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  • We help your organization create strategies aligned with short-term results and long-term sustainability. Our approach is grounded in best practices from the Association of Strategic Planning (ASP), the Body of Knowledge (BOK) in Strategic Planning, the Business Architecture BOK, and knowledge from Objectives, Key Results, and Activities (OKRAs). Our leadership team members are currently working with IT organizations within the Department of Veterans Affairs and Pacific Life Insurance to implement their strategies using OKRAs. 

    As mentioned above, we take a holistic approach to help implement your business and digital transformation. To that means, we developed a unique framework, called the Black Box of Strategy Execution Framework. It is a system for aligning organizational activities with strategic goals. It emphasizes value creation as the ultimate objective, defining outcomes as impactful results and outputs as necessary but insufficient enablers. The framework integrates cutting-edge data science technology and lean management principles to optimize processes, improve flow, and achieve time-to-value. Key components include best practices from the fields of Strategy, Business Architecture, Product, Portfolio, Value Stream, and Program Management, Lean, Agile, Organizational Effectiveness and Change Management, and Behavior Economics. Ultimately, the framework aims to bridge the gap between strategy formulation and execution, ensuring organizational transformation aligns with the intended strategic outcomes. We have effectively used this framework to help clients (such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, Bank of America, USAA, and others) design actionable strategies and roadmaps to guide their organizations through the process of transformation. 

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  • We apply Enterprise Architecture and Engineering to transform fragmented IT processes and systems into a cohesive, integrated enterprise architecture that enhances user experience. Guided by policy directives, procedural requirements, and enterprise modernization strategies—including cybersecurity, cloud strategy, and network engineering—we develop "To-Be" architectures that align with mission needs. Leveraging digital transformation roadmaps and cloud adoption frameworks across AWS and Azure environments (IL levels 2 through 6), we ensure seamless integration and modernization. Our approach incorporates cybersecurity best practices and user-driven requirements, validated through ServiceNow workflows in collaboration with technical teams and stakeholders. 

    We drive transparency and execution through dashboards that track progress against strategic roadmaps, enabling the transition to a unified zero trust network architecture. Our phased modernization approach, supported by cloud-native vendor tools and software-defined networking, accelerates cyber accreditation and ensures secure, high-performance data access across networks. Recently, Dr. Aiken successfully applied this framework in designing and deploying an enterprise-scale data center for a U.S. foreign ally, delivering robust security and performance. Utilizing Lean-Agile and DevSecOps methodologies, we continuously plan, build, and enhance IT services while aligning with user experience metrics and business objectives. 

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  • Product Marketing & Management, and Agile Product Management 

    Recognizing the need for funding value streams instead of projects, many organizations are moving toward a customer-centric model of value creation. We help organizations develop the competencies required to create compelling products that delight their customers. We accomplish this by helping them:

    1. Understand what problems their customers are trying to solve or goals they are trying to achieve;

    2. Develop products with customer representation providing fast feedback;

    3. Understand how well their products help customers solve their problems or achieve their goals.

    Using our integrated approach that leverages insights from Product Management and Behavioral Science, organizations effectively create products that customers really value. 

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  • Project Portfolio and Lean Portfolio Management 

    Project Portfolio and Lean Portfolio Management are frameworks that help organizations effectively manage complex value streams. Leveraging our expertise in Project Management Institute (PMI) Project Portfolio Management, Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Lean Portfolio Management, and Disciplined Agile (DA) Value Stream, we help organizations implement their strategies through traditional and agile programs and projects. 

    Program and Project Management 

    In today’s disruptive business environment, organizations struggle to effectively manage their strategic initiatives. To successfully manage complex initiatives, organizations may require expertise in Agile, Lean, Waterfall, or Hybrid frameworks. But which one fits best for your organization and the initiative? Our team helps your organization select and implement the most suitable approach based on your unique organizational needs and priorities. We start each engagement by conducting a comprehensive organization capabilities assessment. Based on the results and the envisioned future state, we develop a tailored and data-informed plan to help you execute programs and/or projects using components of SAFe Program Level, PMI, and DA Program Management, as well as Organization Design and Change Management. 

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  • Most enterprises operate with limited, end-to-end understanding of how work truly flows across their value streams, including teams and tools. Traditional dashboards and status reports give snapshots, but they miss the messy reality in between: waiting, rework, handoffs, and invisible dependencies.

    Approaches to address this include Value Stream Management (VSM) which focuses on understanding and improving the end-to-end flow of work from customer need to customer satisfaction, not just activity inside one team or tool. Leaning Forward’s Delivery Intelligence Solution builds on VSM creating a digital X-ray of how your organization delivers value.

    Our solution creates a digital shadow of your delivery ecosystem, giving you a concrete view of workflow behavior, bottlenecks, and dependency patterns. This allows leaders to stop guessing and start managing the actual delivery system.

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  • Organizations launch initiatives to bring about changes needed to successfully implement their strategic objectives and stay competitive. Excelling at change (becoming change-agile) is critical for organizations’ ability to deliver on their near-term and long-term goals and objectives. This requires a structured, systemic, yet flexible, approach to effectively engage people in the process of change. Our approach focuses on value realization and organizational transformation by:

    1. Designing human-centered interventions to minimize business disruption and resistance;

    2. Lessening time to transition to a new state;

    3. Building organizational change capabilities to prepare the organization for future opportunities.

    This integrative approach incorporates best practices and evidence-based insights from Behavioral Science (Psychology, Neuroscience, Behavioral Economics), Organizational Design, and Prosci® Change Management Methodology. 

    People’s behavior determines outcomes, not systems and processes. Long-term success requires an organizational culture that promotes foresight thinking, accountability, emotional intelligence, and servant leadership. We help your organization answer a key question, “How does your organization create a culture that encourages curiosity and continuous learning, innovation, and growth of your people? Drawing from the field of Behavioral Science, we equip you with concrete strategies and tools to foster emotional intelligence and psychological flexibility to promote individual and organizational well-being and productivity. 

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Organizational Transformation

Our holistic approach, with deep collaboration with your organization, considers the interconnectedness of your organization’s operations, including strategy, people, processes, technology, and information, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of your challenges and opportunities, and an actionable starting point to achieve your business outcomes.