MacPhie & Company: The Growth Imperative

In March 2015, consulting firm MacPhie & Company was at a crossroads. Founded in 2004 in Toronto, Ontario, the company offered consulting services related to strategy development, marketing and communications, reputation management, and branding. MacPhie & Company maintained an entrepreneurial culture that fostered innovation and continual learning, while ensuring that all client projects followed the MacPhie Way.” Although MacPhie & Company had been financially successful over the years, it had struggled with growth, so the company’s founder set a goal of growing MacPhie & Company to at least 20 consultants by 2020. He knew that in order to do that, he would need to consider all facets of the business: revenue generation to support a larger model; ensuring consistent profit margins; appropriate client mix; the services that were offered; teachable methodologies and consulting processes; effective organizational structure and human resources; geographic locations; and the employment of awareness-building efforts. After more than a decade, it was time to be bold and push MacPhie & Company to the next level. With the goal set, the challenge was how to get to the desired level of growth and then to sustain that level of growth once it had been reached.

This case is most appropriate for capstone courses in strategic management, for both upper-level undergraduate business students and MBA students. It is also highly applicable in courses on small business management. After completion of this case, students will be able to do the following:<br><ul><li>Perform a thorough strategy analysis of a small, successful consulting firm whose services are applicable to a number of industries.</li><li>Evaluate the external industry, internal operations, and recent financial performance of a small business.</li><li>Link ambitious growth goals with external and internal analysis in order to develop, evaluate, select, and implement strategic choices to achieve those goals, while still respecting the organization’s existing culture.</li></ul>

• Growth, SME