Improving the Value of External Resources

We believe that organization boundaries should not be barriers. Our business is to improve your company's effectiveness in working across these boundaries, whether using external resources for internal activities, or for delivering support and other services to customers.

Our philosophy is: For some projects, the right degree of partnering can make for better business. Partnering is made up of people, trust and working together, beyond the signed agreements. Think180 addresses the strategic and tactical implementation of outsourcing and vendor management.

We do this by ensuring that the people managing the delivery and integration of the work have the skills and understanding needed to be effective. We work with both clients and vendors to enhance the overall effectiveness of outsourced projects and programs. And we can plan and develop uniquely tailored training to meet client-specific business needs.

How we work . . .

Our approach is to work in a partner-like way with our clients – carefully focusing our efforts on the results needed and the context in which we are working. We take a holistic and strategic approach that identifies desired outcomes, and how our work contributes toward these.

When the work revolves around the delivery of our workshops, we take the approach of identifying the results and outcomes that our client is looking for, and why the training may help achieve those outcomes.

Read our extended article "Who Controls Sourcing?".

Before We Start . . .

We operate in a problem-solving rather than a "selling" mode, even before we start work with a client. We find that our prospective clients prefer to discuss issues and needs with us in a problem-solving forum, rather than sitting through a formal presentation of a sales pitch. That way, you get a sense of what we would be like to work with.

Before any agreements are made, we always provide our clients with a full statement of work, with outcomes, definitions, methodology, assumptions, roles, and milestones clearly set out. This statement of work becomes the roadmap for the project, and the milestones and outcomes are the metrics.

Our Approach to Consulting . . .

When we engage with a client on a development or consulting project, we carefully identify the outcomes that our client wants, then shape the assignment from there. Sometimes we suggest an incremental approach to defining the scope of the work. In this way, we begin by creating a more limited scope of work, until the full requirements are uncovered as we move forward.

Our Approach to Workshops . . .

First, we start with the desired end result, or experience desired for the customer or business unit. Then we focus on the learning or process required involved to achieve that outcome. This helps us create a clearer definition of the assignment, and how we can work with you, our client, to help you get the results you want.

We encourage our clients to look at factors within their team of company environment that might be either enablers or obstacles to the success of a training workshop. We discuss those things that will help or hinder workshop participants to implement what they learn from the workshop.

See Workshops, Methodology, and Think180 Training Process diagram

Additional Benefit to you . . .

Part of every assignment, whether a workshop, consulting or development assignment, is an analysis and report on our observations, experience, feedback from staff, and recommendations.