What we do & how we do it

A quiet source of strength and stability within a firm, strategy can be overlooked in the rush to get work done. Executives can fear it is a distraction from their day-to-day activities. However, it's precisely because there is so little margin for error that strategy becomes even more important.

Strategy is the cohesive force keeping your business on track, ensuring your operations are focused on getting and satisfying customers. It is especially important for companies entering transition periods such as startup, ramp-up, and transition, when conflicting priorities can pull businesses off course. Strategy is the instrument that lets you align your products, services, and messaging to support the core goals of your company.

Articulating goals is an important first step. You must define -- and then document -- the nature and the priority of your targets. Laying out your goals provides a basis for measurement, the necessary foundation for a culture of continuous improvement. Goals also serve as powerful motivators, when well-specified, give tangible form to your aspirations. It's far easier to get coordinated action when everyone knows what they're pulling for, and having your team know the end points means they make better decisions daily.

Anchoring your business strategy to your goals creates an integrated view of your operations and to direct most effective use of your team's time and efforts. Using this approach, you define your market, products, and organization and then you channel all resources to support those few top-priority initiatives.

The process of strategy formation involves decision-making across several key areas: what to make/sell, who to sell it to, and how to organize production, sales and servicing operations. Every business must make these core decisions, and then concentrate on clearly articulating them to the world.

To gain focus, clarity and certainty, we lead our clients through a streamlined engagement cycle.

The phases of this process channel our efforts to pursue concrete deliverables at the close of each phase. Normally, clients can pass through the entire cycle in under 2 months. It's possible to narrow the window further, if a client especially seeks speed. However we find that the 'soul searching' inherent to this activity benefits from a measured focus over the course of 8 weeks.

We recognize that there are specific approaches that are valuable in particular instances, based on solid research from leading business school researchers. At the same time, each client's solution is ultimately their own solution and work product. We do not force trendy models, buzzwords, or practices on any of our clients, though we do keep abreast of the latest thinking.

Good strategy leads to effective marketing

Communicating the value of what you sell is the essence of marketing, but marketing's role is defined first by strategy. Marketing, when properly conceived and executed, can do more than just drive sales; it can create new markets, drive higher valuations, and reduce the cost of selling. To do this, you map what you do best with an identified customer need -- selecting the best market for your products. Success comes by attracting the attention of the right customers, whose responses in turn direct future development.

This process creates a virtuous cycle, which smart leaders can take leverage to create flexible and responsive companies. That is where generalizations end, since each firm -- based upon its market, its resources and skill, and its goals -- charts its own course. We can help guide you.