philosophy

Rooted in theories of knowledge managment, complexity and situated learning we campaign rigorously for sustainable models of change that pay equal attention to individuals and the organisation at large.

There are three core elements to our philosophy:

• we seek to foster partnerships founded on shared ambitions, mutual respect and understanding, honesty and warmth
• we believe that honouring the human spirit in the workplace can build value in the most resourceful and sustainable way
• we are committed to making our experiences and approaches public, accessible and transparent, wherever possible.

Our prime aim when entering into any new partnership is to effect positive and lasting change. This is matched by our commitment to deepening our own investigation and repertoire. 
 
There are a small number of questions we ask ourselves in all our work: 
 
How do you create the conditions in which people feel safe while energising them to take risks that both satisfy them and further the organisation?

How do you stimulate the appetite of those inside organisations to go on taking risks for themselves and with each other after the official work programme has finished? 
 
What is the right collection of final working assets ((assets in its widest context of products, templates, approaches, networks, skills, attitude, experience, stories) to leave as a legacy once the programme has finished?
 
How do you create the conditions in which the connection between individuals and the
organisation is mutually respectful and fruitful (this often means repairing a damaged connection)?
 
How can we use each intervention to accumulate and fold into the next so that the effective is aggregate and ultimately non-linear and, in the jargon of investment banking "leveraged" for disproportionate effect (normally this means using narrative and storytelling techniques, as well as drawing on theories of complexity)?
 
How can we make sure that we have understood the exact cultural conditions in the particular organisation we are working with? How can we use what we have learned to provoke the right kind of curiosity, engagement and willingness to go through discomfort, ambiguity and productive agreement in order to get things to happen? 
 
What is the right team or cast to fulfill the client’s explicit objectives while also conferring additional and unexpected value and challenge, now and over the long term?

To read more about the genesis of Sparknow read the founding essay.