What is Sentient Strategy?

To understand Sentient, let’s look at the simple 2×2 chart below. The two axes are as follows:

The horizontal axis is “Consciousness of One’s Actions” which looks at how informed an organization is of the possible actions available to them at any given point. The vertical axis is “Awareness of the Environment” which looks at how well your organization understands the world in which you operate.

To make each of the four quadrants tangible, let’s look at a few examples.

In the top right, we have high consciousness and high awareness. I would place Nike, Apple and Ryanair here. Nike releases products customers love and is able to adjust to social trends rapidly. Apple is a profit machine that has managed to grow out of the shadow of Steve Jobs. Ryanair hoarded staff during the pandemic and hired aggressively as restrictions were lifted allowing them gain market share.

In the top left, we have low consciousness and high awareness. I would put companies like Adidas, Starbucks and Volkswagen on this quadrant. Adidas is highly aware of the need to cater to young consumers but they have taken questionable actions like partnering with Kanye West—an erratic artist. Starbucks is aware of the many challenges facing their stores—tough working conditions, rise of unions, inadequate pay—but they keep going back to Howard Schultz for ideas. Finally, Volkswagen knows that Porsche is their biggest cash cow (contributing 50% of their profit) but just realized that they could spin out the division into their own company.

In the bottom right, we have high consciousness and low awareness. I would place Peloton, Google and Uber here. Peloton made the most out of the pandemic boom but failed to adjust after it. Google is a master of selling ads but doesn’t seem to notice the growing issues around data privacy. Uber grew at incredible rates, suing every city government along the way but failed to notice their toxic culture and shaky unit economics.

In the bottom left, we have low consciousness and low awareness. I would place Boy Scouts, Bed, Bath and Beyond and Air Canada here. Boy Scouts can’t seem to figure out how to move past the abuse allegations. Bed, Bath and Beyond undertook a strategy that any store manager would have advocated against. Air Canada oversold tickets leading to stranded passengers and record complaints.

In the facilitation session, I will help your organization understand in which quadrant you currently land in and how to move to the top right.

There are two elements to going through a Sentient session:

‍Prep Work:
‍

• We will jointly select who should be involved in the facilitation session
• All participants will complete a survey to gauge their knowledge of strategy, company values and ideas for improvements.
• You will share any relevant documents including stakeholder research, mission statement, previous strategies, and so forth.

‍
‍Facilitation Session:
‍

• Define Your Raison d’être (Why Are You Here)
• Capturing the Shifts in Your World
• Pillar Blocks of Sentient: Awareness of the Environment and Consciousness of Actions
• Litmus Test for Priorities
• Sentient Strategic Areas
• Failure Points that Derail Strategy
• Tackle Critical Issues
• Implementation Assessment
• Monitoring and Accountability
• Next Steps