James O’Sullivan
James O’Sullivan Shaping Business Successes, Leading With Innovation Here comes another phenomenal venture, Project One, distinguished as a leading management consultancy in the Financial Times rankings which excels in executing business-critical change and transformation initiatives for global organizations. The success narrative of Project One is intricately woven with its commitment to maintaining independence—a remarkable feat for an organization of its size and stature, considering its expansive client base. In James O’Sullivan’s tenure, only the third CEO in the 25-year history of Project One, he has been fortunate to witness and contribute to the company’s growth for nearly a decade. His journey began as a consultant and progressed through roles in client account management and leadership of the sales team, affording him invaluable insights into the inner workings of the organization across all core levels and functions. James views his role as one of guardianship, recognizing that the company’s character and essence have been shaped over the years by the collective efforts of all who have been part of its journey. In an era marked by business models that often veer in different directions, Project One stands as a key factor in its ability to not only attract and retain top talent but also nurture future leaders from within its ranks. Additionally, their distinctive operating model resonates with customers who appreciate the organization’s ceaseless focus on their success, unencumbered by the pressures of promoting or cross-selling other products or services typically associated with group or parent company relationships. The Business Portfolio Twenty-five years ago, Project One emerged with a distinctive mission: To disrupt the status quo, challenge the established norms, and present an alternative to the mainstream management consultancies dominating the market. The journey began with a meticulous search for a market gap, with a laser focus on providing a unique service to the ultimate beneficiaries—large corporate organizations. The goal was to deliver substantial, tangible change that would not only transform their businesses but also enrich the experiences of their customers. The core ethos of Project One is centered on simplicity, transparency, and efficiency. It sought to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy and champion a straightforward approach to doing business. With a structure built on straightforward principles and an environment fostering freedom and growth, Project One stood apart. At that time, no other company in the UK offered their bespoke vision. Rather than compromise, they took the bold step of crafting a company tailored to perfection. This tailor-made enterprise aimed to align seamlessly with the needs and aspirations of potential clients and customers, excelling in the delivery of business projects and programs. The key differentiator lay in their unwavering commitment to deploying only senior change leaders and experts—individuals boasting over two decades of experience. These seasoned professionals were entrusted to provide a steady and secure guiding hand to navigate the challenging terrain of change. In a nutshell, Project One aspired to optimize the effectiveness of its clients’ change and transformation endeavors. They aimed to become not just service providers but trusted advisors, deeply embedded in their customers’ journeys. They understood that by fostering robust relationships and executing this approach flawlessly, they would earn profound respect and loyalty, solidifying their status as the preferred supplier for project expertize. The Service Portfolio Within the expansive realm of the Management Consulting industry, characterized by its vast array of services and offerings, Project One has opted for a path of simplicity and clarity, owing to its boutique stature. In straightforward terms, they stand as a Change Management organization, specializing in the delivery of Project and Program Management services tailored for significant blue-chip organizations, often of global reach, with headquarters rooted in the UK. Project One excels in furnishing the change leadership—seasoned change experts equipped with extensive experience in steering large-scale, complex transformations. Their primary focus revolves around deploying compact teams to occupy the upper echelons of program structures, orchestrating the customer’s necessary change initiatives. This entails managing a blended resource ecosystem, encompassing both in-house personnel and an array of vendor and supplier teams, each contributing their unique expertise. As an organization, Project One adopts a streamlined hierarchical structure with only a few layers, steering clear of the vertical or horizontal practices typically found in the industry. Every member of their team arrives as a specialist in driving change and transformation agendas, regardless of the specific subject or context. They operate across diverse industries and within various functional domains of organizations. Their engagement is geared towards shaping and delivering change, a majority of which in contemporary times hinges on technology deployment. However, Project One extends beyond the technological facet, encompassing the equally crucial realms of people-centric change and business transformation, acknowledging the inherent challenges in fostering behavioral change and ensuring seamless technology adoption—an aspect often elusive for businesses. In addition to their roles in program leadership, technology implementation, and business transformation, Project One provides a governance and control function as a service—a role sometimes erroneously equated with Project Management Office (PMO) responsibilities. They prefer to view it within a broader framework, considering it more akin to an assurance function that steers programs on the right course while furnishing key stakeholders with an unvarnished view of progress and challenges alike. The evolution of Project One over the past seven years has seen them refine their approach to marketing and communication. They’ve struck a balance between showcasing their value without divulging the intricacies of their client engagements. Their presence in the market has never been stronger—they have consistently secured a place on the Financial Times UK’s Leading Management Consultants list of the top 1,700 firms for the past four years, with the last two years seeing them break into the top 20—an exceptional feat for a boutique firm comprising of 100 individuals. Moreover, they recently garnered recognition as the second go-to organization in the industry for Project and Program Management, as independently assessed by Consultancy, trailing only behind a prominent big-4 consultancy. This acknowledgment underscores their foresight in identifying a
