Let’s Korero
Korero Studio has been in the business of getting teams unstuck since 2017 — making a name for itself for constructive, fun and often memorable strategy workshops.
At the start, it was just Alex who’d call on her creative and technical network of talent, affectionately known as “the Kokos” when needed. Now four years in, with a roster of private, public and third sector clients, a dedicated office and our own branded notebooks, Korero Studio is delighted to welcome its very own Innovation Director: 🔥 Andy Irvine 🔥
Read on to find out what this partnership means for Korero Studio.
Hey Andy, you’ve worked with established brands and led teams in unicorn companies. What made you jump ship and join the Korero Studio party?
Andy: Oh, hey there Alex.
Well, we started chatting about design and strategy a while ago, didn’t we. And it became clear, like, really quickly that we had an uncommonly similar view of how to make stuff. So I suppose the motivation to jump to a new ship came from finding someone who shared my core values: the normal way of working is broken, the best products are made via structured collaboration, and creating focus is the biggest challenge orgs have.
I also wanted to do more work in the third sector, or more broadly the “tech for tech good” sector, and you were already doing that. Lastly, you have a really fluffy dog — and I really wanted more time with a fluffy pup, but without taking on extra responsibility.
Hey Alex, why did you decide to double the Korero Studio headcount?
Alex: I know, watch out Wall Street — we’re registering a 100% growth and we’re barely into Q2!
The Korero Studio model is purposely designed to grow and contract depending on our client’s needs, if a project needs a healthcare specialist, a sharp copywriting style or a polished new brand identity we bring in the best brains for the jobs, not just the ones we happen to have on our books.
But as Korero’s client list grew, the projects gained in complexity and the challenges became more ambitious, I really started to miss having someone to also share the backstage business challenges and opportunities.
Over the pandemic, Andy and I would often meet up to chat shop, comparing processes and sharing the odd corporate crisis — his advice and support brought a new dimension to Korero’s product offering and, over a pint of IPA and some napkin scribbles we decided to combine our expertise, network and shared goal of making work feel good again for purpose-led teams.
What makes Korero Studio unique?
Andy: Before I came on board, I already had an idea of where Korero’s strengths were and why it works so well. The past six months have given me a better understanding of where we really excel.
Firstly, collaboration and getting the right people in the room. Getting the business and the consultancy on the same page has always been something agencies have struggled with. Often design is a series of handoffs and briefs without any real collaboration, which is kind of insane in my books. No matter how much prep you do, you’re not going to know a business as well as the folks who have worked there for years.
Another layer of collaboration is added by augmenting our own skills with domain-specific freelancers to suit the specific problem. We call these folk Kokos and there’s as much part of the team as we are.
Secondly, we create space for people to focus. I know right, focus! Seems so foreign in today’s workplace — we’re all working on multiple projects, have 40 meetings/day etc. It just results in a fragmented brain that can’t get anything done well.
Often, our clients look forward to a sprint because they get time-boxed focus time. Like, it’s a treat! Why can’t work be like this all the time! Anyway, I could rant about this for days — but creating focus is key to the way we work.
If you weren’t allowed to use any jargon, what would you say working with KS is like?
Alex: Think of us like Queer Eye for your business. Haven’t heard of this groundbreaking more-than-a-makeover show? Let me explain.
The premise of the show follows a simple formula: an individual is struggling to cope on a physical and mental level, the Fab Five assemble, each with their specific and unique talent and get to work helping that person unlock their potential.
Over the course of the episode, the Queer Eye team:
➡️ Get to the root of what is holding the individual back
➡️ Help them articulate what true success looks like to them
➡️ Explore potential future paths forward
➡️ Test out new looks, behaviours and mindsets
➡️ Deliver a makeover that is way beyond skin deep
➡️ There is relief, laughter, french tucks and tears
➡️ The individual’s potential is unlocked and they are transformed
Well, it’s kind of like working with us. You set the challenge, we assemble the experts (Kokos, as we call them) and, over a time-boxed period, we’ll get to the root of your business challenge, articulate your vision and bring your ambition to life. You’ll leave with a market-tested business idea, a fresh outlook on your challenge and a plan to keep the momentum going. All you have to do is show up and be prepared to do the work.
Now spray, delay and walk away.
Andy: Working with us should feel energising. We work fast, we challenge, and we, politely, force people to make decisions. This is tiring for sure, but people come out of a sprint feeling like they have a new superpower.
What I’ve found really interesting is what business leaders get from our workshops. There are two things I’ve noticed. Firstly, they’re given the opportunity to sit back from their normal duties and get stuck into problem solving on a level they haven’t done for years. Which must feel liberating as well as a ton of fun. Secondly, this is often the only time staff have shared this forum with a business leader — and it’s a forum in which staff can see how decisions are made, and contribute to that decision. It’s a really healthy dynamic and encourages shared accountability.
Interestingly this doesn’t mean that the environment is all about being nice. We’ve been described as “fierce but friendly”. We want to challenge people: their assumptions, their beliefs, their ideas — not to be a pain, but to help them improve.
We work to the mantra “If it’s not fun it’s not sustainable” — and it’s so true. We want our participants to have a great time. That doesn’t mean partying (though we defo like a party), it means creating an environment where participants feel valued, safe to contribute ideas, involved in making key decisions, and that they’re making more progress in 3 days than they’ve made in the last 3 months. Participant experience design is key for us.
Who is Korero Studio for?
Alex: We’re for teams that are stuck. Stuck on how to move their organisation forward, what opportunities they should say yes to and just as importantly - those they should walk away from.
Some examples of “stuck” situations people come to us with:
- I’m a project owner and need to move quickly on an opportunity but don’t have any capacity in-house to do so.
- I’m the CEO of a large charity and need to communicate next year’s strategy but we’re so caught up in the day to day of Business As Usual that we’re stuck spinning our wheels and things don’t change.
- We need to find the space and time to align on key business priorities but can’t seem to make the time even if our business depends on it.
- We’re a super-large organisation and we’re not nimble enough to get something into the market quickly.
- We’re a B2C business and about to spend a lot of money on building a product but we need to figure out if it’s the right investment.
- We’re a product team that lacks clarity & confidence on which opportunities to invest in and which to say no to.
Whether you’re a tiny organisation looking to launch a new product or a big organisation that wants to create a killer strategy, Korero Studio would be delighted to help. The only thing we ask of you is to be open to new ideas and trust the process.
What are you most excited about the partnership?
Andy: I’m so excited to bounce ideas off someone who shares similar values. I was worried that being so on the same page would be detrimental to the diversity of thought we could apply, but it feels exciting. We make each other better, we make each other’s ideas better, we challenge each other, and support each other when we’re not so sure about a way forward. I 100% couldn’t do this alone, and wouldn’t want to. Also, we have a really good laugh.
Alex: All the above but for me it’s really about having someone to both champion and challenge the work we do at Korero Studio. You can really get in your head about small and big issues when it’s just you driving the ship. So far it's been humbling and reassuring. I’m also excited to finally have the bandwidth to launch new workshop offerings like Strategy Sprints and as the world opens, up share our experience of running successful hybrid workshops.
What do you do when you’re not working at Korero Studio?
Alex: as stated above by Andy, I am the proud keeper of Bacchus, Leith’s fluffiest Finnish Lapphund. When not sprinting at Korero or walking the dog, I’m working on my own product venture Diabetes By Design, a toolkit that translates clinical information about Type 1 Diabetes into a visually engaging, medically approved, patient recovery programme.
Andy: Well, we’re super mindful of stopping work when work stops. So, I get up to quite a lot when I’m not working at Korero Studio. I host a morning meetup called 5Things, which I love doing and learning from. I make music under the pseudonym of L1ama, which is just the best fun. I also have 4 kids which, well yeah. Busy busy busy. But good busy.
Korero Studio is a Strategic Design Consultancy that helps purpose-led organisations prioritise the best opportunities, build and test new business models, energise their teams and create a roadmap to sustainability, growth & resilience.
Using proven design & strategy principles and tools and bringing together the best brains for the job, we consistently get teams unstuck, working better together and enabling them to test audacious ideas to grow their business.
Business as usual no longer applies, discover a nimbler, smarter and more gratifying way to work.
Ready? Let’s Korero