Approach

In today’s powerful times it is tempting just to seek shelter from the storm, in the hope that it will pass. It is natural to look for islands of supposed calm and apparent competence to avoid engaging with the turbulence. Many organisations are advised to intensify their standard processes, strengthen the centre, stick to what they know and emphasise short-term delivery.

These defensive approaches are insufficient in the face of a complex present and an uncertain future. They are based on apparently permanent economic and social structures that are everywhere under threat; on analytical concepts and models that no longer capture the way things really are; on institutional and organisational structures ill-fitted to the new context.

IFF adopts a different approach, derived from successful experience and based on three fundamental orientations:

Diverse Knowledge

we have privileged the kind of knowledge that comes from fragmented, abstract, ‘objective’ specialisation over the wealth of subjective lived experience. Today’s challenges need both ways of knowing. IFF design and facilitate conversational processes that allow a dialogue between these two ways of knowing to generate fresh insight. Above all this is a human process: we cannot gain the advantages of ‘inter-disciplinarity’ without paying attention to the fact that different views of the world have a habit of showing up as individuals.

Holism with Focus

the case for a comprehensive approach is clear, but equally is often criticised for seeing too many sides of an issue for a timely generation of commitment and meaningful choices. Tight timescales demand focus and rapid response. But the flip side is too often tunnel vision and quick fixes that fail. IFF broadens the context in order to become more effective. It is almost always true that difficult problems become easier if they are first made more complex: the room for insight increases.

Transformative Innovation

Real innovation that invests in the future rather than propping up the past.