Refocusing a value set with beanbag chairs, an island, and one cardboard man

Customer

iChoosr

Context

Starting a new business? Take the plunge and turn passion into reality. Most likely, some essential questions will quickly arise: What does your company stand for, and what are its values? And of course, how will the business turn profits?

iChoosr– group purchasing organizer– was just such a start-up. But with the intent of growth, they continuously took more people on board and made sure their customers were satisfied. They kept their eye on the ball and really went for it. Harder, better, faster, stronger. In such a time of wild and hectic growth, values can tend to fall by the wayside. Sometimes a business can lose the idealism it had when it was starting out. This can lead unknowingly toward losing direction, structure and stability; and in the end can also mean losing clients and – ouch – revenue. iChoosr had the foresight to sound the alarm bell on time. At Beanmachine, the bells began to ring…

Insight

Are iChoosr’s values ​​lost or outdated? Not per se.

The company’s values were lying dormant in the same little start-up cabin. Just as a gazebo might disappear under unkempt weeds, a company’s ideals can be buried in the frenzy of fast-paced growth. But instead of letting them disappear into the fray, better dig ‘em up and take a look around. Does what’s going on today still match that original dream? And especially, is iChoosr ready for the next growth spurt?

Solution

We always actively involve clients in their very own intervention (including even their ecosystem like partners, stakeholders, etc). Why? Because only iChoosr itself knows what it really stands for. Beanmachine on the other hand masters sifting through to the essential by getting dialog started on what truly matters.

So we put together a strong design team of clients and Beans. And we choose to sprint. For the iChoosr challenge, we actually designed a special sprint-model: The Hiccups Sneeze. This trial and error approach toward improvement hits the ground running. The pattern is generally known as: test-modify-rollout-feedback-modify-test-modify…and so forth.

We took the iChoosr staff out of their comfort zone in their various offices throughout Europe and put them on a sailboat to Pampus Island, Amsterdam. Why? Because people see things differently with a change of environment. This being the premise of an endless variety of reality TV shows… but that aside.

The workshop was done with company founders alongside new hires. The ancients discovered hot water and the young blood asked if it shouldn’t be cold. Oh yeah, and we also had a few of our cardboard cutout colleagues there too. You’d be amazed at the insights they offered to the exercise.

Workflow

Results

IChoosr finished with a set of values to keep. Revamped and backed by the whole team. The organization was also enriched by skills and tools for other aspects of business: recruitment, sales talks, information, and coaching to name a few. For us, this assignment was stimulating (what growing business is not?). Moreover, we got to work with a dedicated team that was willing to examine its weak points and face its challenges. That allows for a substantial outcome. We wish Michiel, Cas and the others all the best in their ongoing mission.

Blood, sweat and tears… go hard or go home.

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Beanmachine in Action

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