MORE ABOUT US
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A UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP
25+ YEARS OF
CONSULTANCY EXPERIENCE
MEETS
25+ YEARS OF
DEEP CORPORATE INSIGHT
Partners since 1992
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​RUDOLF develops business strategies, aligns the brand strategy and oversees marketing communication to ensure cohesive and impactful results.
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His experience spans a variety of industries
from pharmaceuticals to airlines, from energy to FMCG, and from finance and insurance to non-profit and governmental.
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As a consultant, he regulalrly encounters new industries, which enble him to bring in fresh across-sector perspectives. He quickly immerses himself in unfamiliar fields while maintaining an objective view, ensuring that he's not constrained by too much industry-specific thinking.
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Rudolf has created many OGSMs across a wide range of sectors and for national organisations as small as eight employees to Europe-wide organisations with over 1000 employees.​
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Working with Rudolf
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He is known for his logical and objective approach, keeping a clear view of complex situations and zeroing in on what's essential for results.
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He expertly challenges his clients to think deeply, maintaining a sense of humour that makes the process engaging.
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His approach emphasises clarity and focus, ensuring that strategies are both practical and impactful.​​​​
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As a person
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What friends, family, and clients often say about Rudolf is that he’s incredibly resourceful—quick to find solutions and alternatives, no matter the challenge.
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But what truly makes him stand out is his optimism, positive outlook, and can-do mentality. He has a talent for seeing opportunities in every situation, tackling challenges head-on without losing sight of the bigger picture.
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A natural people person, Rudolf quickly builds connections, thanks to his genuine curiosity about people and life.
Rudolf also runs a successful coaching practice. His approach focuses on Independent Thinking, nurturing a positive mindset and authentic leadership.
Not surprisingly, he uses various effective tools from his consulting background, which makes him stand out as a coach and delivers his clients faster and better results.
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MARISKA spent over ten years at Royal Dutch Shell, where she developed a deep understanding of corporate dynamics and strategy execution.
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Her responsibilities included
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Communicating the strategy across the organisation, ensuring it was understood and embraced at all levels
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Ensuring engagement across all corporate functions, working to align different teams and departments with the company’s strategic goals
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Developing a new organisational structure in communications, following a company acquisition, streamlining duplicate roles while minimising redundancies and reducing the number of employees affected.
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Additionally, Mariska has trained numerous leadership teams and managers in leadership communication, empowering them to effectively lead their teams through periods of change.
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Working with Mariska
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She is excellent at thinking outside the box, to come up with creative solutions to complex problems. Her creativity is grounded in a clear understanding of the nuances of each project.
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She works through complex processes methodically and patiently to ensure thoroughness and accuracy in every task.
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Mariska's sharp eye for detail enhances her ability to deliver high-quality, accurate work, streamline problem-solving, and ensure client satisfaction.​​​
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As a person
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If there is one thing everyone agrees on about Mariska, it’s that whatever she does, she does with exceptional quality. Her perseverance and discipline ensure she doesn’t stop until it’s perfect.
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One of those people everyone admires—she is equally at home excelling in sports or impressing with her exceptional cooking skills.
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She’s an excellent listener. Her non-judgmental and comforting approach creates the perfect space for reflecting on yourself and your situation.
Mariska also runs a successful mindfulness practice, specialising in mindfulness for people with ADHD.
Her approach is grounded in recent academic research showing that mindfulness can be more effective than medication in managing ADHD symptoms.
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what drives us
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Seeing the impact of a well-crafted OGSM is incredibly rewarding, especially for entrepreneurs (SMEs) and start-ups, where results are more immediate and transformative. And it is not just the business that benefits; also the people experience growth, on a personal level.
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We are driven by a sense of fairness. High-quality consulting should not be out of reach for smaller businesses. Too often, great strategy support is reserved for larger companies with big budgets. We believe that smaller organisations deserve access to these same tools and insights.
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We love working at both ends of the spectrum: helping you shape the big picture while getting to the essence of what truly matters, and then breaking it down into manageable, actionable steps.
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Our combined experience gives us the ability to do this effectively. Rudolf brings a breadth of consultancy expertise across many industries and disciplines, while Mariska offers an in-depth understanding of how businesses operate, from within.​​​
consulting reimagined
actionable – achievable – affordable business plans
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Entrepreneurs and start-ups deserve access to premium business plan consulting.
Athena Associates overcomes any barriers you might be facing. So you get the same high quality like larger companies can afford.
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LESS COMPLEXITY
We reduce complexity with a streamlined, standardised and proven approach.
REAL-WORLD STRATEGIES
Instead of wordy and abstract powerpoint presentations, we deliver a complete, actionable
business plan on one A4 page.
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FIXED FEES
We charge per project, not per hour: a fixed approach, with a fixed format for the outcome, and a fixed low fee. No surprises.
FIXED TIMING
Our structured OGSM approach of three half-day workshops ensures a time frame of 4 – 6 weeks from beginning to end.
"that's why I have a consultant"
what you can expect from us
The true value of OGSM lies in the discussions that shape it during its creation.
Our role is to moderate and guide this process, allowing you to focus entirely on contributing your expertise and insights.
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Critical decisions often involve differing perspectives, which can lead to constructive conflict and mutual understanding. We mediate these discussions to ensure they result in the best possible outcome.
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This approach ensures that the final plan is not only well-informed but also widely supported, fully understood, and embraced by your entire team.
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CLIENTS
Struggle to maintain objectivity
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internal biases, personal agendas, conflicting priorities
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desire for consensus without critical thinking
CONSEQUENCE
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suboptimal strategic decisions
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OUR VALUE
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impartial, unbiased
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not involved in internal politics and dynamics
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objective advice and insights
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we challenge assumptions
RESULT
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a more objective strategic approach
OBJECTIVITY
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CLIENTS
Have narrower perspectives
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limited exposure outside their own field of expertise
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biased view on importance of their own field of expertise
CONSEQUENCE
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missed opportunities, rigidity
OUR VALUE
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experience with many disciplines and areas of expertise
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fresh ideas
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alternative viewpoints
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best practices from other industries
RESULT
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enriched strategic planning process
NEW PERSPECTIVES
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TOUGH DECISIONS
CLIENTS
Find everything important
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lack of focus on the essential
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doing everything a little bit
CONSEQUENCE
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little progress, efforts too spread out
OUR VALUE
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guiding you through a logic decision-making process
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asking the questions no one else dares to ask
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helping you to decide what NOT to do as part of your strategic plan
RESULT
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a focussed, achievable OGSM