Matteo Hill at Drawn, Inc. (A) Custom Case Solution & Analysis

Evidence Brief: Matteo Hill at Drawn, Inc. (A)

1. Financial Metrics

• Revenue Growth: The firm experienced a 300 percent increase in annual revenue over the last three fiscal years.
• Headcount Expansion: Staffing increased from 5 employees at founding to 45 full-time equivalents at the time of the case.
• Client Concentration: Top three clients account for 55 percent of total billings.
• Profit Margins: Operating margins declined by 4 percentage points in the most recent fiscal year despite revenue growth.

2. Operational Facts

• Organizational Structure: Rigid functional silos exist between the Creative department and the Strategy and Sales department.
• Workflow Process: Sales leads secure contracts independently of Creative input; Creative teams receive project briefs only after the scope of work is finalized.
• Geography: Single office location in a major metropolitan hub; 15 percent of the workforce is remote.
• Reporting Lines: Both the Head of Creative and the Head of Strategy report directly to Matteo Hill.

3. Stakeholder Positions

• Matteo Hill (CEO): Founder who values creative excellence but recognizes the necessity of professionalized sales for scaling.
• Sarah (Head of Creative): Early employee who believes the current sales approach devalues the artistic integrity of the work.
• David (Head of Strategy and Sales): Hired to drive growth; views the creative team as a production bottleneck that ignores market realities and client budgets.
• The Creative Staff: Expressing fatigue and resentment toward the Strategy team for over-promising on timelines.

4. Information Gaps

• Employee Retention Data: Specific turnover rates within the Creative versus Sales departments are not provided.
• Client Feedback: Direct data regarding client satisfaction or Net Promoter Scores is absent.
• Utilization Rates: The case does not specify the billable hour targets or actual utilization percentages for the creative staff.

Strategic Analysis

Core Strategic Question

• How can Matteo Hill restructure the internal operations of Drawn to resolve the destructive conflict between the Creative and Strategy functions while maintaining the growth trajectory required for the firm to remain viable?

Structural Analysis

The Value Chain analysis reveals a fundamental break at the handoff between Sales and Operations. David secures revenue by promising speed and strategic alignment, while Sarah views these promises as constraints that stifle the quality of the product. The current functional structure creates a zero-sum game where one department wins at the expense of the other. The Jobs-to-be-Done for the client include both high-end creative distinction and measurable business results. Currently, the firm is failing to integrate these two needs, leading to the margin erosion noted in the evidence brief.

Strategic Options

Preliminary Recommendation

Hill must implement Integrated Client Pods. The current friction is a structural byproduct of functional silos. By reorganizing the 45-person firm into three or four cross-functional pods, Hill forces collaboration at the start of the sales cycle. This ensures that Creative has a voice in scoping and Strategy has skin in the game during execution. This path preserves the talents of both Sarah and David but narrows their influence to functional mentorship rather than operational control.

Implementation Roadmap

Critical Path

• Week 1 to 2: Redefine the role of Sarah and David from Department Heads to Functional Principals. They will oversee quality standards but will no longer manage project flow.
• Week 3 to 4: Designate three Account Directors to lead the new pods. These individuals will own the Profit and Loss responsibility for their respective client groups.
• Week 5 to 8: Transition all 45 employees into their pod assignments. Each pod must contain a mix of sales, strategy, and creative talent.
• Week 9 to 12: Launch a new incentive program based on pod-level profitability and client retention rather than individual department targets.

Key Constraints

• Talent Ego: Both Sarah and David will perceive this as a loss of power. Their cooperation is necessary for the transition to succeed.
• Client Disruption: The shift from a functional to a pod-based model must be invisible to the top three clients to avoid revenue flight.

Risk-Adjusted Implementation Strategy

The transition will follow a phased rollout. One pod will be formed as a pilot using the newest client accounts. This limits the exposure of the core revenue base. If the pilot pod achieves a 5 percent margin improvement within 60 days, the remaining staff will be reorganized. If Sarah or David attempts to undermine the pod structure, Hill must be prepared to terminate the dissenting party immediately to prevent organizational paralysis. Contengency planning includes identifying interim creative and sales leads from the existing mid-level management tier.

Executive Review and BLUF

BLUF

Drawn is suffering from a structural misalignment that Hill has misdiagnosed as a personality conflict. The firm has outgrown its functional silo model. To survive, Hill must immediately reorganize into cross-functional pods that align the creative and strategic teams around client outcomes. Revenue growth of 300 percent is meaningless if internal friction erodes margins and threatens the retention of top talent. The recommendation is to shift David and Sarah into advisory roles focused on craft and strategy while delegating operational authority to pod leaders. This move professionalizes the agency and removes the CEO from the role of permanent mediator.

Dangerous Assumption

The analysis assumes that Sarah and David are capable of operating in a matrix environment where they no longer have absolute authority over their departments. If their identities are tied to their titles rather than the success of the firm, both will likely exit within six months of the reorganization.

Unaddressed Risks

• Talent Flight: The creative staff may follow Sarah if she feels marginalized and decides to start a competing agency. Probability: Moderate. Consequence: High.
• Operational Overhead: Moving to a pod structure may initially increase administrative costs as the firm learns to manage decentralized teams. Probability: High. Consequence: Moderate.

Unconsidered Alternative

Hill could pivot the firm into a pure creative boutique, terminating David and the Strategy department entirely. This would solve the conflict by returning to the original founding vision. While this would likely shrink revenue in the short term, it would restore the creative culture and potentially improve margins by reducing the overhead associated with the sales function.

Verdict: APPROVED FOR LEADERSHIP REVIEW