Thought Leadership
Thought Leadership
Our academic interests are as important to us as our abilities to deliver practical results. We can participate in or organise study days and seminars, provide training and mentoring to groups or individuals, and assist with research around better ways to plan.
Study days and Seminars
Many so-called strategies are not strategies at all, they are merely plans or a collection of 'buzzwords'. Mission statements become slogans or statements of the obvious; objectives become financial targets. Strategy is seldom monitored effectively, and most is too rigid to withstand inevitable changes in circumstance. Many strategies are internally focused, failing to take account of how the operating environment will adjust to pressure.
We offer lively and thought-provoking insights into what goes wrong with attempts to ‘do’ strategy and – more importantly, why good strategy is such a critical enabler when well developed and implemented. And how do you figure out what is 'good' strategy and what is 'bad'? We are confident that we can restore the faith of your team in strategy's ability to deliver clarity of purpose and concentration of effect.
Talk to us about a full study day for your team to focus on what well-defined and implemented strategy can provide for your organisation. Alternatively, give us an hour of your 'away-day' to show you why we are passionate about strategy.
Training and Mentoring
What makes a viable strategy? How is it communicated? How is it kept alive and how does it respond to changes over time in the operating environment? Who should be involved in the design and implementation of strategy? What are the various roles and responsibilities of managing strategy?
Through longer-term engagement with your own in-house strategy or performance management team or with members of your leadership team we can explore and illuminate the field of strategy and planning at a pace that suits you and in a way that excites your professional curiosity.
We can focus on our own approach to strategy, developing your understanding of how we bring together different fields of academic study and practical experience to provide a pragmatic, creative, and intellectually rigorous framework. Or alternatively we can mentor your team through implementing your own approach to strategic design and management. We can also explore the theory of strategy more generally as an arena of study, peppered with case studies to make it relevant and grounded.
With a mix of scheduled meetings and on-call support, we can help to develop your understanding of the field and its potential to impact your business.
Research Consultancy
As subject-matter experts in the theory and practice of strategy and planning, we are always enthusiastic participants in talking about our favourite subject and exploring new pathways and passages!
Our managing partners were pivotal in the development of the UK military's review of its campaign planning approach in 2004 and also provided a major contribution to the creation of US Pacific Command's inter-agency crisis response capability.
We have previously worked with research agencies including NiteWorks and Qinetic in the UK and TRADOC In the US as well as with the UK Joint Doctrine and Concepts Centre and the NATO Transformation Agency.