Case study - All things Strategy
We're extremely proud of this piece of work but because the details of this particular client and project are highly confidential, we can only share topline facts.
A big household name came to us for support in developing their R&D pipeline for the upcoming year. This was something they’d often tried to manage themselves, but it was becoming increasingly challenging for several reasons.
The brief
Although the R&D pipeline was owned by the R&D department, it involved numerous stakeholders from across the business, and therefore, many were relying on the outcome.
They also wanted to create a multi-functional team (MFT) who would work together for the first time, so they had experts from across the business involved. They wanted a neutral facilitator to lead this process and the conversations.
This MFT would be given ownership of understanding the possibilities, researching market and consumer trends, consulting with customers and units, collecting ideas and scoping opportunities, before ultimately placing the multi-million pound bets.
They also required TFP to help them lock down and lead a calendar of meetings to create momentum and by which the project could be governed. The final client request was to document the process throughout so that it could be repeated the following year.
Before the meeting
We met the leaders of different functions to understand their requirements, bringing them together to suggest a design team.
We then focussed on working with the design team to map out the overall phases and timing of the programme in a digital space which became the project hub.
We outlined the overall plan and partnered with Lim’s visualisers to bring it to life visually so all stakeholders and participants were informed.
We ensured that final decision-making was clear and agreed the group would do this in a data driven way by plotting each opportunity on a chart to demonstrate desirability, feasibility, viability, size of prize.
We split the project into phases which enabled different focuses and different people to be involved.
Preparation
During the preparation phase we worked with a group of individuals to scope out potential opportunities within the industry.
The team validated these areas by digging for relevant data and were able to tell a story for each.
We prepared the engaging ideation sessions and began sending pre-work so participants could connect with the content for a fast start.
During
- As always, we started the meeting demonstrating how we would work together but ensuring they were clear on their purpose for doing this work. It brought everyone together and combined their needs into a compelling shared ‘why’.
- Using bespoke templates we enabled each opportunity owner to highlight the details of their topic in a consistent fashion.
- We ran engaging conversations which helped participants to understand, identify risks, and expand opportunities.
- We ensured each opportunity was mapped onto a grid, allowing the team to compare and contrast them together.
- Finally the group was able to take a view on which opportunities should be taken forward and which should be filtered out.
Outcomes
The group was seamlessly able to navigate the conversations due to a shared end goal.
Emotions and competing, functional aims were removed from the decision-making process due to the visibility provided within the chart. Discussions were effective and efficient as a result.
Most importantly, the MFT was able to make the relevant recommendations to senior management as an aligned group with a clear vision of how the pipeline would benefit the business as a whole.
And finally
This work was pivotal for the team and we are proud to have supported them. Our facilitation with this team continues. Watch this space.