OVERVIEW
I’ve been asked to collaborate with Tandem Works and the Iowa West Foundation to develop a Strategy for - in the most general terms - strengthening the Iowa West Foundation’s relationship with the non-profits, government entities, and citizens of 18 counties in Southeastern Iowa and Eastern Nebraska.
My expectation of this engagement is that Tandem Works has been hired to ultimately create the Strategy, and I’ve been brought in to help. Think of this as buying access to me, my ideas, my expertise, my opinions - and all of that will be in service to the Strategy that Tandem Works will skillfully create.
WHAT WOULD THIS COLLABORATION LOOK LIKE?
DISCOVERY
I need to know what the problem is. What’s broken? What’s not working? Why is IWF dissatisfied?
I need to know in as much detail as possible what IWF’s desired future state looks like. If IWF could design what their relationship with the 18 counties they serve, what would that be if everything was exactly how you wanted it?
From there we’ll all know what IWF’s aim is. What their goal is. What they want to accomplish.
REVERSE ENGINEERING
If we know where IWF wants to be, we can figure out what needs to be done to get there. In this phase, we’ll work together to brainstorm, ideate, and discuss what tactics, tools, and methods we’ll need to employ to achieve the desired outcome.
STRATEGY
In this phase, we’ll lay out the Strategy - a battle plan to defeat the enemy or a road map to reach the destination - whatever analogy you want to use, you’ll have an in-depth understanding of what it’s going to take to MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
SO HOW DO WE WORK TOGETHER?
My approach to this would be the following: I’m here to bring my expertise and creativity into the mix to help Tandem Works nail down this Strategy. Whatever form the final Strategy takes - a document, a slide presentation, a flow chart, or all of the above - Tandem Works is taking the lead on creating that. I’m here to help us all get on the same page with the problem, the goal & desired outcome, and the tactics/methods/tools IWF is going to use to achieve that desired outcome.
I’m here for brainstorming, jotting down ideas, thinking outside of the box, to help Tandem Works organize all of these ideas, plans, tactics and tools into whatever final form is best to communicate the Strategy, to cast the vision of all this to the people or person who decides if this Strategy is employed.
The best way for me to package my expertise and creativity is to provide blocks of time where you have access to me and all the stuff that knocks around in my head. :)
HOW I WORK
My mind will always be working on this during our engagement, and I’ll transfer all the stuff my mind and sub-conscious cooks up to paper in my own way when I’m on my own. Which is great! But the work of getting THE STRATEGY DOCUMENT done falls on Tandem Works - I am here to aid in the creation of the Strategy but not the actual document itself. I’m also not here for delegation - “Hey Matt, this meeting has been great. Can you spend the rest of the day drafting a document that organizes everything we discussed today in a simple, streamlined way that I can pass on to <fill in the blank>?”
I will gladly share the notes or documents I create on my own or that I create when we’re meeting. No problem. But I shut down when I’m tasked with creating documents. I just do.
My super power is two-fold: 1) Put me in a room with other people trying to achieve a similar objective, and my mind will take off and come up with ideas, and I’ll feed off the energy in the room. If there’s a tool we can all use to capture that - a video camera, the Voice Memos app, a white board, a notebook and pen - let’s use it.
2) Send me off into the world with a problem to solve, and I’ll let my unconscious go to work on that problem, and I’ll put myself in situations where ideas and solutions will bubble up like water from a spring - at the movies, while exercising, on a hike, at a quiet lunch at La Buvette, while I’m driving, while I’m reading a book that is kinda related to our thing, while I’m cooking…
Whatever I come up with on my own, I’ll process it and share it with you.
OPTION 1 - ONE MONTH
For one calendar month I’m available to meet in person, over Zoom, on the phone, via text message, around a whiteboard, over coffee, during a power lunch, at a park bench, an afternoon stroll - WHATEVER - to go through the Discovery, Reverse Engineering, and Strategy phase of this engagement.
We can meet as little or often as you'd like, as long as it’s within the boundaries I outline in the AVAILABILITY section below. :) I’ll push to make sure we get through Discovery and Reverse Engineering expeditiously so we can focus as much of our energy as possible on the Strategy.
And in my brain, for that month, your problem will be my top priority. It’ll be at the top of my mind, and I’ll be brainstorming and ideating - combining my ideas for the solution to the problem with what my expertise already knows needs to be done.
All in service of Tandem Works creating the final Strategy document.
OPTION 2 - TWO WEEKS
All the same stuff as above but instead of a month our engagement will be two weeks.
OPTION 3 - ONE WEEK
All the same stuff as above but instead of a month or two weeks our engagement will be one week.
PRICING
OPTION 1 | ONE MONTH | $10,000
OPTION 2 | TWO WEEKS | $6,000
OPTION 3 | ONE WEEK | $3,500
TERMS
100% of payment due up front before work commences.
I only submit invoices using my own software/service . I send my invoice(s) through my invoicing service as an email, or I can email directly to you with a PDF. I cannot sign up for your billing service, invoicing system, or upload invoices through your billing system, etc. Payment methods will be outlined in the invoice. I will also provide a W-9.
If you purchase Option 1 but it only takes me and Vivian two weeks to deliver the Strategy… congratulations! You got your Strategy two weeks early! If my expertise and creativity can be used during the remaining two weeks, please let me know. My fees won’t be prorated.
If you purchase Option 3 and realize you’d like more time with me, you can upgrade to Option 2 or 1 at any time. I’ll invoice for the amount owed, and work will continue as soon as payment is received.
These prices are valid for 60 days.
I am happy to provide you with any and all documentation I create during our engagement, including scans of hand-written notes, scribbles on envelopes, etc.
AVAILABILITY
Monday - Friday | 8 am - 4:30 pm
How can I be contacted?
During business hours: by video, phone, e-mail, text message
Outside of business hours: by e-mail only
If there’s a service that you use that you want me to join, you can let me know. But just to manage your expectations, I most likely won’t join that service if it requires learning a new project management, team management, or messaging app.
Apps I use:
Zoom
Google Meet
FaceTime
Discord
Messages
Notion
Milanote
Apps I will strongly resist using:
Slack
Microsoft Teams
Whatsapp / Facebook Messenger / Telegram
Asana / Monday / Trello
Dates where I’m unavailable:
March 13 - 24
April 17 - 21
