Case Study: Signature Research at Info-Tech Research Group
Info-Tech Research Group is an IT advisory and consultancy firm located in Canada and the US. After 6 months of strong performance and one successful special project completed - I was assigned to a major special project.
Info-Tech Research Group
Problem Statement
Info-Tech Research Group produced its traditional research using an extraordinarily comprehensive and prescriptive process. This research helped IT practitioners complete IT projects and avoid mistakes. While useful for IT practitioners, this research could have been more exciting and transformative for senior IT executives. An external consultant, who also served a stint as CEO, was brought in from a significant competitor to create a new research process that would be exciting for senior-level executives and thought leaders. I was one of four front-line staff members assigned to the team.
Solution Implemented
Over the course of 8 months, my team and I diligently immersed ourselves in a newly developed research process. This involved conducting over 100 interviews with senior executives from Fortune 500 organizations, including a potential future presidential administration member. We meticulously reviewed hundreds of academic papers and conducted a comprehensive statistical analysis of total stock returns dating back to 1950. Through our rigorous efforts, we successfully identified standout organizations using binomial and chi-squared analysis, which performed in the top decile of their respective industries.
After identifying these standout companies, we profiled why they were identified as standouts. This involved interviews with former executives and analysis of financial documents. Our team identified a series of tactics that companies and their executives used to ensure continued top performance in their industry. I won't get into each of them, but spoiler alert - learning and development was one of the drivers of top performance.
After completing the initial prototype research called, "The Future of the Corporate Center", we showcased it to a the most senior level executives from orgnanizations like AMD, the FBI, US Steel, and McDonalds to name a select notable few. At this stage in my career, I was extremely lucky to be exposed to this level of executive interaction. After a long road show across the United States and Canada, we wrapped up production of the run of research.
Results Achieved
Our research project presented significant challenges. Most of the findings proved too complex for our member base and sales teams to grasp, rendering them inaccessible. To make the research more applicable, I collaborated with the sales team to develop a more commercializeable and digestible version. While the revised version was well received, it did not yield the desired commercial results.
At this point, I was reassigned to another strategic project, but due to a personal tragedy, I chose to return to school to pursue my MBA. Luckily, my research was at least acted on by our new CEO, who was also the team leader for the Signature Research effort, and we started the "Leadership Solutions" cross-functional team.
This project was really my first foray into formal learning design, but I didn't even realize it. I would come to lead this leadership solutions group after returning from my MBA - where my learning design career really kicked into high gear.
Please use the arrows to navigate through various screenshots of projects associated with the case study presented. Please reach out to me if you have any questions about the above.