The Three Lenses in Action: Navigating Commercial Rescue on Rough Waters
- philip bowler
- Aug 21
- 3 min read
How a Scientific Giant Dodged the Rocks—Armed with Reflection, Data, and a Lifeboat Mentality
SOS at Sea—“Help, We’re Rowing in Circles!”
Imagine a multinational scientific ingredient manufacturer, 3,000-strong, adrift despite decades of navigation.
The scene:
Departments working in silos, distribution channels without rhyme or reason, and sales and product marketing teams marching to different drummers. When the storm hit—market turbulence, margin pressure, and eroding cross-team trust—leadership called for help.
The request? “We know there’s untapped potential, but we don't have time to focus on it.”
That’s where the Three Lenses approach dropped anchor.
The Lighthouse Model—Turning Fog into Focus
The “Three Lenses,” a pillar of CommEx Consulting’s Commercial Excellence Playbook, are simple but profound:
AS IS: How do things actually work today? Let’s spotlight the current state—warts, barnacles, and all.
Ideal: Where should we honestly aspire to be, given our resources, culture, and ambition?
Importance/Relevance: What really matters—in this industry, at this scale, right now? What needs our attention before the next wave hits?
Our first step was a Commercial Maturity Assessment—plotting these lenses against every core commercial function.
Finding the Right Crew and Map—Segmentation for Real Potential
One early discovery: while this company had 15 “commercial excellence” like projects, not a single one had taken hold.
In particular they had missed the lack of a unified customer segmentation process. Territories were assigned by gut feel; big clients got all the attention, smaller ones drifted, and everything was reliant on the talent of the individual. No being a >$1Billion Turn over company they had talent but nothing documented, nothing systematized and no best practices region from region being shared.
Through the lens of AS IS, it was clear: segmentation was more folklore than science.
We implemented a data-driven segmentation, calculating the “potential” of each client. Suddenly, territories became either “offensive” (ripe for new client acquisition) or “defensive” (retain key giants)—giving every team a clear strategy for navigating and not simply surviving.
“At last—we know which clients could grow and where the real opportunities lie. Our sales force stopped rowing in circles and started powering toward advantage.”
Margin Mysteries—Financial Reporting as a Compass
Next, we set up a financial reporting system tailored to the organization’s complexity. But here’s the twist: it enabled precise targeting of profitable accounts without revealing sensitive margin data to frontline sales—the secret sauce described in the Playbook’s finance and pricing section. The system classified each account as either contributing to or diluting overall margin, ensuring leadership could recalibrate the sails without tipping off the crew too early.
Hint: Want more detail? You’ll have to explore Section 7 of the Playbook yourself...
"What’s In It For Me?”—Getting CRM Adoption Off the Ground
The company’s CRM (Salesforce.com) had become a bureaucratic black box. Sellers believed, “This only adds admin—what’s in it for me?” We flipped the script: by embedding practical benefits (“See your wins, not just management’s reports”) and championing user-driven features, we got the sales teams to trade skepticism for commitment.
Rescue Complete—Or Is It?
We’re still watching the waves; success in transformation takes time. But early signs show departments aligning, data driving targeting, and CRM now singing the siren song of opportunity. The real test? In six months, we’ll check whether this commercial rescue stands the test of time—or if new storms call for further reinvention.
Conclusion
If you’re leading a commercial organization with ambitions greater than the sum of its spreadsheets, ask yourself:
Are you illuminated by strategy, or just bailing out water with hope?
The Three Lenses don’t just help organizations find their true north—they rally leadership to pull together, not paddle alone.
Want your organization’s rescue story featured here? Let’s plot a course together. Reach out for a free 30-minute consult and start your journey at CommEx Consulting.
References
The Commercial Excellence Playbook - Philip Bowler (2025). Amazon
CommEx Consulting Company Website. CommEx Consulting
Philip D. Bowler LinkedIn Profile. LinkedIn
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