Our Approach

Direct Impact Workshop

If you have a specific challenge, a hard decision to make or simply want to experience the energising & empowering dynamic of guided facilitation, Ithaki offers to organise a workshop (0,5 to 3 days). Either Ithaki does the facilitation or Ithaki supports the internal facilitator (preparation, support during the workshop & debrief).

• Your first retrospective (0,5 days)
• Define a pragmatic operational excellence approach that fits your context (1 day)
• Set-up a DMAIC project to solve a persistent challenge (1 day)

AHA! Training – Applied, Hands-one & Actionable

If you need to develop a specific capability within your organisation, Ithaki offers the most pragmatic training that you can imagine. By using real-life example, cases & simulation games, participants learn by hearing, seeing & doing. You will be inspired to get started with what you learned. AHA! moments guaranteed!

• Statistics to solve quality & operational problems based on the DMAIC Six Sigma methodology (2 days)
• Agile in physical environments (2 days)
• 5S and the information-rich work environment (2 days)
• Lean, Six Sigma, Agile, … What’s in a name? And do they fight? (0,5 days)

‘Leander’ – coaching

For: Department managers
Who: Aim to build high-performing and healthy teams
Leander is a transformation coaching service
That: Helps organisations adopt lean and agile practices to enhance productivity while fostering a thriving work environment
Unlike: Most other approaches
Leander embodies lean and agile principles, implementing small, incremental changes and blending proven methods from Lean, BPM, Six Sigma, Agile, and Sociocracy to continuously improve your organisation. No matter where you are, Leander guides you around the next curve.

Both parties need to believe it is possible to pave the way for success, delivering great value for various stakeholders. This requires trust. And trust is something precious that takes time to build. Therefore, we propose an approach that enables to build this mutual trust.

Stages

A typical approach comprises several stages:

1. Intake: The journey begins with an initial intake process, where we establish a foundation for understanding your needs and objectives.
2. Exploration: Next, we will assess the support base for the programme with stakeholders and we will delve deeper into the intricacies of your environment, recognizing that the complexity of most situations can make it challenging to fully articulate your requirements. Our aim is to gain a comprehensive understanding, ensuring that we did not overlook critical aspects. We can achieve this objective through an assessment and/or workshop. A workshop, for example, might create broader support and drive alignment about the aspirations.
3. Tailor-Made Roadmap: Building on the insights gathered during the exploration, we (co-)create a tailor-made approach that aligns with your objectives, your challenges, and boundary conditions.
4. Hands-on support: Our coaching phase, which may include workshops and training, is where the real transformation begins. We work closely with you to provide the necessary guidance and support, fine-tuning our approach as we progress to ensure maximum effectiveness.
5. Continuous documentation: Continuously capturing valuable insights and progress made throughout the journey has the advantage of being cheaper, more complete & reduces the risk of depending on the coach.

Eclectic thinking

Ithaki derives ideas, concepts, practices, etc from a broad and diverse range of sources and various schools of thought. These sources include:

• Lean
• Six Sigma
• Agile
• Business Process Management
• Lean Start-up
• Sociocracy
• Change Management (Adkar, Sitar, Bridges Transition Model, …)
• System thinking
• …

Why this approach?

We understand that setting up for success involves more than just a one-size-fits-all solution. Success can only be achieved given:

• Alignment of Values: For success to flourish, both you and your coach must share similar values. This alignment serves as the cornerstone of our approach, ensuring that our partnership is built on a strong foundation.
• Trust Building: Trust is paramount. We recognize that it takes time to develop trust, and our step-by-step approach, including the initial intake and assessment, allows trust to grow organically.

The Importance of Exploration

Starting with an assessment is not arbitrary; it’s a strategic choice. We acknowledge that complex environments can make it difficult for clients to fully articulate their needs from the outset. This initial assessment helps uncover the nuances of your situation. It also prevents the common pitfall of assuming a one-size-fits-all solution, as we avoid using the same tool for every problem (“seeing nails everywhere because the only tool we have is a hammer”).

The Agile Approach to Proposals

Unlike traditional proposals that rely on numerous assumptions, we embrace the Agile approach. We understand that the full scope of a project cannot always be predicted upfront. Instead, we collaborate with you to develop the approach as we progress together. While the scope may evolve, what remains constant is your ability to control the budget. Our “Harvest results along the way” concept ensures that you never leave empty-handed, with tangible results realized throughout our journey together.

Choose the Ithaki Approach for a customized, trust-centered, and flexible strategy that sets you on the path to success.

The goal is to advance and create value, not to stick to a framework

The successful implementation of initiatives varies significantly depending on the industry, organization size, culture, and specific challenges. An eclectic approach allows to tailor the strategy to address your unique needs and circumstances.

Different methodologies excel in solving specific types of challenges. We don’t try to force-fit a single method. The old saying “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail” highlights the danger of relying solely on one approach. An exclusive focus on a single framework can lead to a narrow perspective. The inappropriate use of a specific method to a situation where it may not be the best fit is probably one of the biggest wastes.

Our goals is ultimately about delivering value to you and your organisation or team. We ensure we allocate resources where they will have the greatest impact.