About us
We like to say that we are curious first and foremost, with a fundamental openness to questions: Why are we doing it this way? What would happen if we tried something else? It also means avoiding a fixed mindset that says there is only one way to solve a given problem. We are experimental and we like to have our assumptions challenged by the results. Accordingly, we need to be agile in our ability to shift focus quickly to what matters most and to stay on course. We are risk-takers and we thrive in the unknown, up to acceptable limits, in the hope of finding a better way, along with a determination to learn from the results, whether successful or not.
About the work we do
Our collaboration can be summarised into four different phases, as outlined below.
The first step is a thorough evaluation of your business or your project.
We bring in and external point of view and no a priori. Our expertise and skills are directly relevant to your venture, and they are complemented with our own multi-disciplinary know-how and cultural awareness. We look at what you are doing or planning to do. We enquire about your definition of success. We evaluate how we can best support you.
The outcome of this evaluation is a blunt and (sometimes brutally) honest assessment of your project. As we have no stake in your business, we have no reasons to spare you the bad and the ugly. This fresh perspective can highlight shortcomings early on, and oftentimes, projects need to go through several instances of thinking, development, prototyping and testing before we can discern respectable chances of success and move to the next phase.
Our recommendation can be a simple no-go. More likely, we will have outlined an acceptable return on investment, drafted in a complex plan that will challenge you on multiple aspects. We will specify a critical path to success, with resources assessment, milestones, alternative options, contingency plans, and very clear gates.
The decision to proceed is then all yours: you will a clear view of the resources needed – financial, human, technical, operational, legal… – and timelines. We will also clearly outline where and how we can support your project.
We often get (heavily) involved in the implementation of our recommendations. This ensure an alignment between the plan, the capabilities and the desired output. Regular gating reviews provide options to adapt to changing circumstances, or in the worst case to exercise an exit option. Comprehensive documentation, reports and dashboards keep all stakeholders informed and ensure their continuous support.
The implementation is usually a long endeavour, with your team working alongside ours for a significant period of time, sometimes under difficult circumstances. We are often paid with equity, which gives us an additional incentive to making your project successful.
Whether we have collaborated with you on the implementation, you may want to subscribe to our “lifelong” support. This will give you access to regular updates, market watches, benefit analysis, benchmarking as well as further recommendations and actionable plans to keep you on top.
This is usually done in a combination of different ways and media: surveys, white papers, webinars, conferences, narrowcasts or on-site presentations.