Reframing Frameworks

As a strategist, I have worked with and developed a variety of different strategic frameworks.  Some are well known and frequently used, others are created or customized to suit a specific task.  I am fascinated by them.  When the right framework meets the right problem and project environment, they are incredibly efficient and effective tools to make better decisions.  When too simple, too complex, or somehow off-target they are counterproductive.  (Disclosure: over the course of my career, I am equal parts guilty of oversimplifying the complex, and complexifying the simple!) But when they work, they work well:

• Providing clear focus on a relevant core problem
• Illustrating unseen relationships and dimensions regarding a particular decision
• Allowing input from stakeholders to be captured in a relevant and efficient way

So, as I kick-start Kickframe, one project that I am embarking on (and inviting your participation in) is the development of a sort-of ‘open source’ digital strategy toolbox.  The goal of this project is to provide a set of strategic frameworks that will be useful to marketers, facilitators, and organizations trying to make better decisions in the area of digital strategy.  However, the process for getting there will be different than the traditional publishing approach, it will be:

• Open: I will be posting the initial topic list and the work-in-progress.
• Collaborative: I invite and will publish (with your permission) your feedback along the way.
• Ongoing: I (make that ‘we’!) will continue to add, update, and use frameworks over time.

So wipe down your whiteboard and/or sharpen your pencil, let’s get started.  

Next up, draft topic list.  

Connecting the Dots

So…new company, new blog, first post.  No pressure.

Where to start?  Well if you are reading this, I will assume that you are at least in some way curious about what Kickframe is and what we are up to.  So by way of introduction, the ‘we’ is me: Tim, the founder.  I started Kickframe in 2014, as a way to more effectively work with organizations trying to, in many ways, ‘connect the dots’ in digital.

There has never been a more exciting time to be an organization aiming to acquire, engage, and service customers through digital media and emerging technology.  It has also never been more challenging.  Companies who have been active in digital for many years are now struggling to find the most effective ways to orchestrate their growing portfolios of assets, programs, and activities.  For organizations and start-ups new to digital, it is difficult to determine even where to begin.  Add to that the fundamental strategic challenges of aligning short and long-term business objectives with customer needs and brand attributes, and you see where I am going.  When it comes to digital, the problems are becoming more complicated at the same time the opportunities are becoming more potent.   Kickframe was founded on the belief that organizations need to work with independent and specialized digital strategy partners to help navigate this changing landscape, to make better choices and achieve better results.

In 2005, Steve Jobs famously told Stanford graduates that life makes more sense looking backwards, as it is only then when you can connect the dots.  Starting Kickframe at this point in my career represents a relatively straight line.  I love collaborating with curious people to find creative solutions for complicated problems.

So welcome to Kickframe (and the blog). I hope to connect with you soon.