The Process

Every step in your business’ growth requires a business model engineered to support it. Evolving systems, technology, and processes to remain lean, and profitable is only part of the recipe for success. Ensuring your business can continue to deliver on its promise without compromising on bottom-line profits or your quality of life is what really matters.

When it comes to product strategy, we understand that delivering compelling, intuitive, helpful, secure, and reliable experiences depends on the operational framework, systems, data, and security built into your business. It also requires you to read into your team’s performance in real-time, with the least amount of effort necessary. Quick, iterative adjustments, and well designed feedback loops are required.

It’s for these reasons, we look at your business as a whole unit. To ensure the highest probability for ROI, profit, and long-term success.

Stage 1: Assessment & Opportunity Phase

We dig into the current business model to identify what’s needed to create the capacity required for future growth. Together we build your roadmap and action plan.

You can expect us to focus on the following:

Your data. Data provide the building blocks for sound decision making. Without Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), we have no way to measure progress. Establishing a foundation in data-driven insights allows us (and most of all – you) to tell the story as we make measurable progress.

The financial feasibility and rationality of your offering. We love new ideas – but we don’t let them distract us from our ultimate goals. Every investment must deliver ROI. In order to do this, there must be a deep understanding of your P&L and the things that drive cost in your business. Before we go chasing the “shiny new thing” we make sure we are setting ourselves up for financial success.

Your cash flow, including your ownership structure, investor relationships and long-term plans for raising capital as needed.

Your technology stack and internal/external user/employee experiences. We will focus on efficiency, scalability of the operation, customer experience, security, and cost effectiveness of what’s in place today.

Stage 2: Implementation Phase

Once the system and plan are prepared, it’s time for traction.  We roll up our sleeves and work along side you to execute the plan. We free up capacity, cash flow, or both to provide the room to scale. At this stage, we begin meeting on a regular basis and prioritize the actions that impact your business the most.  Collaboratively, we reconstruct your business model and begin implementing each aspect of your plan to make the model a reality.  The deliverable is a new business model with measurable results of more profits, greater productivity, and a better cash position.

You can expect the following:

A significant emphasis on project and/or program management and change management within your existing team. Implementing any changes requires tight communications plans not only with your internal team, but also with your existing customers or suppliers. The goal is to get to your “new normal” with zero disruption to your existing client base.

KPI reporting. We get what we measure. ROI is realized by closely tracking the changes we’ve implemented and adjusting as we go.

Attribution tracking. Simply seeing growth or cost savings is not enough. We must be able to track the wins back to the specific things we’ve done that have worked, and quickly abandon the things that haven’t.

Transparency.

Stage 3: Refinement & Optimization Phase

We evaluate performance, define new KPI’s make adjustments to new systems, introduce new reporting and analytics. This phase involves conceptual work on scaling while maximizing ROI and managing risk.  The deliverable is a viable business plan with a clear vision, goals, objectives, and tactics for the upcoming years. You now have a lean, mean, machine.

What you can expect:

A next-level dive into your industry or market to identify current and future opportunities.

More comprehensive analysis around your profit centers, margin by segment, and areas that require closer attention.

Operational policies, procedures, gaps, security risks, technology risks, regulatory risks and opportunities to differentiate in the market.

New market segments or verticals and roadmap that builds you a path to the bigger, more profitable fish.

You will have a dedicated partner in strategy that checks the box of a CXO, CGO, CMO and CTO!

Stage 4: Acceleration Phase

We shift into fractional Chief Growth Officer (F-CGO) mode and hit the gas pedal on growth, leveraging the new business model, increased cash flow, and most importantly, your newly found capacity to look to the horizon and embrace strategic planning at a level you’ve never experienced before.

What you can expect:

Refreshed competitive analysis of your industry along with how to protect against future disruption

Voice Of the Customer (VOC) programs, including focus groups and customer interviews

B2B Strategy exercises aimed at pushing your product or service out to as many channel partners as possible

Review of emerging technology trends

A shift to risk management, and risk mitigation activities

…and more!