Approach
Our Approach
A few weeks ago, my wife and I discovered water damage in our home that was due to a roof leak. We replaced the roof to stop more water from getting in, and once that was done, we focused on the inside.
At one point during the process, we sent an identical request to 8 different companies asking for bids. All 8 were knowledgeable. All came highly referred. And based on their responses, I’m guessing most would have done a decent job at fixing the problem.
But what my wife and I based our decision on, whether we realized it or not, was not necessarily which company would have fixed the damage the best. Would we want someone who could fix it 5 or 10% better than the other companies? Absolutely. But, what we really wanted more than that, was someone who would approach the problem in the right way. Whether we knew it or not, every one of those 8 companies had a slightly different approach, and what we were really looking for — intentionally or not — is which company most closely aligned to our values and what we were expecting.
In the same way, many companies do what 7Talents does. Many are knowledgeable. Many come highly referred. And based on our history and relationships with many of them, I can tell you most do a decent job. But just like the companies we reached out to for our house, every one of them approaches things slightly differently.
So how does 7Talents approach problems? I’m glad you asked! Here are 5 things that come to mind.
People First - Solutions matter, but the right answer only gets you so far. We believe how others experience something is just as important as what it is. We place a high value on people and we try to make people a part of every solution, if possible.
Discover - A perfect solution to the wrong problem does not help. We spend disproportionate energy up front to discover the root problem(s). We ask lots of questions and gain a holistic view of the situation before exploring solutions.
Iterate - Often the right answer becomes clear after you take the first step. As the pace of change increases in the world, we believe an agile approach often works best. Fast cycles, short feedback loops, and an iterative approach to solving problems.
High Communication - Things change. We get it. In our experience, so do most people, as long as they are well informed and bought in. We believe in over-communicating, both at a tactical level (ie, are we on track), and also on a strategic level (ie, does what we’re doing still make sense). We schedule periodic check-ins, provide ongoing status updates, and are available to answer questions along the way.
Highly Available - One of our differentiators is how quickly we reply to requests. This starts at the beginning of a project (we provide a proposal within 24 hours) and lasts throughout each engagement. While we dedicate quality time to each company, on average, we are able to respond to requests within 30 minutes due to how we schedule everything together (holistically).
So there you have it. If you’ve made it this far and like how we approach problems, contact us to see if we might be a good fit for your organization! We’d love to learn more about your non-profit, the unique problems you are facing, and see if we can help you drive your organization forward.