Projects

Projects dominate daily work in many organisations. Ambitious goals are to be achieved in limited time with defined costs in interdisciplinary teams. Targeted cooperation outside the well-oiled linear organisation offers the opportunity for innovation, while a heterogeneous team and limited resources also result in a heavy workload for those working on the project. The large number and interdependence of the projects increases the complexity of the processes that need to be mastered within the organisation.

For this reason, the objective view of a third party is often helpful and can be highly effective with relatively little effort.

We take on the following tasks on behalf of our clients:

• project consulting
  Together with you, we develop customised tools for the initiation and design of classical, agile or hybrid projects.

• project management
  We coach project managers and team members and help them to maintain or regain an overall view. In special situations we will also take over the management of a project.

• Communication in projects
  We provide support in clarifying roles, in shaping - often intercultural and also virtual - cooperation, in cultivating a feedback culture and in dealing with change and conflict.

• IT aids for decentralised cooperation in project teams
  We develop, assess and configure online platforms for exchanging information and for communication among members of the project team as well as for project reporting and controlling.

Andreas Kurt

onion: process & innovation

I originally studied behavioural biology and spent several years observing the hierarchical behaviour of wild chimpanzees in the West African rain forest, which in one way or another proved to be an excellent basis for my later career, for daily management tasks and present-day consultancy activities. Apart from a broad range of insights, I have brought with me an inner peacefulness and the ability to continually see things afresh and to delight in my surroundings.

For about 20 years I have been accompanying companies, organisations, leaders, and teams on their way to a sustainable future. This includes developing and implementing strategies, reviewing and digitalising processes and adjusting structures. For the latter, I particularly focus on guidance on new organisational forms (holacracy, circle models).

I offer a wealth of experience in the development of solutions around process and innovation management. I help companies, organisations, executives, and teams to find solutions in the field of process and innovation management. For me it is important that the solutions that are chosen are in line with the client’s strategy and can be firmly embedded in corporate culture, so that the processes are adopted in full, and the innovations develop in a sustainable way.

Professional background

• Independent consultant since 2004, director of Tarana GmbH, Fislisbach
• Joined onion: Consultancy Network in 2008
• Member of the senior executive and Head of Patents and Design at the Federal Institute for Intellectual Property, pioneer of new public management and successful advocate of good governance in the federal administration (1999–2004)
• Head of Marketing at the Federal Institute for Intellectual Property (1996–1999)
• Involvement in and manager of various development cooperation projects and in national park management in African countries

Educational background

• CAS for board members, Rochester-Bern
• Courses in industrial economics, political economics and intellectual property rights
• M.Sc. in biology, University of Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, specialisations: behavioural biology and ecology

Clientèle

• Public sector and closely linked organisations
• Innovative companies, in particular in the technical field
• Associations and societies, in particular in the fields of environment and healthcare
• Universities, academies and research institutions

Miscellaneous information

• Board memberships since 2004
• Publications: Agile Methoden in der Verwaltung. Ja, das geht! November 2020: www.agile-verwaltung.org
• Projects published in Public Management by Norbert Thom (2008) and Fallbeispiele zur Betriebswirtschaft (Case Studies in Industrial Economics) by Jean-Paul Thommen (2008)
• For further information, see also www.tarana.ch