our approach

The nature of strategy

The art of designing a calculated approach that balances the things you can control and the things you cannot just enough to find a window where you can go for the summit.

Only the adventurous dare to dream big enough to shape the future. Where others see too difficult a path, breathtaking risks, and a summit out of reach; we see opportunity. For a generation, management science has tried to distill the strategies that successful companies have used to win in the marketplace into a set of activities, tools, and templates to help others build their strategy. Strategy became a task to be completed and updated along with budgets and plans. We lost the art of how to think and act strategically, because we forgot what strategy is really about: making confident choices in a world of uncertainty.

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Intention

Companies that understand what they want and who they are have the commitment and conviction to succeed where others fail.

We help companies analyze their own DNA to understand what propels them forward, and what holds them back. Internal exploration reveals the purpose that drives a company’s ambition and helps shape a strategy to channel that ambition that is compatible with the people tasked with making it happen.

A blinding snowstorm at 14,000 feet is a bad place to figure out you didn’t want to climb a mountain, but companies often find themselves in a similar situation: in dangerous terrain, too far to turn back, questioning the objective and the path they’ve chosen to reach it. Ascent helps companies achieve a clarity of purpose and a deep understanding of the human dynamics that shape their ambitions. It isn’t enough to be excited and passionate about a goal – it’s purpose that keeps your company moving forward in conditions that turn others back.

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Intention

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Strategy

It isn’t unusual to have a few nerves on summit day. It doesn’t help when a few hundred feet from camp you encounter another party who have chosen a different route, have different weather information, and are carrying a whole different set of gear.

A clear strategy informed by intelligent choices is what gives successful teams the confidence to keep moving forward when faced with adversity.

Ascent helps companies execute with confidence by designing strategies that use their capabilities and resources to the greatest effect. With a solid strategy the next time you encounter a competitor taking a different route, you can be confident you’ll be the one standing on the summit.

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Strategy

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Tactics

You can’t predict what you’ll encounter, but you can prepare for it.

If Strategy is about anticipating the road ahead and making choices about how to navigate, tactics is about preparing to overcome the obstacles you expect to encounter along the way.

Developing scenarios and developing a suite of tactics to address expected challenges prepares teams to make quick, accurate, and high-probability decisions when the time comes.

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Tactics

You can’t predict what you’ll encounter, but you can prepare for it.

If Strategy is about anticipating the road ahead and making choices about how to navigate, tactics is about preparing to overcome the obstacles you expect to encounter along the way. Developing scenarios and developing a suite of tactics to address expected challenges prepares teams to make quick, accurate, and high-probability decisions when the time comes.

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Action

Making the right calls in the heat of the moment takes confidence and discipline. Commitment to a shared understanding of the goal, the approach, and the techniques to use on the journey is what separates those who will stand on the top from those who will be forced to turn back.

A clear strategy informed by intelligent choices is what gives successful teams the confidence to keep moving forward when faced with adversity.

Ascent helps companies build strategic thinking skills throughout their organizations, empowering teams on the front-line to make real-time decisions that drive results. Drawing from a strategy designed to highlight the team’s strengths and mitigate weaknesses, individual decision makers can proceed confidently knowing they have been put in the best possible position to succeed.

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Action

It isn’t unusual to have a few nerves on summit day. It doesn’t help when a few hundred feet from camp your encounter another party who have chosen a different route, have different weather information, and are carrying a whole different set of gear.

A clear strategy informed by intelligent choices is what gives successful teams the confidence to keep moving forward when faced with adversity.

Ascent helps companies execute with confidence by designing strategies that use their capabilities and resources to the greatest effect. With a solid strategy the next time you encounter a competitor taking a different route, you can be confident you’ll be the one standing on the summit.

Read More +

business with altitude

our approach

The nature of strategy

4 - 1

Intention

4 - 1

Intention

4 - 2

Strategy

4 - 2

Strategy

4 - 3

Tactics

4 - 3

Tactics

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Action

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Action

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