Consulting
Three things we do best. Most of the time, the answer is a simpler way of working, not new software.
Conversation
Distill the Process
Take out every step that doesn't earn its place, until the process is as short as it can be.
Learn moreStart from the Goal
Begin with what the person at the end is trying to do, and build the process backward from there.
Learn moreOrganize the Piles
Turn scattered files and lists into one clean, matched, usable whole.
Learn more1 · Process
Distilling a Process to Its Simplest Form
Most processes grow by addition: a step for every problem anyone ever had, and nobody takes one out. We take a process apart, keep only what it needs to reach its result, and put it back together in as few steps as it will go.
An example
Today 11 steps
Distilled 4 steps
Click here to learn moreHow we do it · Signs you need it · Where we've done it
How we do it
- 1
Follow one real case, start to finish
Not the documented process: what actually happens, who touches it, and where it waits.
- 2
Ask what each step is for
Every step has to earn its place. If nobody can say what goes wrong without it, it goes.
- 3
Combine and remove
Steps that check the same thing become one. Hand-offs that only move a file from one person to the next disappear.
- 4
Write the short version
One page: the steps that remain, who does each one, and what they need to do it.
Signs You Need It
- Nobody can explain why a step exists.
- The same information is typed in more than once.
- Work waits in one person's inbox.
- New people take weeks to learn how it's done.
Where we've done it
A four-screen dealer flyer builder, rebuilt as three steps, where you change anything by clicking it on the page.
2 · The end user
Starting from the Goal of the Person at the End
Every process ends with someone who has to do something: a shop owner deciding what to stock, a rep walking into a meeting, a customer placing an order. We start there, with what that person is trying to get done, and build the process backward from it.
An example: a quarterly rebate statement
Where it comes from
Quarterly purchase and rebate files
What we gather
Each quarter's purchases, the tier reached, the rebate paid
What we show
The year's total, the dollar gap to the next tier, a plan for next year
The goal
The shop owner decides what to stock next quarter
Read it left to right, but it was designed from the right: the goal first, then what the shop owner needs to see, then what to gather to show it.
Click here to learn moreHow we do it · Signs you need it · Where we've done it
How we do it
- 1
Name the person and the moment
Who is at the end of the process, and what are they trying to decide or do when it reaches them?
- 2
Find what they need in that moment
The one or two things that change what they do, and the form they need them in.
- 3
Work backward
Every step before that exists to deliver those things, on time and in that form. A step that doesn't, goes.
- 4
Test it with the real people
Put it in front of a few of them early, and change whatever made them stop and think.
Signs You Need It
- Reports nobody reads past the first page.
- People ask for the same thing in a different form every time.
- Training takes longer than the task.
- The process works for the people who run it, not the people it serves.
Where we've done it
A quarterly rebate statement, redesigned around the one question a shop owner acts on: how much more do I need to buy to reach the next tier, and what is it worth?
3 · Data
Organizing Piles of Data into Something Usable
Spreadsheets on a shared drive, exports from three systems, a list someone keeps by hand, the same customer spelled five ways. We sort it out: one record per thing, matched across every source, with a record of every decision, in a form people can actually use.
An example
The piles
One usable list
| Location | ID | Found in |
|---|---|---|
| Hillside Auto Service | #20411 | CRM, roster, rebate file |
| Lakeview Tire & Brake | #20412 | CRM, rebate file |
| Main Street Garage | #20413 | Roster, price file, CRM |
Click here to learn moreHow we do it · Signs you need it · Where we've done it
How we do it
- 1
Gather every pile
Every file and system that holds a piece of it, who owns each, and how often it changes.
- 2
Decide what one record is
One customer, one location, one product: what makes it unique, and which source wins when two disagree.
- 3
Match and clean
Duplicates merged, names and addresses made consistent, and the hard cases put in front of a person, not guessed.
- 4
Keep it organized
A simple way to add next month's file without starting a new pile, and a record of every change.
Signs You Need It
- The same customer appears under different names.
- Nobody trusts the totals.
- Every report starts with an hour of cleanup.
- The data you need is in three places, and none of them agree.
Where we've done it
Two messy location lists in, one clean audited master file out: 135,000 rows in minutes, and nothing is ever uploaded anywhere.
How an Engagement Runs
- 1
One hour
A conversation about one process, one goal or one pile, with the people closest to it.
- 2
A written finding
What we'd change and why, in plain words, usually within a week or two.
- 3
Your call
You carry it out, we carry it out with you, or we build and run what it needs.
Bring one process, one goal or one pile
In an hour we'll talk it through and tell you plainly what we'd change.
Start with a one-hour conversation →Frequently Asked Questions
What does it cost?
The first hour is free. After it, we write up what we found and quote the next step: a written plan, help carrying it out, or a build.
Do we have to buy software?
No. Often the answer is a simpler process, a cleaner list or a better report, and no new software at all. When a tool is the right answer, we can build and run it too.
What do you need from us?
One process, goal or pile to start with, and an hour with the people closest to it. For data work, copies of the files or access to them.
How long does it take?
The first conversation is an hour. A written finding usually follows within a week or two. Carrying it out depends on what we find.