Smart Willow Works
Smart Willow Works is a small consultancy run by Owen Ollerton. We help organisations untangle strategy, operations, and the gaps in between. One problem at a time, without the overhead of a large firm.
The best first step is a short call. Usually 20 to 30 minutes. No pitch, no proposal. Just a conversation about what you're working on and whether there's a fit.
Our address: Smart Willow Works, Minamikamata, Ota City, Tokyo 144-0035
Hours: Mon-Thu 9:00-17:30, Fri 9:00-13:00
Phone: +81 3-3731-4929
Write to us: owen@smart-willow-works.com
Most consulting engagements that go wrong do not go wrong because of bad analysis or poor facilitation. They go wrong because the problem was scoped incorrectly at the start. The presenting issue and the actual issue are often different things, and the gap between them is where projects quietly fail.
Read more →There is a particular kind of organisational paralysis that looks like a strategy problem but is actually a process problem. The people in the room are capable. The information exists. The decision just isn't getting made. A well-designed workshop can change that. But only if the conditions are right.
Read more →The phrase 'operations review' can mean almost anything, depending on who is doing it. Some reviews are desk exercises. A consultant reads your documents and produces a report. Others involve weeks of interviews and observation. Here is what an operations review at Smart Willow Works involves, specifically.
Read more →Answer three questions and we'll point you toward the engagement that tends to fit situations like yours. No contact details needed.
Owen Ollerton spent eight years at two large consulting firms before founding Smart Willow Works in 2018. He trained as an economist, worked on public-sector reform projects across Japan, and spent a formative two years embedded with a mid-sized logistics company during a difficult restructure. That experience. Sitting inside an organisation rather than visiting it. Shaped how he works now. Outside consulting, Owen keeps a vegetable plot and reads more history than is probably useful. He is based in Tokyo and takes on work across Japan and occasionally abroad.
There is no formal minimum, but the work tends to fit best with organisations that have between 15 and 200 people. Large enough to have real process complexity, small enough that one person can get a genuine read on what's happening. Smaller founder-led businesses and larger teams have both worked well when the problem is the right kind.
It depends on current capacity. If there is an open slot, a Strategy Sprint or Operations Review can typically begin within two to three weeks of scoping. Decision Workshops can sometimes be arranged faster. The honest answer is: ask, and we'll tell you what the diary looks like.