The Human Approach

We help organizations make real progress on tough
questions by accounting for their 'human factor'.

We help organizations make real progress on tough questions by accounting for their 'human factor'.

Our Process

As experienced consultants, we know that polished decks don’t change the world:
humans are the driving force of change. That’s why we approach this work as partners and ensure that those who will implement initiatives always have a seat at the table.

As experienced consultants, we know that polished decks don’t change the world: humans are the driving force of change. That’s why we approach this work as partners and ensure that those who will implement initiatives always have a seat at the table.

Analyze Current
Efforts & Resistance

Analysis of Current Efforts & Resistance

Initial conversations help us understand the question at hand—we'll ask about past effort and define a 'win' would look like. These conversations help us understand your system of stakeholders and who we will need to bring to the table.

Example methods we've drawn on in the past:

One-on-one interviews with internal stakeholders to understand the current state of things
Mapping stakeholder networks to discern key players, highlighting power dynamics and sources of resistance
Analysis of past efforts and current trends to identify critical questions and articulate what success looks like

Example methods we've drawn on in the past:

One-on-one interviews with internal stakeholders to understand the current state of things
Mapping stakeholder networks to discern key players, highlighting power dynamics and sources of resistance
Analysis of past efforts and current trends to identify critical questions and articulate what success looks like

Design Your Panel
of Stakeholders

Design your advisory board

Next, we curate a powerful panel of stakeholders to deliver on your challenge or opportunity, including internal stakeholders, contributors from our network, and those who may need to be engaged ahead of time or understood and represented in unique ways.

Sample of stakeholder panels we've convened:

Panels to uncover unexpected and innovative strategies, comprising diverse voices, such as subject matter experts, cross-functional team members, and 'out-of-the-box thinkers.'
Panels to mediate and reduce conflict on sensitive subjects, aligning burdened, hard-to-engage, or reluctant contributors, advocates, and representatives.
Panels to pressure-test and de-risk strategies, bringing specialists, adversarial thinkers, and mavericks to the table to uncover vulnerabilities and proactively mitigate risk.

Sample of stakeholder panels we've convened:

Panels to uncover unexpected and innovative strategies, comprising diverse voices, such as subject matter experts, cross-functional team members, and 'out-of-the-box thinkers.'
Panels to mediate and reduce conflict on sensitive subjects, aligning burdened, hard-to-engage, or reluctant contributors, advocates, and representatives.
Panels to pressure-test and de-risk strategies, bringing specialists, adversarial thinkers, and mavericks to the table to uncover vulnerabilities and proactively mitigate risk.

Convene Sessions

Drawing on our experience in leading change and our expertise in negotiation, coalition building, and conflict management, we design and facilitate custom stakeholder sessions to identify leverage points, uncover resistance, and build buy-in.

Examples of custom-design sessions we've facilitated:

Half-day workshop to generate leadership alignment using multi-stakeholder mediation methods to uncover conflicting perspectives and shared goals, revealing unconventional solutions that gain buy-in from competing parties
One- to two-day workshops tailored to teams with conflicting goals, pre-interviewing and convening diverging voices to identify and prioritize leverage points, cross-referenced through rapid feedback from adjacent stakeholders
Series of sessions to design policies and programs with multi-stakeholder implications, iteratively engaging trained expert and lateral thinkers through various mediums to highlight vulnerabilities and de-risk strategies

Examples of custom-design sessions we've facilitated:

Half-day workshop to generate leadership alignment using multi-stakeholder mediation methods to uncover conflicting perspectives and shared goals, revealing unconventional solutions that gain buy-in from competing parties
One- to two-day workshops tailored to teams with conflicting goals, pre-interviewing and convening diverging voices to identify and prioritize leverage points, cross-referenced through rapid feedback from adjacent stakeholders
Series of sessions to design policies and programs with multi-stakeholder implications, iteratively engaging trained expert and lateral thinkers through various mediums to highlight vulnerabilities and de-risk strategies

Develop Action Plan

We synthesize the data to develop strategies grounded in stakeholder research. Whether through a revised program, a pressure-tested policy, or an actionable roadmap, we ensure that you feel confident taking the next step.

llustrations of outputs we delivered:

Actionable roadmap for developing a stable revenue stream
Revised offering for a languishing project team with clear next steps for leadership
Risk assessment of current programs + outline of solutions for reducing vulnerabilities
A proposed policy or program that has been vetted for vulnerability to bad actors
Alignment of disconnected executive teams on vision following a big organizational change

llustrations of outputs we delivered:

Actionable roadmap for developing a stable revenue stream
Revised offering for a languishing project team with clear next steps for leadership
Risk assessment of current programs + outline of solutions for reducing vulnerabilities
A proposed policy or program that has been vetted for vulnerability to bad actors
Alignment of disconnected executive teams on vision following a big organizational change

Working with Us

We provide a broad range of engagement options
tailored to the scale of your organization's needs.

We provide a broad range of engagement options tailored to the scale of your organization's needs.

Sprint Session

Facilitated stakeholder workshop or co-design session that uncovers resistance factors for direction on what to do next.

Typical Timeline

4-6 weeks project time
1 day on site

Stakeholder Engagement
Identifving Needs
Conflict Mediation

Full Session

Co-design sessions that convene diverse panels of experts to generate, prioritize, and/or refine solutions.
Field test solutions with hard-to-reach stakeholders to de-risk next steps.

Co-design sessions that convene diverse panels of experts to generate, prioritize, and/or refine solutions. Field test solutions with hard-to-reach stakeholders to de-risk next steps.

Co-design sessions that convene diverse panels of experts to generate, prioritize, and/or refine solutions.
Field test solutions with hard-to-reach stakeholders to de-risk next steps.

Typical Timeline

8 weeks project time
1-3 days

All Sprint activities
+ Negotiating Barriers
+ Co-Design
+ Field Testing

Series of Sessions

A flexible team of our consultants come alongside your team to identify current or future challenges, prioritize efforts, and create a plan to implement lasting change.

Typical Timeline

The timeline for these efforts follows the work, ensuring effective engagement with the challenges at hand.

All Sprint & Project activities
+ Training
+ Process Development
+ Publication

Past Performance

Here's a glimpse of what example engagements
have looked like in the past.

We help organizations make real progress on their toughest challenges by addressing the 'human factor.

Sprint Session

A financial organization's was experiencing a significant decrease in productivity and employee retention. The Human Factor facilitated co-design sessions with management, employees, and our experts on structures for dynamically addressing conflict.

Full Session

A non-profit organization was stalled defining a new company vision, but disagreed on which data to depend.
The Human Factor helped them test solutions to align priorities and gather new data.

Co-design sessions that convene diverse panels of experts to generate, prioritize, and/or refine solutions. Field test solutions with hard-to-reach stakeholders to de-risk next steps.

A non-profit organization was stalled defining a new company vision, but disagreed on which data to depend.
The Human Factor helped them test solutions to align priorities and gather new data.

Series of Sessions

A government entity was defining a new process that fit their complex organizational realities. The Human Factor ran experiments with stakeholders to identify, test, and train on the best new process.

+1 (857) 220-7050‬

131 Dartmouth St.Boston, MA 02116