Our Design Principles

As a practitioner, we know that each client’s context is unique. It is important for us to understand your needs through a partnership approach. We work closely with your team to create bespoke solutions that bring tangible results.

Bring whole systems into the room for open, honest and generative conversations.

Build a safe container for open, honest and generative conversations. As we talk, so will we create. Shared visions are co-constructed realities that emerge from conversations between people who have a stake in their collective future. Creating a safe space or “container” for the conversations is therefore important as trust is fundamental to allow openness and creativity.

People commit to what they help create (Q x A=E).

Generating a high-quality solution (Q) is just as important as the process of garnering change acceptance (A) by people in ensuring effectiveness of results (E). By including people in the conversation as co-creators of the future, they are given a chance to place a stake in it, and this in turn, gives them the natural motivation to make the future happen.  The process of engaging people helps them reflect on the purpose of the change and in turn generates the necessary commitment and support.

Living a vision is not equal to vision statements.

Building shared vision is an ongoing process of inviting people to describe their images of the future they care most about creating.  The purpose is to enrol and engage people to visualise the possibilities of the system when it is at its very best – healthiest, most effective.  It goes beyond an exercise to come up with a caption or slogan.  Unfortunately, most of the time, the conversation stops the moment the vision statement is written.  For it to be meaningful, it must be kept alive through dialogue and reflection with each generation, and not just words enshrined on a wall.

A process for creating the best of the future builds upon the foundation of the best of the past and present.

Every organisation and community has something that has worked well in the past and this provides the foundation for change.  Organisations that are Built to Last (Porras and Collins), know how to “Preserve the Core and Stimulate Progress”.  The act of transformation begins with the discovery of what works well in the past that is worth preserving, and also what do we want to let go of or regenerate when we move towards the future.