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www.forwardthinkinginc.com newsletter | latest edition | february 2011

Welcome to our first newsletter of 2011. Last year was an exciting one for us, adding some impressive new clients - including Microsoft, Carillion and Willis - and welcoming a number of new consultants including experts in organisational psychology and environmental science. Helping organisations to adapt successfully to change and to develop effective environmental strategies linked to overall corporate performance are increasingly common requests from our clients. We are continually looking to increase the strength and breadth of our expertise and resources in both areas and recent appointments will prove invaluable in this respect. A key focus for our strategy execution work continues to be on helping clients to develop their intangible asset base - human capital, relationship capital and corporate brand capital. We work with them to measure progress in building value in each area (intangibles have historically been seen as difficult to measure) and support them in the execution of programmes to build their strength in each asset class. The start point for much of our strategy work, including intangible asset development, is in working with clients to define or refine their value proposition. It is an area which many companies wrestle with: what exactly is a value proposition? The short article below explains how we approach the challenge at fti. We wish all of our clients a successful 2011 and look forward to working with you again this year. Chris Woolston (MD)

testimonials Want to hear what people say about us? Please click here subscribe Want to hear more? Please visit our site and subscribe contact Have something you want to share? Please click here to email us unsubscribe To unsubscribe please click here A joint venture between forward thinking inc and Herman Miller forward thinking inc indigo house holbrooke place richmond surrey TW10 6UD t: +44(0) 208 939 2330 f: +44(0) 208 939 2331 The future of work? We think that agile working is going to transform the way that people work, as well as reshaping the purpose and design of the office of the future. It represents potentially the biggest change in the way people work since the industrial revolution. At its heart, agile working encourages employees to work in a way, place and time which is most effective for them. It brings with it the need to manage on 'outcomes' rather than 'time' and since self determination is one of the most powerful drivers of productivity, has the potential to significantly raise both employee satisfaction and effectiveness. Advances in mobile technology have made agile working possible for ever greater numbers of employees, and anyone spending time in a Starbucks, airport lounge or even the local park will be increasingly familiar with the sight of agile workers engaged in their art. The effective adoption of agile working policies not only brings significant potential benefit in helping reduce space related operating costs, but the potential changes in commuting patterns will have a significant impact on the environment too. Our 'green working model' estimates that a 20% reduction in commuting hours across the 5 major cities of Asia Pacific alone could reduce CO2 emissions by over 1.5m tonnes p.a. and, if the time spent commuting were converted to productive work, generate an incremental $40 billion p.a. in productive value! Who thinks that sitting on a train for 2 hours every day is a good idea? Our quick calculations suggest that a typical commuter could spend 10 years of their life this way - which looks like a big opportunity to work smarter! For insight on how to integrate the positive benefits of agile working into your business please contact Ami Brabbins on ami.b@forwardthinkinginc.com or on 0208 939 2330. Developing a value proposition The process of developing a winning value proposition is about gaining a truly insightful perspective on the needs of your target market and then marshalling your offer (which must be founded on truth) to convince them that you can meet their needs perfectly. The building of brand and reputation requires you to articulate and then deliver on that promise with relentless consistency. Every action, at the front end and the back end of the business, should be developed and honed to deliver on the proposition (organisation, process, skills, etc). A value proposition is therefore the fundamental organising intelligence for your business. For a B2B company the first step is to understand the dynamics of your customer's business. What's important to them, what are their issues and challenges? What drives their competitive advantage? The analysis needs to explore both the functional and the emotional. The next step is to review and analyse your own assets. What are you particularly good at? Begin to think about how your strengths might answer the customer needs you have identified. Finally the challenge is to match the two. How can you articulate and explain your unique qualities in an easy to understand, compelling and consistent way? Your articulation is the value proposition. It must be concise and well evidenced. The most critical step is to deliver on the proposition. This requires a level of focus and commitment to consistently improve and refine your capabilities to deliver on it. At fti we work in a consultative way with senior management to examine their differentiating strengths as an organisation and analyse the evolving needs of the markets they serve. Precise articulation of the linking value proposition and a commitment to put it at the heart of strategy execution is key to success. If you would like help with refining and articulating your own value proposition contact Mark Whitman on mark.w@forwardthinkinginc.com or on 0208 939 2330.