Facts

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20 Things That Need To Be Thought About Differently In The
New Decade & The 10 Disciplines That Will Be Required.
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WHAT'S ON OUR MINDS?

Friday 03 of September, 2010

Simply the 'Key Facts' on Group Partners

Firstly the key arguments and economic explanations around why Group Partners 4D™ and SVT™ deliver value

The following comments were made by the CEO’s and senior leaders we have worked with

The 21st Century Organization
Articles By John Caswell

Articles written around the Critical Context we find ourselves in in the 21st Century. New thinking about how to create sustainable change

A series of short articles that describe the context within which we need to work if we are to make a difference to the way we operate and survive in the 21st Century -

Articles On 21st Century Tools

The 21st Century demands different thinking and ideas to cope with the complex context we have now created. These short articles begin to describe how we are thinking about these areas and starting the debate about what we might do to resolve them.

Articles On Thinking

One of the main agenda items for success and survival in the 21st Century. These articles explain a lot of the technical and strategic ideas that inform our work -

Articles On Meaning

At the heart of the inertia we observe in transformation and change is the way in which humans attach words and stories to their experiences while this is a natural human condition it needs to be understood if we are to create the tools that overcome conflict and lack of improvement in complex systems.

Articles About Ethics

Increasingly organizations are determined to really make a difference and not just debate how and what. These articles debate the importance or really getting to grips with the issues that are affecting the entire planet.

Articles About Being On The Road

It's a great privilege working and being able to travel. Ever so slightly tongue in cheek and yet ever so slightly true. The following are notes made to humor myself. Observations that inspire or annoy.

We think this is probably the best way to explain what we do...

  • "We have spent two years and over $2mio with an assortment of advisors trying to create a competitive strategy - you have managed to do more in two weeks than we had achieved in that entire time and at a tiny fraction of the cost"
  • "I know of no other method of altering the course of our thinking in so dramatic and positive a way. Without your intervention I believe we would have remained in the dark ages"
  • "To be honest, the traditional consulting approach gets heavily criticized by our executives, they get frustrated by its lack of energy, frustrated because they are not really engaged and they complain that they are not motivated because they cannot use much of it to communicate the important bits of the outcome to their units. Your work enabled the opposite to be true."
  • "John, the last few years have been such a blast! We went from $7B in TCV to over $28B in TCV in just a few years. You and I both can be proud of that!"
  • "If our strategy is to be successful every divisional leader needs to be included in what it means to them and be in no doubt where we are headed. Your logic frameworks have given us the tools to do this without the complex - time intensive methods and techniques we've used in the past!"
  • "You've given us at least 6 months back! Our team was highly inspired by this program. They can all describe what they need to do and why. That's the first time we've been aligned as a board for as long as I can remember. I can't put a price on that!"
  • "Without you we would have developed a successful technology implementation. With you we will achieve a successful business strategy!"

We've measured our approach in terms of the following

  1. Time is saved by the 4D™ rapid real time method - dramatically reducing cycle times on complex programs
  2. Cost and time - saved by avoiding solving the wrong problems in ways that everyone can access
  3. Efficiencies are made in the deployment of expensive senior resources at critical times
  4. The de-duplication of effort and initiatives that would otherwise remain undisclosed by other means
  5. Avoiding the higher costs and longer timescales of similar work done by other methods
  6. Avoiding the hidden cost of rework due to semantic and definitional errors in isolated, non co-creative techniques
  7. Avoiding the hidden cost of errors made by the lack of alignment of senior leaders and then onwards into all the layers of decision making
  8. Avoiding the additional cost of communicating outcomes versus the real time creation of them in our inclusive approach
  9. Increased engagement by the employees based on the work already created - not the additional cost required by other methods.
  10. Reduced cost of ‘on the case’ learning by the senior executives - not requiring additional engagements and further cycle times.

The essence of what we do.

  • We solve tricky and critical business questions.
  • We create winning strategies fast.
  • Clients make better decisions.
  • We inspire and motivate your entire business.
  • We help our clients win more!

The Short Story(s) on what we do.

  1. Critical Thinking: We solve the biggest questions our clients have. Working in a visual way with logic frameworks, mechanisms to force comprehensive thinking, we help business people make smarter strategy and better decisions. This creates real value, exploits opportunity and avoids solving the wrong problems really well.
  2. Accelerated Decision Quality: We do this rapidly because our clients often don't have the time. They certainly cannot afford to waste it. A by product of our approach are the real time artifacts that emerge as we work
  3. Simplicity: The framework modules work through a sequence of important conversations that we've designed to cover all of the critical aspects required to answer any business question. Our clients appreciate this straightforward approach.
  4. Alignment: The dynamics of co-creating these frameworks never fail to align a team, create shared intent and build the right platform for any complex transformation program. It makes sense.
  5. Logic: The single act of working through the logic means that insights turn from input and insight into outcome and clarity. Inputs create the content of the frame and outcomes then drive the processing of the 'equation' that this creates. Put simply the logic of the equation means: if you aim for 'these' outcomes - then we must make 'these' choices.
  6. Clarity: Armed with this 'reasoned' clarity and shared and distilled rationale, the team can literally 'see' the vision, the strategy, the roadmap and the operating models required.
  7. Ownership: Because the team are creating the answer for themselves there is enormous ownership of the outcome. Unlike many consulting processes this approach enables high engagement, real understanding of the implications of decisions and much more likelihood of a sustained program of work.
  8. Pervasive Results: The outcomes of the work does not stay in documents or the dreaded Power Point deck. Because it is highly visual and meaningful it gets used immediately and as required in employee engagement, digital interactive systems and working documents that are highly engaging and useful.

The Value of SVT Live™ - Digital Systems

Digital interactive systems are designed to be immersive and inspiring. They hide any initial complexity and let the user decide when they are ready for more information and in what areas they choose to delve deeper.

  • The digital systems are used to engage in much more powerful ways with different stakeholders, differentiating in a competitive sales environment and when launching and sustaining a complex change or transformation process.
  • Digital systems enable the addition of all media types, real time data in dashboards, video and animated scenarios, drilling and drilling again to more or different levels and layers of data. There is almost an infinite degree of applications to which these systems can be put.
  • Digital systems are invaluable to 'paint' future scenarios, customer or lifecycle stories, process changes, what if scenarios, anything where the abstract or intangible needs to be brought life and anywhere where the information needs to be better understood by wider audiences.

The Golden Attributes of 4D™ Frameworks

Without a shared framework stakeholders will have no common definition of the goal - no common understanding for cooperation.

  1. Without a cogent map and its capacity for structured navigation stakeholders will be unable to operate efficiently and risk will increase.
  2. A logic model and a context framework ensures that decisions are made with the least risk within the best context - set in terms of the solution required.
  3. Only a framework can illustrate - and then locate - all critical connections in a high performing system. Each module thus demonstrating how it operates with every other.
  4. Forcing the conversation through proven structures and best practice architectures reduces the capacity for error and increases the overall system performance.
  5. A shared and holistic frame of reference for a programme dramatically increases to chances of successful delivery and addressing the real requirement
  6. Successful transformations requires a clear and reasoned line of sight between strategy and operations to show the intent and its impact on day to day business
  7. Engagement of the enterprise at the earliest opportunity will create critical change agents and ambassadors for the business
  8. Make best practice relevant to the business context not imposed from the theory in a text book
  9. Frameworks show the implications and realities of a possible strategy or solution

Ten reasons why partnering with Group Partners makes sense and importantly more sense for our clients

  1. Adding depth and rigor to thinking, creativity, experience and collaboration with your client – especially at critical times. (Access to the wider network of expertise and resource)
  2. More accurate and valuable positioning – integrating our partners own work or any 'point' solution - into a working enterprise system
  3. Increased differentiation and innovation in a bid or competitive exercise. Weaving our partners own approach within the whole system.
  4. Refreshing an existing relationship with new ideas, thinking and innovation. Widening our partners own portfolio of expertise.
  5. Engaging with multiple stakeholders, more broad issues and potentially at a more significant or senior level
  6. Locating and embedding our partners own solutions within the overall business strategy – ensuring sustainability and lowering the risk of failure
  7. Acting as an impartial - or unblocking agent - by increasing the context and perspective in any given situation
  8. Introducing visualization into abstract or intangible situations – ensuring practical understanding and appreciation of a given scenario.
  9. Introducing 3 dimensional and interactive systems to the traditional engagement and sustaining process of transformation or implementation
  10. Improving the communication and story telling of complexity or business strategy and operational systems.

Waiting for the Upturn - or Creating it? - The 21st Century Organization

See The 21st Century Organization

The 21st Century Organization is something any leader, any business - any competitive brand must be. It suggests that to survive in the complex global markets (now fiercely competitive and commoditized) the enterprise has to redesign the organizational model, streamline its systems and understand human behavior.

It has to do this in meaningful and relevant ways - at the individual and team level - and display real leadership in everything from systems and process to the exploitation of every technology, media and next practice. It has to move from the restrictive practices of the ‘org chart’ to the reality of the value based and sustainable network and eco-system.

See the Detailed Explanation of the images HERE

Optimal organizational design and the related strategic alignment it requires involves some variant of the following four dimensions. They each need to be considered when developing the business strategy and/ or transformational change program.

  1. Organizational Culture/DNA – you have to know what you stand for as a business and the type of culture that is required to achieve the desired strategic goals and outcome!
  2. Organization Design - The Value Network/Chain – a blueprint that represents the job that has to be done as a system without boundaries. This reflects everything that needs to be in place to deliver the goals of the business, the capabilities required and the inter-relationships between all contributors – internal and external. This is the heart of the business.
  3. Leadership and Support Systems – the right leadership approach to fit the strategy and culture with the right ‘infrastructure’ – in the widest sense – in place to support the values network.
  4. Collective Intelligence - A 360 degree Radar on the Market Context and Internal Environment – anticipating and imagining the future without losing sight of the lessons of the past – what can be leveraged as well as being aware and attuned to the trends and pressures in the industry and environment. And then plotting a course ahead of the perceived curve.

To be sure that these four dimensions are implemented in an integrated manner and are defined and designed in the most appropriate context we apply an approach called 4D™. This is a framework approach that provides the business with a contextual ‘answering machine’ which when fully populated and worked through will provide the necessary input and framework to strategy and planning. These frameworks are supported by the best and proven thinking in regard to organizational design and alignment.

The Architectures of the ‘Tools’

In this approach we talk a lot about Persistency and Relentless Intention – these are important words and they make up the mantra for any successful business – along with a Consistency of Framework this is what ensures increased ability, maturity and simplicity within any change program. This is critical when surviving the enormous tension and emotion of any meaningful transformation or change event. Especially true in technology implementations. Keep everyone honest. Rigor and precision over direction at all times. The image also suggests that capability improves over time.

The Frameworks and Logic Models

GROUP PARTNERS
21st Century. Thinking!

The Main Threads

"CHANGE THE WAY THE 21ST CENTURY ORGANIZATION THINKS & WORKS" - DON'T SOLVE THE WRONG PROBLEM REALLY WELL! - ENTERPRISE CLIENTS - BUSINESS CHALLENGE - 10 WORDS OR LESS - MAKING MEANING - THE PIXAR OF CONSULTING - 21st CENTURY TOOLS and PHILOSOPHY & TECHNIQUES - THE 24 CONVERSATIONS

Sustainability Dimension - Possibility Deficit Disorder - Energy Based Breakthrough Innovation - The Arena For Change - Living Systems - Group Partners & 4D™ Creating a space to think. 21st Century Organizations need an environment for collaborative conversation and decision. A space designed to create value in real time. Allow a team to breathe, think and challenge. Enabled to break through the pressures and limitation of the everyday.

See Language - Integrative Thinking - Pattern Recognition

SVT Live™ - The outcome of our work is practical. A strategic plan or road map. Within our systems and documents there is a clear deliverable which enables the whole company to know the direction and sequence of events. See also 4D™ - Acceleration - Applied Visualisation - Edward Tufte - Language - Integrative Thinking - Pattern Recognition - Key Images


SVT™ - Structured Visual Thinking is our visual facilitation, conversational technique; a toolset for developing rigor and meaningful solutions - Information Design, Scenarios and Journeys...

4D™ - A thorough - rigorous set of 4 frameworks which are co-created by the leadership team to resolve complex problems by a natural and emergent technique creating innovation and breakthrough value... See The Burning Platform - Integrative Thinking - Biomimicry - Systems Thinking - Value Networks - Design Thinking - GPedia for all the really deep detail

Visualism - We are taking the process of critical thinking to new levels - delivering energy and realism to conversations that take place every day but often without conclusion. We do this in the knowledge that the client and the leadership are the main beneficiary.
Go to: The Merits or Otherwise of Workshops - Valuable Outcomes... - Outcomes - WorldViews - Vision - Scenarios - Innovating Your Business System - 4D™, Structured Visual Thinking, Expectation Setting

  • Proven Logic: The logic frameworks are proven in over 2500 cases with Fortune 500 Companies, Governments and multi-nationals all over world.
  • Simple Co-Creation: They are designed to be built collaboratively. We take any critical business issue and apply the following. What we call 4D™
  • The Formula: (1) Discovering what we could, (2) Developing what we should, (3) Deciding what will and then (4) Deploying what we agreed we would do to solve the 'exam question'. (That’s why we call it 4D™)
  • Critical Conversations: These first two frameworks are conversations - fundamentally 11 (in Discovery) and 8 (in Development) - conversations at senior level about the vital strategic elements for success. Without agreement about these 19 components, their relationships, interoperability, connectedness, direction, definition, gaps, opportunity and priority we can identify the failures in every aspect of business. (We are working the early stage of the Development Framework)
  • Visualization: We apply what we call Structured Visual Thinking™ - an approach that visualizes these conversations as well as capturing every key point, sentiment and data point in high definition narratives - for documentation, books of record, executive summaries, immersive social media/ interactive systems and all forms of large scale presentation and ongoing engagement.

Amidst all the downturn gloom and dire predictions - successful businesses and business people of the future are looking to create their own 'upturn'. That includes seeking inventive new ways to:-

Work Smarter and Think Better – 4D™ 21st Century Organization Drivers:

  1. Reinventing themselves and their businesses to survive the tsunami of change
  2. Creating value in new and more sustainable ways for the long term
  3. Innovate their way out of difficulty and into new prosperity
  4. Getting the message heard in ways that cut through the noise, internally and externally
  5. Building energy and maintaining the health (Fitness) to meet new challenges with ease
  6. Connecting with colleagues, suppliers, technologies, generations, customers and communities in new ways
  7. Clarify where the business is going and truly why it's meaningful for individuals and teams

The Customer Experience Framework – Value Statements

Background:

Putting the customer at the centre of what ‘we’ do is – as we know - often an empty promise. Empty because either the customers don’t want it or the enterprise can’t provide it. Being at the center to me means leave me the hell alone. Being at the center to the guy down the road means to have his every thought anticipated and every dumb ass query ready to be answered at the touch of a button - and his pets name on the lips of every call center operative or store guy.

The whole of the enterprise behavior is what screws up the customer at the heart mantra. Every process that’s been ritualized, every standard that’s concretized and every part of every event is hard coded into the very skin and bones of the corporation. This is not trivial and needs strong leadership, determined policing and a clear roadmap and framework within which everyone has agreed to operate.

‘Joined up-ness’ entails interoperation, seamless and well oiled machinery humming like a Testarossa 4.9 Flat - hand shakes across divisional structures to die for. In a real customer focused enterprise, like Amazon for example, it’s not even a discussion. Everything flows from the customers question – not the answer seeking customers with that question. Amazon didn’t set themselves up for the €1billions in stranded costs in the first place.

Client Drivers – The context we have observed when the client needs to deploy the Customer Experience Framework

  • Competition 2.0: Client sees the competition exploiting social media (Facebook, Twitter, blogs and wikis), the web, on-line eco-systems - innovating in every way that they aren't. What can WE do!
  • The Demand Model: Client sees the market moving to a demand driven model but knows that they have a manufacturing (whatever)(supply side only) mentality. Culturally and Infrastructure - everything is making this tough.
  • Axes to Grind: The client has been working with agenda based (self serving-low value) service agencies/big 3 consulting firms, has long legacy of tough and poorly performing transformation programs. Wants to do something different - innovation! Everyone in the firm want something inspiring and new too.
  • New Brooms: New leadership, new appointment, fresh look and new ways needed! Fed up with trying to solve the old problems with old tools. The beginning of a new program of complex work means we need a new map!!!
  • Speed Kings: No time for a lengthy expensive program that we don't really have control of. Its critical that all the leaders on this know what's what!
  • Re-alignment: Client is rethinking their business strategy and believes that they need to be more customer centric- but the current strategy doesn’t support that
  • Execution: Client has a strategy that is customer centric but needs help making it real
  • Resolution: Client has a big customer satisfaction problem and needs to understand the issues and what they might do about them
  • Engagement: Client has a clear strategy and knows what they want to do but needs to get the enterprise on board

Group Partners Core Positioning

Group Partners works with senior leadership - decision makers who need to achieve ‘World Class Strategic Success - Transformation & Change’ We do this with the top of the worlds Government Agencies and Multi-National Brands.

  • We help our clients to become leaders, enable them to win in the 21st Century.
  • We pride ourselves on accelerating the answers to critical business questions - Decision Quality. We solve complex problems and create valuable opportunities. Group Partners works alongside its clients and partners to add impartial objectivity and global expertise in thinking out of the box. We bring world class creativity and innovation in developing strategy and transformation. For example in developing customer experience, operational excellence, new product or service ideation. We bring the architectures and frameworks to understand how to get this right and avoid solving the wrong problems really well.
  • How: Given an exam question E.G. - “What is the optimal design, experience operational platform, vision, strategy and roadmap for the enterprise...?” we would assemble the right people in the right environment. We would then apply our approach, tools and techniques. This approach follows 4 rapid phases, based on live, collaborative and visually crafted frameworks. We call this 4D™. Quite simply: Discovery asks what could we do, Development asks what should we we do, Decision decides what will we do and Deployment - how will we deploy what we’ve agreed we would do?
  • Where: This approach has been applied extremely successfully in over 2500 cases with Fortune 500, Governments, Sporting Bodies, Multi-Nationals and top brands. We’ve used this approach to solve virtually every species of problem and every class of opportunity. Product or Service Development, Strategy Creation, Transformation & Change, IT Transformation, Cultural and Operational Change, Innovation & Vision, Brand and Positioning, M&A and related areas.
  • What: This approach is based on what we call Structured Visual Thinking™. It establishes a clear Future Vision, Operational Models, Critical Metrics (KPI’s and CSF’s) Strategic Themes, The Roadmap and the Critical Drivers together with the Business Imperatives for the business in an engaging and high energy way. Fast. It helps us make the quality decisions. The approach identifies clear line of sight between what messages, resonate with which audiences, what technologies and what channels, techniques and experiences which consumers need. We have solutions to develop rapid prototypes, communication systems, demonstrators, scenario planning, use cases and so on. It’s a long list
  • Why: In the events themselves, given any ‘exam question’ we will achieve:
  • Alignment: Complex or important programs of work demand the clarity and engagement of multiple stakeholders and their viewpoints
  • Clarity: It’s highly valuable to ensure the integration of complex conversations into a coherent framework so that everyone gets it
  • Integrated: Connectivity between teams establishing value from the multiple synergies that emerge is proven to make the difference between success and failure in change programs of any type.
  • Engagement: Inclusion of the audience in the conversations and the outcomes gives critical confidence to all the stakeholders and vital ownership of the direction
  • Context: Capture of the important points IN BUSINESS CONTEXT is paramount for any meaning to be achieved
  • Persistence: Structured dialog in line with the direction of the business and the need for an agreed outcome is what drives successful programs
  • Governance: Alignment of perspectives against the vision is of massive importance at the outset of the program and as ‘governor’ throughout its implementation.
  • Team Work: Collaborative and co-creative energy can deliver breakthrough thinking and innovation – solving the complex problems together
  • Objectivity: The Impartial logic of the framework is our friend in overcoming the semantics that plague any complex program – it just makes sense
  • Consensus: Celebrating Teamwork ensures motivated teams delivering complex programs – its a shared outcome
  • Visualized: Prioritization is made much easier and faster by the creation of a visual framework – it creates a vital energy and confidence
  • Attachment: Ownership and accountability is built in to the governance from day one

Focus: Focus, focus, focus.

  • Why: After the Event – these are some of the values our Clients have told us we have delivered:
  • Ownership & Sustainability: A step-change of thinking and meaning. Built via the conclusions of the discussion through real time analysis in graphic form
  • Risk Mitigation: Demonstration of the important differences and shining light on the gaps and risks or values and opportunities
  • Pervasive & Inclusive: Engagement of those that were not there. It’s a physical and meaningful visual together with the right blend of narrative – visual/verbal outcome
  • Confidence & Ambassadorial: Meaning for those not there is easily portrayed by those that were. The outcome hypothesis or action plan is hugely valuable
  • Practical & Impressive: Importance of the outcome can be evidenced by the significance of the deliverables themselves
  • Innovative & Differentiated: The communication device is very powerful and never fails to impress
  • Scale & Dramatic: There is real significance in the scale and applications of the outcomes. The governance framework that may emerge or be inferred can be game changing
  • Accelerated: Driving towards resolution at speed is now possible
  • Empowering: Influence through the artifact is palpable
  • Game Changing: Excitement and different emotional bonds are constructed

There is a very high level deck with the broad descriptions and value statements on what we do. You can Download it here

Links to all the Groups, Blogs and Wiki’s

Contact details and messaging

  • John Caswell on SKYPE: johncaswell
  • Mobile: +447920759250
  • Head Office: 32 St James’s Street, Mayfair. London. SW1A 1HD
  • Office Number: UK - +44 (0) 2079252111
  • Office Number: US - +1 (0) 2067784331

Go to other ‘Quick’ explanations of what we do

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