Yes, the Millau viaduct in south west France helps solve a notorious traffic black spot, but doesn’t it do it in the most uplifting and dramatic fashion? When the best of the left and the right brain are working in synch, then the most creative and the most practical ideas result.
So committed are we to this approach at Fifth Ring, brilliant ideas being the output of rigorous thinking, that we’ve created our own mnemonic to make sure that no one forgets. OSIEM (objectives, strategy, ideas, execution and measurement) is the battle cry. With a rather pleasing symmetry, these FIVE phases capture the process, and inside this issue of FIVE magazine, our contributors demonstrate the singular importance of each part to the delivery of the whole. Alison Lyall, director of Harnser Group outlines both why and how to set your corporate objectives, and critically offers a methodology for managing your performance to check that the objectives are being met.
As director of business positioning I review landmark thinking in the strategy arena, stressing the importance of not only how a business differentiates itself, but critically, how to articulate this differentiation. Knowing what you want to achieve and how you are going to compete then opens the field for ideas to make this happen. Creative head, Stewart Fallowfield, flies the flag for the right-brainers, with some stimulating and provocative thoughts on finding that killer idea. So what? Even with the idea, if you can’t execute, then what have you achieved. Rachel Camm, Fifth Ring’s recently appointed UK client services director, knows full well that clients only come back for more when the promise has been fulfilled. Faultless and timely delivery is essential. And it must be on or under budget too. Which just leaves Susan Parker, Fifth Ring’s PR senior account manager in Dubai to argue the case for the importance of measurement. In a fascinating article, pulling all the strings together, the evidence is there for all to see. Demonstrable and in line with the objectives, the results have been delivered.
OSIEM works for us, it works for our clients, and it could work for you too. At the very least, it will give you a proven methodology to make your thinking visible, thereby satisfying your left brain and within the parameters of the challenge, appeasing your right brain too.
(Introduction by Peter Lyall - Group business positioning director, Fifth Ring)
