what approach does your consulting take?
Many clients have expressed that their hesitation with hiring consultants is that there is a tendency for an "us vs. them" mentality to emerge. We employ a collaborative process because it's not just the right approach, it's the best approach from a business perspective. Your employees and stakeholders are the best resources of institutional knowledge. Whatever systems we design or modify will not work without the buy-in of your current employees or stakeholders. Without collaboration there cannot be innovation.
You consult on a wide variety of areas, how are you able to maintain specialized knowledge?
Our network and team is comprised of many individuals who have achieved excellence in their respective fields. Whatever the area, issue or challenge, a team will be assembled to match your needs. We always offer our clients the option for a single point of contact on any contract. This individual will serve as the team leader who serves as a two-way conduit of information.
We also cannot stress this point enough, specialization is critical, but the processes we use to generate insight and drive impact are scalable and replicable. For example, while the fields of finance and security may seem disparate, at their core is the need to quantify and assess risk. We are strong believers that insights can be mined and applied across a variety of arenas.
do you guarantee success?
This is a trick question, as we believe that success can never be guaranteed. We do however believe in clear well-defined deliverables that lend themselves to evaluation by metrics.
Our greatest pride is our track record of success in solving complex challenges. We would love to for your challenges to become part of our track record.
How quickly can you work on a solution to our challenge?
Once we have an idea of the challenge we can provide a better idea of the time-frame. We are equally comfortable with both short-fuse deadlines and medium to longer term engagements. However, what you will always get from us is the truth.
If there is a divergence between the time you need something and the time we can deliver it, we would rather not take the business than risk disappointing you.
When you say a world-wide network do you just mean the U.S. and the U.k.?
No, when we say world-wide we mean world-wide. Our network extends across the globe in nearly every country. Before any engagement, we make the biographies of the team available And yes, we speak many other languages besides English. Some of most interesting challenges have been to understand or operate in areas where English is not commonly spoken.
Do you possess security clearances?
Yes, some of our team members possess valid U.S. security clearances and as such can work on classified projects if need be.
Why should we hire you?
It may be the case that you shouldn't hire us, the only way for us to know is for us to have a conversation. So while we can't tell you whether you should hire us, we can tell you why you should speak to us. We are passionate about people and solving problems.
Whether we do business or not we can only better understand whether we should if we speak. As has happened in the past, we have sometimes recommended that a potential client not engage our services. If we cannot provide value, we don't want to beat around the bush.
How much time do you need from our in-house teams?
It depends on the nature of the contract. Some clients want to stay engaged on a daily basis, while others prefer weekly or monthly engagement. Other times, clients begin with an idea of what engagement they want and then change mid-way.
Part of our initial discussions is meant to flesh out these possibilities and plan for them. Given the breadth of own experiences we appreciate how much value can come from offering flexibility. We strive to always make that a part of our value proposition.
Could we hear from your previous clients?
Yes, we are fortunate to have wonderful clients and contacts. They have generously agreed to provide testimony regarding our work. For reasons regarding privacy and confidentiality we do not publish their names or testimonies on our website. But we are happy to put you into contact with them.
Will you sign confidentiality clauses?
Yes. Were you expecting a longer explanation?
If we hire you, what is to stop you from advertising your services or sharing your insights with a competitor?
Emmanuel Kant wrote "Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made." With great respect to Mr. Kant, we disagree. Trust is the wood from which the straightest relationships can be built.
Our network is comprised of individuals who have had to repeatedly place their trust in one another. We are most proud of the trust our clients place in us with their most challenging problems and difficult situations.
Finally, for the lawyers reading out there, we do sign non-compete agreements depending on the type of engagement or situation.