Seize Your White Space

Seizing Your White Space

Competition is fierce in today’s new economy with many companies running to meet or beat their rivals. As a result, the focus tends to fall largely on improvements in cost, quality and efficiency. While these incremental improvements are absolutely necessary, companies also need to look for breakthough innovation – opportunities to redefine industries and create new markets. We think of it as capturing ‘white space.’ We’ve developed a strategic framework and flexible process that has proven effective in doing exactly that.

It Starts With A Strategic Framework

Our framework provides the necessary context for developing new business opportunities. We start by defining the Purpose (specific outcomes), the People (an interdisciplinary team), and the Place (an atmosphere for immersive experience). Then, we leverage a structured, yet flexible approach – the Process – that encourages discovery. With the four ‘Ps’ in place, the stage for exploring new opportunities is set.

Provides A Flexible Process

There is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to breakthrough innovation. Our flexible process model starts with a multifaceted opportunity framing phase where it’s critical to outline expectations, goals and criteria for success. We quickly move into a concept building phase that follows a ‘diverge, synthesize, converge, emerge’ approach. During this phase, we  use a combination of tools, techniques, and activities that have been assembled according to the goals of the initiative. A multi-disciplinary team is thoughtfully navigated through a week-long session that maximizes their collective brain power. Yes, it’s as exhausting as it sounds. But the experience is collaborative, immersive, and motivating. Concept building transitions to concept evolution – where business concepts can morph into prototypes and new models.

Produces Tangible Outcomes

Our success depends on the outcome – and there is plenty. Some results are straightforward; a project brief, pre-work and business concepts are a few of the obvious. But there are a number of tools that create valuable feedstock for evolving a portfolio or creating a new business. As a team focuses on stakeholder insights, a brand audit or trends impact, valuable discussions can lead to unanticipated opportunities and breakthrough innovation. There are also those disguised learnings as well. The peppering of team-based activities helps individuals and groups realize untapped capabilities and synergies.

There are ouputs and outcomes expected from each phase of the process. And the beauty is that the client team is involved throughout – making understanding and ownership part of the fabric of the initiative.

strategic framework + flexible process = tangible outcomes