Given the turbulence of current times which could be logically placed in line with the words 'complexity' and 'uncertainty' in a synonymic row, more and more organizations tend to resort to the services of management consultancies to obtain close assistance for the development and further change. The tendency is indeed rational, to say at the very least. The past few years, with a COVID pandemic in the starring role, have evidently shown that corporate unpreparedness is quite an expensive caprice to handle, especially when accompanied by the hesitance to adjust and iterate. As such, the most prominent takeaway for the vast majority of humanity was a sharp acknowledgment of the urge to adapt and transcend the existing performative boundaries

“Consumer and business digital adoption have been fast-forwarded by five years in just the first eight weeks of lockdown.”

McKinsey & Company, 2020
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Yet, a substantial share of independent businesses still demonstrates an extreme advisory aversion, favouring restrained local efforts over professional expertise. Reflecting on the potential reasons that would justify such groundless, yet persisting, reluctance, we have outlined a recurring mistake pursued by the considerable number of fellow agencies - and that is fatal vagueness on how the actual work takes place. In essence, it is a fairly common anecdote: once a potential client plunges into the desk research on what the collaboration with a management consulting firm might look like, the amount of questions begins to exponentially outweigh the initial answers. As a result, one is prevalently left in a state of even more absurd doubt and confusion than before.

"What could be the reason?" you might wonder, and, unfortunately, the reply would be just as vulgarly trivial as every other piece of truth. Oftentimes, as shown by practice, a consultancy either lacks a thoroughly defined structure of handling a case or deliberately seeks to exhibit needless enigma and distance you from the process. Whatever an actual case may be, at our research and prototyping studio, we believe that a client deserves to have both a process overview and following transparency, which is why we decided to combine both and guide you through the full-range experience of being our partner.

“Those that are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

Steve Jobs
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Nice point, Steve. So, shall we change the world together?

When embarking on a journey with Bit, the first learning our client should grasp is that we are here to keep the strategy right where it should be - outside the comfort zone. Otherwise, what's left is playing mere catch-ups that winners simply cannot afford as genuine victory requires outpacing the competition in advance. Luckily, the latter is handled by us, so all you will happen to need is an unspeakably audacious scope of ambitions, willingness to embrace the change and collaboration during the 4 key steps it will take us to fast-forward your business directly into the future. In line with this premise, in the sequence of upcoming blogs tagged with "Bit process", we invite you to sneak backstage and provide a glimpse of our hidden operational magic, encouraging you to unfold and explore each prototyping stage with your bare hands.

Aspiration

As a matter of principle, we work with clients who love their business and firmly agree that innovation is the key to leapfrogging an entity to its performative edge. Yet, as you might notice, such a generic target is a rather slippery road to drive, so the real question behind is which concrete scenario does your organization aspire to?

"The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score."

Bill Copeland

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Seeking to lay the ground for the subsequent collaboration with our prospects, we make it our business to understand their aspirations and where they picture themselves in a few years from now. To pinpoint the fittest objective, our primary task lays in ensuring that the final destination is outlined in compelling and motivating terms, able to decently serve our client over time. Through constant communication with a customer where the needs and wants of the latter are placed as the top priority, our first step involves a full- dive into defining a winning aspiration and finding the exact area where the innovation will assist further growth and accelerate ahead of the competition.

The common misconception here, however, is a prevailing idea that a company’s interference in the goal-setting flow is arbitrary, and should be rather fully left up to the vision of experts. Well, here is the thing: you are an expert in your own company. Although our expertise will do an unspeakably great supplement to the organizational performance, at the early stages, we deeply need your insight on the current contexts, challenges, and preferences. This is why we insist on weekly check-ins, where together we decide on what concepts to discard - and which we will continue in the next phase. Our competence and your perspective - that’s what we need.

"From personal experience, although most of our clients already have a specific problem they would like to address prior to contacting us, there are quite some cases when a customer is not entirely sure about the desired outcome. A lot of people tend to have vague expectations and little to zero envisionment of their goals. This, unfortunately, vastly impedes the process as it is difficult to identify the further trajectory of work."

Tijs Teulings
Bit Developer

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How exactly do we define a winning aspiration?

Consider it a yearning that would instantly distinguish your company from all others. As such, it is supposed to clearly outline the edges of where a business stands at the moment and where it is eager to head in the near future. Abandon formalities in the shape of mission and vision: those repetitive statements saturated with pretentious adjectives will hardly bring you anywhere beyond the CSR report. Fuel your future with audacity: aspirations are about reaching and believing - and, most importantly, about daring.

How do we know we have reached the end of this phase?

Let the facts speak for themselves. As we walk into the conference room, having the right to say that we know our clients inside out and are utmostly aware of a posed situation, the collaboration can flawlessly proceed onto the next stage of the Bit Process. What would it be? Stay tuned for our blog updates to be the first one to find out.