Modelo de Walter Dick y Lou Carey.

According to the three phenomena determined through the literature survey and the sub-sequent interpretation in chapter 2 (summary, page 34), design can inform strategy by:

• stimulating creativity and providing fresh perspectives;

• exploring uncertainty and assessing trade-off through prototyping and visualisation;

Case 1: Alpha Structures | Design informing strategy formulation

• achieving a holistic view of complex systems and a shared strategic vision.

This section considers Alpha’s use of design and design methods in the formulation of strategy, both its own and its clients’, and whether there is evidence that it contributes in these three ways.

As the firm has grown, Alpha’s capabilities in strategy and management for the built envir-onment have developed into a saleable capability. Although still mostly active in designing and building large structures, its consulting activity is increasing in scale and value to the firm. Now consulting in design, management and strategy amount to around a third of its revenue.

“We were mostly active in [design and execution] but there is a strong move into con-sultancy, which naturally takes you upstream, and hopefully brings in everything else be-hind it.” [A-3]

But consultancy alone is not the desired revenue model, as it is low-volume and unpredictable.

“You get the big fees for the strategy work, but not a big volume. If you want to make a lot of money, do a lot of detailing. It's less risky, predictable, it's easier to plan, easy to make it efficient, it replicates… The fees might be higher in concept or strategy, but the volume is too small. We are interested in both.” [A-4]

An important contribution to Alpha’s strategic decisions comes from its Foresight team, dedicated to understanding possible futures and to bringing these scenarios into the firm’s research and strategy consulting activities, as well as to design projects. This foresight activity includes not only analysis and research, drawing on social and physical sciences, but also art and design. Their use of design methods to share and explore ideas is an im-portant differentiator for Alpha from other management and strategy consultants. The foresight stage is considered a valuable precursor to strategy formulation, exploring pos-sible future scenarios in which any strategic plan will exist.

5.3.1 Stimulating creativity and providing fresh perspectives

Alpha’s designers and design methods are used by their clients to provide new ideas about

Case 1: Alpha Structures | Design informing strategy formulation

Many business leaders among Alpha’s clients are genuinely interested in understanding what design can contribute to their organisation. Once they are trusted by their clients, senior designers in Alpha might be asked to share their perspective on broad, often ill-de-fined strategic questions.

“They often don't know what design can do for them… We build a relationship of trust, become a trusted advisor¹⁰. They phone me and say ‘why don’t you come over for a chat?’

I say ‘about what?’, they say ‘we don’t know, we just want to reflect a bit’.” [A-4]

Sometimes the designers relate their knowledge of new technical possibilities to a firm’s objectives, challenging their preconceived ideas of what is possible or not.

“[We are] helping identify opportunity from a different perspective. Because one of the things that limits you… is an assumption that [something] is impossible. And sometimes an engineering or design view might be… ‘that’s no longer impossible, so do you want to consider that again because it would transform your industry?’” [A-12]

“Yes, perspective shifting [happens] through challenging the brief and improving a pro-cess.” [A-11]

The willingness of Alpha staff to challenge preconceptions is thought to be a significant company trait, and part of their ‘design culture’ (see also 5.2.1.ii, page 64).

Summary

Alpha’s Foresight team uses design methods to bring creativity to the firm’s strategy-making. Designers from Alpha are invited by clients to offer ideas and challenging views on strategic-level questions.

5.3.2 Exploring uncertainty and assessing trade-off through prototyping and visualisation

The use of sketches and drawings, models and prototypes is a key aspect of design practice and related disciplines [see e.g. Schön, 1983]. It is regarded in Alpha as a vital skill on pro-ject work, and also in strategy consulting. These methods help clients explore possible fu-ture scenarios, often specific to their industry sector, e.g. healthcare or the hotel industry.

10. This reference to ‘the trusted advisor’ may allude to the book of the same name, on the consultant-client relationship [Maister et al., 2000].

Case 1: Alpha Structures | Design informing strategy formulation

“We’ve got people… talking with clients and client associations at quite a high level about where is their industry going, where is their business going, what opportunities are there, which is bringing this [role of] helping visualise things strategically.” [A-12]

A member of the Foresight team recounts how, during strategy workshops, client parti-cipants explore ideas by making physical models, which are then used to communicate concepts to their own design teams:

“[There were] physical deliverables, it wasn’t just bullet-point lists of recommendations…

Only we could do that compared to other consultants. So that was a differentiator: we are designers.” [A-7]

The Foresight team used to be thought of in the firm as dealing only in “blue sky thinking”

[A-7], with little grounding in the realities of business. Just using the word ‘strategic’

would have been met with scepticism a few years ago, when the team had yet to establish credibility in that realm. It seems perceptions have changed, both within and outside the firm, and there is increasing recognition that understanding possible scenarios is highly valuable for strategy makers.

“What did we know about strategy and business? They are the business leaders, what would we know about their business? People [in Alpha] now are coming to us saying,

‘can you help us with some strategic thinking [for a client project]?’” [A-7]

It is suggested this change reflects a growing awareness of ‘design thinking’ and its applic-ation to the complex problems of strategy (2.2.5, page 16), due partly to media interest (e.g. Business Week, BBC) and campaigning from bodies such as the (UK) Design Council.

Summary

Clients make and share physical models to explore possible future scenarios.

Visual methods are increasingly valued in understanding scenarios and hence in strategy formulation, both for Alpha and its clients.

5.3.3 Achieving a holistic view of complex systems and a shared strategic vision

Respondents suggest that a holistic view is necessary for complex strategic visions to sur-vive the translation process into concepts which can be then executed, and that design

Case 1: Alpha Structures | Design informing strategy formulation

“We are interested in both [strategy and delivery]. We have to understand that step from scenario thinking to strategy, then deliver a concept based on those strategies. That's how we are trying to work, and we are doing it better and better.” [A-4]

In strategic consulting services for its clients it is here, in translating strategic visions into concepts, that Alpha’s strength is said to lie. It is key in differentiating them from other management consultants, and also other engineering firms. In Alpha, conceptual thinking is said to flourish at operational level, that is, on the design projects themselves, and also at the senior and Board level. Again, the Foresight team provide a visible example:

“[Our Foresight workshop] has really helped just to get people thinking about some of the bigger issues, and think about how you can innovate around that… it gives people more of a handle to tackle them” [A-7]

However, there is a danger that high-level concepts passed down for implementation out-side of the project groups can be stifled; they are ‘locked down’ too early by a pragmatic fo-cus on detail and delivery.

“You can have a Board-level visionary concept, that's fine, and it's owned by Board direct-ors, but as soon as it hits the delivery teams there's a mismatch of trying to work with something fluid whilst having experts, i.e. detail deliverers, participate in that discus-sion.” [A-1]

It is suggested that such visionary concepts would have a better chance of successful im-plementation if design methods were practised more than they are presently in support (not client-facing) activities.

Design methods play an important role in certain strategy consulting activities, then, but also in Alpha’s own strategy thinking. The Foresight team was originally set up as an in-ternal research resource, to inform design projects and Alpha’s own strategic decisions, and it still plays an important part here. Several respondents emphasised that design and design methods are integral to the holistic ethos in the philosophy of the firm’s founder, which is still strongly present in the company culture. Inevitably, it is argued, it will play a role in strategy making, although it might not be well understood or explicitly recognised.

“Can design techniques be used by a business to develop strategy? That to me is a com-plete no-brainer.” [A-7]

Case 1: Alpha Structures | Design informing strategy formulation

Summary

Foresight designers help represent and communicate complex systems to aid strategy making. Senior designers in Alpha help translate a strategic plan into a shared vision, a concept which can be executed, both in Alpha and for clients.