Bring Us to Work

We consult with teams and develop customized experiences to develop their collective capacity. It can look like a dedicated series of Sandbox workshops, or something much more expansive. We’d be happy to talk with you about your work group, organization, or department. Here’s a little more about our philosophy and where we tend to come from.

We believe…

YOU already have most of the ingredients you need

We get asked for advice. Often. Usually about sticky and seemingly intractable situations. We typically agree to a conversation and proceed to some questions. Actually, we ask a ton of questions. Once conversation gets rolling, it quickly becomes clear that the most important ingredient is already in place: our colleagues’ existing knowledge of their own industry, organization, and the nitty gritty of what it is they do. The opportunity we offer is for them to see their deep knowledge through a new lens. Often we help them realize that The Way Things are Done, is often Part of the Problem. While this can be hard it is also freeing as it often means that some hard but relatively small changes can have a pretty big impact.

When we work with groups, we find the same is also true. The team holds among them the data necessary to unlock the challenges and sticking places. The work becomes learning and practicing a common problem solving approach that allows the team’s full expertise and experience come to bear.

Grappling is about noticing what’s hard, and not pushing it to the side

Too often we’ve become accustomed and even incentivized to look away from what is hard. We often spend our time trying to avoid or ignore or sideline the persistent challenges to what we think can progress in their absence. But those things that keep coming up are data, and sometimes the most important data we need. The practice of grappling is about noticing those pain points, acknowledging their impact, and incorporating them into your calculation.

We have learned that the only way forward is through. The tightest points in the knot can’t be left untouched. Given their existence, how can we leverage our role, our resources, and our respective responsibilities to loosen them?

lasting Change happens from the inside out

Shaping a new reality requires us to work with, retrofit, and rehab the reality we have currently. We can’t purchase or promise our way forward. We have to practice, in real time, acting into the alignment and values we desire. That means that no one is exempt from the work it takes. Leadership doesn’t sit out. The impact any of us have on our clients, stakeholders, and communities can only reflect the culture we keep for ourselves. We all play a role in The Way Things Are Done, and most importantly we all play a role in manifesting the The Way Things Could Be.

We believe If more people and professionals were skilled in story-forward, systems-focused, power-aware strategies then they would be able to leverage their platforms and positions more effectively, and change would cascade differently, and - most importantly - more quickly.