HOW WE ESL
We custom tailor the ESL experience to fit your business' needs. We do this using a very large toolbox of methods and techniques that we borrow from such domains as Strategic Foresight, Design Thinking, Outcome–Driven Innovation, Discovery-Driven Innovation, and Experiential Learning. In this context, we employ whichever of our methods and tools are best suited to the challenge at hand so that we can help your team draw out the insights and "a-has" they need.
One of the most important things we do prior to diving into new growth ideas with your team is that we first challenge them to peel back the layers of the business and its markets so that they can get down to the fundamental essence of these two things. This is where we test the underlying assumptions and orthodoxies, which we do through a number of probing, exploratory questions the team must answer. This gives them new ways of looking at, and thinking about, the challenges surrounding their business and its markets. In this sense, we work with the team to "reframe" the business – both its core purpose and its approach – so that it can better address the real "problem behind the problem" (or "need behind the need") in its markets. This is all so that ultimately, together, we can find one or more truly impactful opportunity paths for the business to pursue as it moves forward.
It is important in this process that we're able to help everyone involved connect as many dots as absolutely possible. We will therefore – to this end – spend more time asking and discussing questions than we will proffering answers. This is the best way we can have each business leader connect new insights together for themselves. You will also find that the answers to many of these questions will continue to emerge over time (well after the lab), as you continue turning over the questions in your minds — which often makes for very productive follow-on discussions in your business.
Ultimately, we bring two very important assets to the ESL experience — deep expertise in the ESL process itself, and the unbiased objectivity of an outside facilitator (we're not mired in your industry's established mindsets). In all cases, the end–game will be to deliver actionable insights that your leadership team can then use to adjust the course of your business toward accelerated growth and market leadership.
