for too long. In corporate life, it is remarkably easy to mistake frantic operational activity for real value. But when these foundations are ignored, early operational indecision quickly becomes the most expensive line item on an executive P&#38;L.   If you fall...]]></description><link>https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/post/the-business-protection-mandate-part-one-fiddling-while-rome-burns-why-indecision-is-your-most-ex</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a26ac1e4f1a88116950d89a</guid><pubDate>Mon, 08 Jun 2026 11:53:25 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bc8505_892dece182ed49b7a409471906600058~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Gareth Greppellini</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[When the strategy team leaves the room: why execution demands partnership   By Niall Anderson, CEO]]></title><description><![CDATA[Over a 40-year career navigating the journey from an apprentice to various board-level positions, I have seen the same costly script play out dozens of times. A senior leadership team identifies a massive opportunity for growth or optimisation. Significant capital is allocated to deep diagnostics, and a prestigious strategy team delivers a brilliant roadmap. But then, the strategy team leaves the room. The gap between strategic intent and operational reality remains one of the most...]]></description><link>https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/post/when-the-strategy-team-leaves-the-room-why-execution-demands-partnership-by-niall-anderson-ceo</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a21528e345fdf6c42533bf6</guid><pubDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:38:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bc8505_669a82d24f644c62b3a5984d577123fe~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_630,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Niall Anderson</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Lesson 1: Transition and transformation is difficult - why starting small gets things moving]]></title><description><![CDATA[10 years, 10 lessons – what we’re taking through 2026  We have officially entered our tenth year. Reaching this milestone has given us a unique vantage point; a decade spent deep inside organisations allows you to stop seeing isolated issues and start recognising the recurring patterns that hold businesses back. We’ve seen the blockers that repeat themselves over and over, the habits that drain capacity, and the specific choices that help teams move forward with confidence.   Throughout this...]]></description><link>https://pauldunlop96.wixsite.com/my-site/post/lesson-1-transition-and-transformation-is-difficult-why-starting-small-gets-things-moving</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69bd4bf79f47d1db502dc497</guid><pubDate>Fri, 20 Mar 2026 16:07:36 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bc8505_a6953cbf7d634dd0b3e9e617a91d7569~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>pauldunlop96</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>