Our Unique Approach: The HELM Method
Your Blueprint for Transformative, Sustainable Change.
Many consulting firms deliver a report and leave you to figure it out. Others provide generic, off-the-shelf training that fails to stick. We do neither.
Our HELM Method is a disciplined, iterative partnership designed for one outcome: to embed new capabilities within your organization that drive performance long after our engagement ends. It’s a proven system that moves you from insight to execution to impact.
H – Harness Data & Discovery
Objective: To replace assumptions with evidence and build an unshakable foundation for your strategy.
We don’t guess. We diagnose. Our immersive discovery process uncovers the true root causes of your cultural and performance challenges.
- Quantitative Analysis: We deploy targeted engagement surveys and analyze your existing people data (turnover, productivity) to establish a hard baseline.
- Qualitative Insights: We conduct confidential interviews and focus groups with individuals at all levels, from the C-suite to the front lines, to understand the lived experience within your organization.
- Strategic Synthesis: We combine this data to map the precise connections between leadership behaviors, team dynamics, and business outcomes. The result is a clear, undeniable picture of your current reality.
You Will See: A comprehensive Culture Diagnostic Report that highlights strengths to leverage and gaps to close, creating universal alignment on the “why” behind the work.
E – Engineer a Custom Strategy
Objective: To co-create a clear, actionable, and inspiring roadmap that your entire leadership team owns.
A plan that sits on a shelf is worthless. We build your “Culture Navigation Chart”— a dynamic, living strategic plan that provides clarity and aligns your entire organization.
- Co-Creation Workshops: We facilitate sessions with your key stakeholders to translate diagnostic insights into strategic priorities. This isn’t our plan for you; it’s our plan with you.
- The Navigation Chart: This deliverable defines your specific Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), identifies key initiatives, assigns ownership, and sets the timeline. It answers the critical questions: Where are we going? How will we get there? How will we know we’ve arrived?
- Actionable Phasing: We break down the journey into manageable phases, ensuring the path forward feels ambitious but achievable.
You Will Receive: Your customized “Culture Navigation Chart”—a one-page visual strategic plan that becomes the single source of truth for your transformation journey.
L – Lead the Implementation
Objective: To partner in the trenches, building skills and momentum to ensure change is adopted and embraced.
Strategy is nothing without execution. We roll up our sleeves and act as your guide, coach, and catalyst throughout the implementation.
- Expert Facilitation & Training: We deliver powerful, skill-building workshops (like The First Watch Manager Academy) that are directly tied to the goals in your Navigation Chart.
- Embedded Leadership Coaching: We provide one-on-one and team coaching for your leaders, helping them model new behaviors and navigate the personal challenges of change.
- Active Partnership: We don’t just advise; we assist with communications, problem-solving, and barrier removal in real-time, ensuring the plan stays on track and adapts to reality.
You Will Experience: A true partnership. We provide the expert hands, tools, and unwavering support to build confidence and competence across your leadership team.
M – Measure & Modify for Impact
Objective: To ensure accountability, demonstrate ROI, and create a culture of continuous improvement.
We are obsessed with your results. From day one, we establish the metrics that matter to your business and track them relentlessly.
- Leading & Lagging Indicators: We monitor a balance of activity-based metrics (e.g., training completion) and outcome-based metrics (e.g., eNPS, turnover, productivity).
- Pulse Checks & Progress Reviews: We conduct regular check-ins and quarterly business reviews to report on progress, celebrate wins, and identify course corrections.
- Data-Driven Adaptation: If the data shows a strategy isn’t working, we pivot. This agile approach ensures your investment is protected and we are always focused on the highest-impact activities.
You Will Achieve: Tangible ROI. Our process is designed to deliver on the promises in your Navigation Chart, whether that’s a increase in EBITDA, a rise in engagement, or a dramatic reduction in voluntary turnover.