Expertise
A unique blend of executive coaching, strategy advisory & management consulting. From serving as executive advisors through interim full-time roles, we are flexible in our model to fit your needs.
Leadership Development for Transformation
We start by listening, evaluating and crafting a custom and flexible approach.
Do you need a leadership coach? Or a strategy and plan to future-proof your business? Do you need to develop a winning value proposition and product?
A New Category of Management Advisor
example assignments
- Digital Transformation Strategy and Execution
- SaaS Business Positioning, Strategy, and Roadmap
- Senior Innovation Advisor for T-Mobile
- Technology Assessment and Interim CIO
- Gates Foundation Senior Technology Advisor
- AI Natural Language Processing Solution Development
- Technology Due Diligence for PE Investor
- Customer-Centricity Strategy for Global Pharmacy
- Innovation Masterclass -- Think Big but Bet Small
- Board Advisors to Mid-sized and Startup Leaders
- Executive Team Goals and Objectives Definition
Product & Digital Transformation Strategy and Execution
Engaged by public company CEO to establish a customer and employee experience reinvening the experience through mobile access, reducing friction and eliminating operating costs. This strategy and plan has been the backbone of creating scale for this national staffing organization.
Following the digital vision and strategy, we conducted an technology and IT organization assessment, served as interim CIO, hired and transitioned to new technology leadership team. Improved both operational stability and ability to release new features and improved data quality.
B2B SaaS Product Value Proposition, Strategy and Roadmap
Engaged by multiple SaaS technology companies to develop a compelling product mission and value proposition. Engagements typically end with the development of an investor deck, client presentation and comprehensive roadmap. There are several keys to this type of engagement. Working as “one team” with a small and consistent client team gives speed, the advantage of company expertise, but balanced with an independent point-of-view and fresh mindset.
Interviewing customers, ecosystem players and partners to gain industry and “job-to-be-done” insights is important to bring new insights to the existing strategy. We typically leverage parts of the Amazon “working backwards” approach and write different and alternative versions of future press releases, FAQs, narratives and low fidelity prototypes to stretch the existing thinking. We often leverage “category definition” approaches to frame, name and claim a new category which we can dominate.
Senior Innovation Advisor for T-Mobile
Retained by T-Mobile corporate strategy team as advisor in building a enterprise innovation program. Developed framework, processes and governance for end-to-end innovation program. Developed scanning and strategic themes, conducted due diligence, collaborated on key concept envisioning, established resource management processes.
Resulted in scaling second and third horizon investments in emerging markets and established ongoing innovation program.
Technology Assessment and Interim CIO
We have conducted multiple cloud transition plans, IT and engineering process and organization reviews, and served as interim leadership. Developed API business model strategy and current-state assessment of the power and gap of current offering.
Provide full-cycle software architecture services, including designing, developing, reviewing, tuning, and improving complex software frameworks. Whether you’re working with new software or an outdated legacy system, we can help you optimize it. Our proven methodology has helped clients achieve over 25% faster time-to-market and superior scalability with their applications.
Gates Foundation Senior Technology Advisor
I served as the Senior Technology Advisor to the US Program of the Gates Foundation and led dozens of teams and projects on behalf of the Foundation.
These projects included laying the groundwork for a longitudinal student-data standard and building momentum and an ecosystem for its adoption and use; led the technical architecture and teams in a massive investment from the Gates Foundation into a national marketplace of apps and data to enable teaching innovation through a company named InBloom; assisted several states in successful applications in the Race To The Top federal funding program.
AI Natural Language Processing Solution Development
Envisioned, designed, engineered and launched an API to innovate business email. Conducted market and user research to reinvent business email. Developed data labeling application, designed and coded NLP model and API, developed prototype of UI and user experience.
Resulted in API being acquired by startup as the core engine for innovative CRM application targeting business professionals.
Technology Due Diligence for Private Equity & Investors
Conducted due diligence for PE investment into Amazon ecosystem technology provider. Based on a deep understanding of the Amazon marketplace ecosystem, we were engaged by a large PE firm evaluating a majority investment into a technology company. Due diligence evaluated user satisfaction, technical risks, competitive landscape and identified “unfair advantages” target company represented.
The engagement resulted in a successful investment.
Customer-Centricity Strategy for Global Pharmacy
Building on multiple keynote speeches and workshops with worldwide leadership team, was retained by divisional president to assist in develop a strategic change program on customer centricity. The goal was to breakdown organization structure and bureaucracy to create insights, programs and investments to serve patients and providers through an effortless experience
Resulted in an influence-oriented strategy equipped with principles, toolkits, comprehensive communication plan and center of excellence to infuse customer-centricity overcoming current product-centric mindset
Masterclass on Innovation and IoT — Think Big but Bet Small
Delivered multi-day masterclass training session for senior leadership. The class address leadership, visioning, prototyping, leveraging Amazon’s “working backwards” techniques to help participants begin the development of a rigorous digital plan. Included technology sessions from AWS and industry examples from companies like Decisiv and Modjoul.
This class can be customized for the needs of the participants
Board Advisors to Mid-sized and Startup Leaders
Serve as board-advisors to a variety of mid-sized and startup companies. This includes
- SupplyClinic — A marketplace for trusted dental supplies
- Decisiv — A SaaS platform connecting truck OEMs, dealers & fleet operators to improve the service experience and optimize operating uptime
- Modjoul — An internet-of-things wearable device and data platform transforming blue-collar worker safety
- An Amazon marketplace-first brand incubation platform
- VxtraHealth — A health insurance provider developing and managing health plans without the hassles for self-insured, middle-market employers
Executive Team Goals and Objectives Definition
Engaged to help the executive team define and prioritize their goals, and then to execute better across them. We leveraged the OKR (Objective, Key Results) methodology to quickly define both annual goals and then create quarterly plans and “key results” tied to these. This approach helped the executive team come to better understand the assumptions, risks and dependencies to their plans, to say “no” to non-prioritized distractions, and communicate across the organization in a consistent manner. Allowed the executive team to collaborate more effectively, ask better questions and debate trade-offs while keeping accountability clear.
Achieving growth has been a key focus in these assignments and the early value we delivered was by helping to define strategic growth versus growth which did not provide enhanced value. These assignments often have an executive coaching element in helping individuals with aspects they may be new to or are struggling with. We conducted OKR training and often implemented an “executive” book club as part of these engagements to create the lasting changes required.
