think-first.org ... forethought ... a wonderful concept ... we're here to make it a practice.
Developed and refined over decades our methods have helped organziations - large and small - increase effectiveness through conscious
attention to detail, fact-based decision making, value-based goal setting, and clear communications. Our process is, by intent, repeatable and methodical.
Our goal is to transform the way you work from being reactive and controlled by events to being proactive - driven to Excellence.
Event Driven!
Plan Driven
Methods Driven
Outcome Driven
Goal Driven
Excellence Driven
Our consultative services include:
Forethought can have immense value yet often this critical step is somehow bypassed. No time. We know. Fire, [ready, [aim]].
Our mission is to change that.
Projecting A Vision
You have a passion and need to express it.
We can help you crystallize your hoped-for future world and create your
Vision Statement.
You'll find immediate value in having a way to infect others with your passion.
A vision also provides the guiding light that you'll when challenge arise over time.
Stating Your Mission
Can you answer the question
What do you do? simply - in a single, understandable sentence?
Yes? Great! No? Think!
We can lead you through a process to develop your
Mission Statement. With it you can easily attract customers, recruit employees, and make
business-focused decisions.
Defining Stakeholders and Values
Who cares about your success? Believe it or not everyone in your 'business ecosystem' should care.
If you fail so do your stakeholders. And vice versa.
Knowing who your stakeholders are and what they need are critial in developing long lasting and mutually beneficial relationships.
We can help you develop a
Balanced Scorecard that captures perspectives you need to be successful.
Setting Goals
The world changes - hopefully because you make a difference - certainly because time doesn't sit still.
You need to adapt and evolve. This can be thrust upon you are you can set set goals.
Logical. Common sense. Hard to do?
It can be easy if you have the strong foundation that Vision, Mission, and Stakeholder Values provide,
a clear view on your current capabilities (your As Is)and
can envision your future (your To Be). We have a time tested process that can help you develop Goals that make sense and clearly
deifne the next generation of your business.
Defining Success
Suc-cess (sk-ss) n. 1. achievement of intention: the achievement of something planned or attempted.
from EnCarta.
Nice definition, now how do you define intention, achievement, and your specific view of success?
May sound trivial but it is surprising how many organizations struggle to define these terms.
Without this basis you might feel successful (or not) but never know if you aren't (or are). We can help you define the
Key Performance Indicators
that you need that encapsulate your key intentions and expected levels of achievement.
Managing Performance
Oganizational performance is the summary function of many different and
detail-oriented inputs.
Understanding the value chain and establishing a model of and forecast levels for performance measurement is a business fundamental.
We refer to the model of performance as Business Metrics and the forecast levels and actuals attained as Business Measures.
We can help you design a
Business Dashboard that presents these data in a form that facilitiates both operational and strategic management.
Strategic Thinking
Innovation is the staple of long-lived endeavors, but managing your stock of inventive ideas can feel like handling feast or famine.
What processes can pump out the flow of brilliant failures you need to stay competitive? How do you enable risk taking and leverage the collective
power of your stakeholders? We can help you build an
Innovation Engine that is tuned to your Vision.
Making A Roadmap
How do you managing an endless list of potential new business? With our Innovation SwapValuation Process
extended from work first seen in the Harvard Business Review entitled "Even Swaps"
you can learn how to construct, maintain, and prioritize your
Strategic Roadmap.
Planning & Project Management
Project management is all about effective balance of
scope (what is to be done),
resources
(the people, funds, and supplies to be used), and timeline (when the various whats are expected).
Project outcomes can be rated: "true success", "mediocre success", "complete failure", or "magnificent failure".
You'll want to achieve either "true success" or "magnificent failure" with each of your project initiatives. To do so you'll need
to innoculate yourself from the diseases of "scope creep", "lack of resources", and "poor timing".
We show you how to setup projects with
Project Data Sheets that describe why a project
is important, what the project will deliver and when the project will produce results as a collaborative effort between the project's
sponsor, manager, team, and stakeholders.
Successful projects deliver what is expected on time and in budget.
Even those might only be perceived as a "mediocre success".
We can share our process of integrated project planning and execution where the reasons why a project is started are made explicit and obvious. From
there a Project Data Sheet memorializes the most critical aspects of a projects setup so that it is available as
change orders and/or personnel reassignments jeopardize project success. Most importantly the process mitigates the probability of completing the project
on time and in budget only to find that the triggers that caused the project to be launched in the first place aren't addressed.
Change Management
Change is quite possibly one of the most feared human conditions. Introducing change induces emotional resonses that more often than not
are negative in nature. We can show you how to manage the normal, human, emotional response that change ignites. Our process is based on
formal studies of the management of change. These studies show that
identification by individuals with their station, their methods, and
their perception of efficacy of the status quo need to be addressed when embarqing on a change initiative.
Clear Communication
Your Vision, Mission, Values, Goals, Roadmaps, Plans, and Results need to be visible to be appreciated. All stakeholders should have an interest
as your success is intimately tied to theirs. Often perceived as busy work and needless overhead documentation and communication is in fact the
most important overarching aspect of organizational success. We provide a recipe including ideas and templates that will help you convey
on a schedule that makes sense. Most importantly we use principles formally conveyed in the short text
The Clarity Factor to guide
your
Messaging Plan.
Continuous Improvement
Do we "Do what we have learned" or "Learn from what we do"? Trick question. Another, "When should you / do you stop learning?". We use a process
to assess and drive continuous improvement. Based on work done at Carnegie Mellon University this process rigorously defines the
maturation process through successive levels of
Business Maturity. We will help you develop your
Business Lifecycle Plan that
includes Metrics for self assessment, Goals for self improvement, and your Roadmap to becoming a high performance team.
Our methods emphasize process over technology. We believe in simplicity and speed. We think first.
Projecting a Vision
Vision
A Vision Statement captures the essense of why you work so hard at what you do. It is emotional and eternal. It portrays your
highest purpose and conveys urgency and worth. Time invested in thoughtful development of a crisp Vision Statement will pay dividends for years to come.
Presuming your Vision is compelling, you'll be able to attract people: customers, partners, workers, and investors to become stakeholders in your future.
A Visition Statement also provides a foundation when difficult challenges arise. It can remind you of that which is truly important.
While your Vision may be obvious or intuitive it Statement may take work! Often a Vision Statement is confused with a Mission Statement.
Differentiating between these is important. Simply put Vision is "why" and Mission is "what". Similarly a Vision is not a Goal. Think-first can help
you develop a crisp and compelling Vision Statement through facilitated discussion of your most deep rooted hopes with key stakeholders in your future.
Building a Vision Statement Workshop
| Aspect | Description |
|---|
| When | First Step |
| Who | Current Stakeholders including: Founders, Major Shareholders, Senior Leadership, Closest Partners, Most Valued Customers |
| How Many | No more than 15 persons |
| How Long | 1 Day |
| How Often | Once |
| Outcome | Single sentence statement of purpose |
| Example | We have helped cure cancer. |
Stating Your Mission
Mission
A Mission Statement conveys what your Company does in pursuit of its Vision.
It states what you do, for whom, and where.
It is objective and specific.
It leaves room for innovation and extended interpretation.
You need a Mission Statement to explain your organizations role to everyone who cares to know what you produce including family, friends,
customers, business partners, employees, and strangers.
Your Mission Statement needs to be clear. It needs to be concise. It needs to compel interest. It needs to be crafted. Think-first can
help you develop a Mission Statement that you'll proudly present whenever the opportunity to do so arises.
Crafting a Mission Statement Workshop
| Aspect | Description |
|---|
| When | Second Step |
| Who | Current Stakeholders including: Founders, Major Shareholders, Senior Leadership, Closest Partners, Most Valued Customers |
| How Many | No more than 15 persons |
| How Long | 4 Hours |
| How Often | Once |
| Outcome | Single sentence statement of intent |
| Example | We provide telecommunication services as a competitive local exchange carrier in the Southeastern United States. |
Defining Stakeholders and Values
Values
Every enterprise is supports and is supported by sets of stakeholders - persons who care about the business. Knowing who
these people are and what they need and expect as part of their association to your enterprise is a business fundamental.
Without this insight you run the high risk of failure.
Enterprise values Workshop
| Aspect | Description |
|---|
| When | __ |
| Who | __ |
| How Many | __ |
| How Long | __ |
| How Often | __ |
| Outcome | __ |
| Example | __ |
Continuous Improvement
Innovation
Excellence. A quest or a process?
By now you know that its the latter.
So how do you drive excellence? Measure, rate, plan, act.
We can help you define your benchmarks, rate your performance levels, select areas for improvement, and implement excellence driven change.
Continuous Improvement Workshop
| Aspect | Description |
|---|
| When | __ |
| Who | __ |
| How Many | __ |
| How Long | __ |
| How Often | __ |
| Outcome | __ |
| Example | __ |