An introduction to the approach and philosophy of Ribbonfarm Consulting, a boutique firm based in Seattle.
Citation preview
UNSTUCK!Introducing the ribbonfarmapproach to consulting
We offer exactly the same servicesother boutique consulting
firms do
Counsel on strategy Marketing and innovation support 1:1
coaching for executives Organizational development Briefings on
business/technology trends Independent research services
we even use the same tools
Discovery of raw input Surveys and interviews Excel-fu and
beyond for data crunching Participant observation Mathematical
modeling and simulation Scenario planning Thoughtful visualizations
Customized conceptual constructs Long-form narrative synthesis
Slide decks that jolt people awake
and our experience is not inparticularly esoteric
industries...
Web and mobile Enterprise software Electronics hardware
Aerospace and military IT Services
but we still deliver different results...results that get you
unstuck...from business-as-usual despair.
How?
The fox knows many things, thehedgehog knows one big thing.--
Archilocus10
Consultants can get youunstuck in two ways
Attribution:Hedgehog: Lars KarlssonSome help you find the right
answers12(we do that some of the time)
Attributions:Fox: Rob Leeand some help you find the right
questions.13(thats us most of the time)
We learn from stories old and new
Clausewitz and Sun TzuAl Ries PositioningPorters five
forcesCarlotta Perezs theoriesDrucker and PetersScrum and
agileBlitzkrieg, Boyd and OODAEli Goldratts The GoalLean
startupsTalebs AntifragilityChesbroughs Open InnovationChristensens
Disruption modelsYes, even villain du jour Frederick Taylor!and use
many models, old and new
but were not attached to any of them
(not even our own)TEMPO is one of the most insightful and
originalbooks on decision-making Ive ever read Daniel H. Pink,
author of To Sell is HumanAn uncannily accurate analysis of our
choice-makingbehaviors David Allen, author of GETTING THINGS
DONETempo is a highly original and engaging bookIn aworld where
timing is increasingly central tosuccessan essential readfor
everyone. John Hagel, co-author of THE POWER OF PULL
And we can operate with just ONE principalVenkatesh Rao PhD,
Aerospace Engineering (Systems and Control), U. Michigan, 2003
Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Xerox Innovation Group, 2006-2010
AFOSR postdoc research at Cornell, 2004-2006 First employee at
Sulekha.com, 1999-2000
because we can call on a brain trust of unusualpeople thats
been growing since 2007
to go beyond our own thinkingTheGervaisPrincipleThe
MiloCriterionThe GollumEffectThe LocustEconomyA Brief Historyof
theCorporation:1600-2100Entrepreneursare the NewLabor
and draw on the most creativecontemporary social and business
thinking
(that you wont find in HBR)
to get you unstuck.
And though we do fail on occasion
and though some clients do decide ourapproach isnt for
themClient Name WithheldI have enough mixedfeelings about it that
anyendorsement couldnt bea whole-hearted one
when we do succeed, our clientssay things like
Venkat was able to apply some of his uniqueanalysis frameworks
to our specific opportunitiesand present some deep and thoughtful
strategies forus to consider as our market grows and matures.We had
Venkat present these results widely withinour sales and leadership
team which has beenvaluable in helping us frame our coming year.--
Scott Regan, Apigee.
[Venkat] has a fantastic ability to create dialogue inareas
that are complicated but in need of discussionand is painfully
honest - a much needed and veryrefreshing attribute.His work/time
ratio is nothing short ofphenomenal, creating in -depth results in
a matterof hours.-- Mat Jackson, Live-Mapp.