Fielding Restrictions are off! — Moving seamlessly from “Discover” to “Explore” phase in our consulting project as part of SAP Social Sabbatical

In the limited overs variety of cricket, also known as instant cricket, the fielding restrictions play a big role in influencing the mindset of the batsman / batter. With only a limited number of fielders allowed outside the circle, batsmen tend to use it as a scoring opportunity but have to guard against the occasional top edges and stumping chances. In a nutshell, taking calculated risks and putting a price on the wicket helps the batting team to thrive and be better prepared for the long haul once the fielding restrictions are off! When the fielding restrictions are off, batters have to quickly adapt to running those singles and twos and not just rely on the boundaries, because keeping the scoreboard ticking is of prime importance to achieve a decent score on any wicket.

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In the consulting project for GAP Institute, Ho Chi Minh City as part of the SAP Social Sabbatical, we quickly understood the importance of neither burning out in the Discover phase nor drowning in the ocean of information coming our way, but rather prepare for an effective Explore phase. The information on the existing processes, challenges there of, vision, mission and the values that the organization imbibe from our session with different functions and the founders helped us immensely to get an overall picture of what the organization wanted from us as consultants. Leveraging Design Thinking fast forward and considering the struggles and wishes for a persona of a GAP employee, we were able to pin point the exact problem and the corresponding improvement potentials. We did a brainstorming session with the CEO and the Academic Director of GAP Institute to then map the improvement potentials in the Impact vs. Effort matrix to determine what can be realistically achieved over the next 3 weeks. This helped us to refine our SoW with the client and successfully move from Discover to Explore phase. The Explore phase promises to be fun as we start analyzing specific problem areas in more details.

GAP Team in Blue Ocean Strategy workshop: What do we need to Eliminate, Reduce, Raise, Create [E-R-R-C]

The fact that we 3 team members (Evi, Nadine and myself) bring complementary skills, strengths and diverse experiences to the table and we are able to collaborate effectively fully aware of each others’ MBTI personality types have helped us to run the project smoothly and with a lot of confidence so far.

Design Thinking workshop with GAP Institute founders

And not to forget the contribution of the ubiquitous coconut, water melon juice, fish and vegetarian dishes and the enjoyable team dinners that are helping us to face spin and pace with equal elan!

With the CEO on a scooter in the streets of Ho Chi Minh City…team dinner with GAP team…coconut with a miniature umbrella….a lavish preparation of grilled fish…impressions of activities outside work last week

That’s it for now. Watch out for my next story coming your way titled: Drinks break / Tea break / Lunch break and our pavilion!