Who We Are

When I see a better way of doing something, it’s hard for me to keep quiet. It’s a useful skill if you can keep it in check which I mostly can. The thornier the challenge, the more it draws me in. I’m fascinated by the components of decision-making, by neuroscience and psychology. Hidden Brain and You’re Not So Smart (YNSS) are brilliant podcasts - and David McRaney’s book “How Minds Change” is an essential read.

Our brains are geared to notice things that don’t fit, to notice what’s lacking or what shouldn’t be there. But our brains also love to conserve energy by automating as much as possible, so when something is “working” our brain wants to put that function on autopilot. Or put another way, the brain relegates that function to the space where things happen below our active attention. And the best narrative in the world cannot succeed without first getting the audience’s attention.

One of my favorite examples of what can happen when data and narrative are tightly integrated from the outset is my ongoing partnership with the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and their star CEO Rachel Smith. Like many transformational ideas, this strategy was born out of failure. In an article entitled “Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce teaches a lesson in political repositioning” the Seattle Times wrote about that transformation: “Just three years ago, the Chamber’s political arm orchestrated a disastrous municipal campaign...Since then, the 140-year-old collective of nearly 2,500 regional businesses has reasserted its standing in the city’s policy conversation. How this happened — and what it may signal for Seattle governance in the coming years — deserves close attention.”

Instead of “girding up to re-fight the last war” only doing it “better,” we recognized that a new approach was needed. And out of these conversations, The Index, a bi-annual quality of life survey of Seattle residents, was born. Rachel describes The Index as “surfacing the opinion of voters to inform policy conversations." This simple (in hindsight) repositioning allowed the Chamber to shift the conversation off of a campaign footing and out of Seattle’s traditional business community/establishment vs. labor and regular folks frame. The Times described this strategy as "laser-focused on narrowing the ideological space between its member businesses and the city’s broader voting population.” The Index has generated hundreds of stories in the press and is now something every policy maker and candidate for local office has to be prepared to address.

I will close with this: work works best when we bring our whole selves to the task. We are social beings and so for most of us, collaboration is an irreplaceable force multiplier and a catalyst for nurturing big ideas. Collaboration is that hall of fame point guard who gets the most out of every other player on the court and that is why I am so excited to be partnering with Steven on this new venture. We look forward to the opportunity to connect with you on ways we can help your organization create lasting impact.

-Andrew

Andrew Thibault - Partner