A lot of people have asked me recently to republish this piece. It was originally written 8 years ago and hasn't really changed much over that time. Of course I have tinkered with it but it stands some of the tests of time - thanks for asking and feel free to rip into it.
A 21st Century Vision. Group Partners Vision
Against a constant tsunami of warped opinion and diabolical dogma - way out ahead of the 'norm' - the quality of thinking is what marks out real leaders. They are wise and often profound - they are the strategists, the imagineers and so they are the ones out in front. They are designers, story-tellers, artists – they define leadership.
These new leaders actively encourage fresh input, new ideas. They say when they are wrong – even when they are not. They remain cool when challenging the status quo. They challenge it with good reason. It's because they are constantly figuring out how a newer/better world would work, and they do it with a curious mind. These new thinkers stand out from the rest.
They hold argument with grace. Ideas are everything, they are the raw material of everything humans can do and achieve. Thinking is the machinery that uncovers, inspires and encourages an 'idea' and turns it into valuable action. We call all of this creativity and it is what makes the difference. – Group Partners
The world needs a new kind of idea and a new breed of thinker. Interestingly all of us could contribute to that right now! The idea of 'idea' and the act of 'thinking' are the two stand-out heroes of the 21st Century. Why aren't we leveraging them more right now!
Everywhere you look lazy thinking causes untold catastrophes. Political inadequacy, countless wars, deep social unrest, dopey laws, media cynicism and exploitation. All of it leading to our individual stress and frustration. Much of it adds up to a wide range of issues. From anger over the Bankers salaries to the dumbing down of the younger generations. What are we missing in this? Why don’t we do something. Global tensions are rising and rising due to the long-term and unchecked fuelling of the systems of self preservation. It is a self balancing inertia. And this is an outrageous situation. Whether large corporation or a member of a local community you recognise the need for change.
These are now wicked problems. What is called for is equally wicked thinking. Ideas and thinking of a higher class than ever before
Tipping Point to Thinking Point.
We know deep inside (if not always consciously) that massive change is going to happen at some point - probably in the next decade. Momentum has now outstripped our ability to deal with it all. The complexity for humans (of situations like terrorism, aids, climate change) make the conditions ideal to want to campaign to cause the change we seek (political, business [financial institutions], media, social injustice) - if only we could/would choose to collaborate, align and strike.
We know that some dread the turbulence and the inevitability of this and simply ignore it, possibly because of the fear of losing what we already have. Others push for it, feeling they have nothing to lose. And some - like the fool on the hill - just sit and watch the world spinning round. The fact is there is a time - RIGHT NOW - to throw all we have at the chance of action, systems and above all exploit our 'ideas' and our 'thinking'.
“An idea isn’t responsible for the people who believe in it.” - Don Marquis
The most radical change is not brought about by command and control government but by enlightened social change. This is as true in a small or large business as it is in society. This means we need to understand whether it is a business or our whole society that we are a part of a living system - a network. Enlightened social change is caused when the momentum is there – the right motivation and behavioral conditions are met. This means new ideas become catalysts. This argues that we need to replace current paradigms – and that requires collaboration by us all – we are the people who are most affected.
The business of thinking - the enterprise of idea.
Everywhere you look in business there are serious pressures to change. Change means risk, mitigating risk requires thought and calculation. Placing new and hopefully better bets. For thought to be of any value we need to foster clear ideas. Ideas that live inside the minds of a few people in a business are worthless. Often we've seen a brilliant strategy (idea) stay marooned in the board room because the enterprise couldn't share it. The enterprise wasn't engaged, the leadership couldn't think it through and then articulate it. The business, those that had to do the work, wasn't invited to play. No method of collaborative endeavour - whatsoever.
Group Partners focuses on large, complex and global clients. They typically have large and complex enterprises with large and complex issues. The enlightened ones know they want to change the way they think and work. We know they are seeking alternatives to the standard approaches that they tell us no longer work. We change this beyond all recognition.
These clients hire Group Partners and licence its approach, tools and software. And through partners they can sustain the work we have started. Accredited ‘Partners/Affiliates’ apply forms of Structured Visual Thinking™ and 4D™ under licence or in collaboration with us. Our ‘Clients’ are amongst the largest organisations on the planet. Our ‘Partners’ are varied in size, geography and market coverage. Our approach is well-known amongst those who need to think and do things differently.
Putting Method Into The Madness.
By collaborating, sharing and reasoning through logical conversations we've proven we can make the intangible real. We can resolve every business problem. We can tell better stories, we can engage widely into the enterprise. The power of a proven approach is a critical contribution to the world of thinking. It is a big idea in and of itself.
Group Partners has invented an approach to stimulate, capture, realise, calculate, communicate and sustain thinking. This is about processing ideas into practical reality. The 'way' of discovering and developing better ideas.
Structured Visual Thinking™ and 4D™ are already proven tools.
The Vision is simple. The 3 core elements 'Logical Structures', 'Visualization' and 'Improved Thinking' are pervasive. They are delivered through real-time interventions, via training methods and also by systems. In this way they become sustained and repeatable. Available to everyone.
"There is no substitute for quality thinking. None. There is a framework though - 4D™." - Group Partners.
Our Aim:
Becoming the alternative to traditional ways of thinking and working. Replacing inappropriate and outdated consulting methods. Working with partners globally. There is another way to thinking about how to solve complex enterprise issues and we are it. Visual, logical and intelligent frameworks that are capable of being deployed by the clients themselves, or with our partners - not by expensive and self serving consulting firms. (We have observed that these firms have an interest in long term or unnecessary assignments that the client is poorly connected with and are unsustainable.)
"Let's avoid solving the wrong problems really well."
These tools are supported by services, tools and systems that enable the delivery of our proven methods.
Focus & Alignment:
We were clients ourselves and observed the triple killers of inconsistent decision making - poorly defined strategy and little or loose controls by the senior team. All of this arose through the absence of a common framework for steering the ship. Most critical change and transformation programs go astray because of gaps in definition, priority or importance. Communication and understanding cripple programs before they even start. On top of that you can add behavioral and cultural disengagement.
Objectivity Rules OK!:
Our belief is that the senior team usually know the answers, are well aware of the issues and are best placed develop the solutions. We are not consultants. When we were clients we lacked any impartial, agenda-neutral approach to assist our thinking. There was always someone with an opinion and that opinion could be right or wrong. It was high-risk. There was no way of thinking through the issues properly or to do so in a creative and high energy way. We invented the tools for this. They are called Structured Visual Thinking™ and 4D™
In Great Company:
We have worked with over 2500 of the worlds biggest companies and Governments. This means we’ve learned the hard way what does and doesn't work in developing successful business strategy. Our clients want to leverage the best of the best practices. Our aim is to accelerate leaders towards a conclusion that they themselves have created, that they own and that they can share. In addition the approach provides clarity, focus and inspiration at the same time as avoiding gaps and duplication. It ensures that the business doesn't solve the wrong problem really well.
Rapid:
It’s fast. It doesn’t involve weeks and months of expensive time out or wasted senior resource. Given a clear ‘exam question’ a senior team sees results within days. Initial intervention sessions that develop alignment typically involves a senior team for just two days.
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