What is it and what does our Discovery bring you?
Let me tell you a story first.
Mohammed bin Raschid al Maktoum was, I'm talking about the 1970s, barely 30 years old. He was the youngest of the Maktoum brothers when I lived an unforgettable stage of my life in the Dubai of that time.
In just 10 years he became the heir to the crown and his father's favorite with the recognition of his older brothers who accepted his leadership skills above the rights of his age.
His secret? Always surround himself with the best. Creating winning teams since he was appointed Dubai Police Chief and brought in the best policeman he could find in England.
In a few years, he went on to create the great airline Emirates, to be Minister of Defense and Prime Minister and in all functions, he used the strategy that had served him so well as Police Chief of Dubai. Hire the best.
That is also why Dubai is what it is today. People think that like Abu Dhabi, Dubai is rich in oil, but that is not true. Dubai came to have a production capacity of about 300,000 barrels a day, far from the 3 or 4 million that Abu Dhabi has, which is on one of the largest stock markets in the world. Dubai today has almost no oil revenue and the success of the city - even if it has sometimes required help from the capital - is due above all to the vision of its leader and the winning teams that it has generated in all areas.
Why am I telling you this? Because it has a lot to do with our Discovery. Getting winning teams is not easy. What's more, in many cases, when you arrive as the new CEO or Executive Chairman, you already find yourself with an established team that you know very little about. Discovery is a highly interactive methodology created by an American company that was at the genesis of "Design Thinking" and serves to join efforts and discover internal talents.
It is carried out with the company's Management Committee and begins with an exercise to open minds that generates a current of ideal collaboration for the complete development of Discovery.
It lasts between 6 and 8 hours depending on the number of participants. Never more than 10. Ideally 6 or 7.
At the end of the day, a balance has been achieved in the propositions. Everyone has participated and feels aligned in the same direction as few times before. Ideas fly and appear, sometimes from where they are least suspected.
Our clients already speak of a before and after in the management team.
Once the exercise is completed, participants are invited to use the methodology with their own teams. In most cases, this process is carried out in the company individually by teams and, also frequently, they commission us for a second Discovery, normally after 3 or 4 months as an audit of what they have been doing internally.
If you're new to the role, Discovery is for you and your team. If you are in a very established company with proven teams and “order and command” management, Discovery is NOT for you.
"Discovery Day: Uniting visions and setting goals for the long-term success of your company"
Discovery Day is a work event designed to bring together the Management Committee of a company with the aim of:
- share visions,
- discuss and align ideas,
- Establish strategic milestones in the short, medium and long term.
Benefits you can get from this session:
Uniting visions and perspectives
Discovery Day brings together the members of the Management Committee, providing a space where they can share their points of view and perspectives on the current situation of the company and market trends.
This encourages collaboration and the exchange of ideas, resulting in a more complete and coherent vision of the future direction of the company.
Identification of opportunities and challenges
During Discovery Day, business leaders can jointly identify growth opportunities and challenges facing the company, even discover items that weren't on their radar.
By addressing these issues in a collaborative environment, more effective solutions can be generated and adapted to the needs and capabilities of the organization.
Establishment of milestones in the short, medium and long term
Once the visions have been discussed and opportunities and challenges have been identified, the Steering Committee can work together to establish strategic milestones in the short, medium and long term.
These milestones provide a clear and measurable action plan to guide the company's future growth and success.
Fostering responsibility and commitment
By participating in the strategic planning process, members of the Steering Committee gain a sense of responsibility and commitment to the goals set during Discovery Day.
This facilitates greater motivation and collaboration in the implementation of the strategies and the achievement of the milestones, because they achieve a joint vision and everyone works for the same goal.
Monitoring and adjustment of the strategy
After Discovery Day, it is critical to track progress against established milestones and adjust strategy as necessary.
This allows the company to remain agile and adapt to changing market conditions, change paradigms or go digital, ensuring sustainable and successful growth in the long term.
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
This sentence of Winston S. Churchill, has been applied in business life many times...we must be optimistic and use the resources we have in our team so that together we can achieve the change and the objectives we want to achieve.
There are four basic rules:
"1. Don't judge.
We remove criticism. When ideas come up, no critical comment is allowed. All ideas are noted down.
2. Think freely.
Freedom of expression is very important. Wild thoughts are okay. Impossible or unimaginable ideas are fine. In fact, in every session there should be some idea crazy enough to make the whole group laugh.
3. Quantity is important.
Focus on generating a large number of ideas that can then be reviewed. The greater the number of ideas, the easier it will be to choose between them.
4. The multiplier effect.
The combination of ideas and their improvements are sought. In addition to contributing their own ideas, participants can suggest improvements to other people's ideas or get a better idea by combining two others."
Source: Hector Castillo from his book "The energy in a verb"