Mā te huruhuru ka rere te manu
Adorn the bird with feathers so it may soar.
What we promise to deliver
The ThinkBird Experience will enhance your internal capability for practical, collaborative problem-solving. We enable agile creative solutions without costly external consultants by:
1. Working with your board and senior executive to assure that a clear and proven process is in place for tracking and responding to emergent futures.
2. Installing EDLT™ in your team – a real-world-issues based, start-to-finish, hands-on creative problem-solving process. EDLT™is deeply practical and based in military ops and scientific method; providing rapid, repeatable and cost-saving performance.
3. Training your team in understanding and leveraging FourSightⓇ Thinking Profiles; enhancing self-and team-awareness around the creative planning process for maximising collaboration and productivity.
Not for profit
What we promise to deliver
The ThinkBird Experience will enhance your internal capability for practical, collaborative problem-solving. We enable agile creative solutions without costly external consultants by:
1. Working with your board and senior executive to assure that a clear and proven process is in place for tracking and responding to emergent futures.
2. Installing EDLT™ in your team – a real-world-issues based, start-to-finish, hands-on creative problem-solving process. EDLT™ is deeply practical and based in military ops and scientific method; providing rapid, repeatable and cost-saving performance.
3. Training your team in understanding and leveraging FourSightⓇ Thinking Profiles; enhancing self-and team-awareness around the creative planning process for maximising collaboration and productivity.
Not for profit
ThinkBird supports the life-changing cancer research of the Gillies McIndoe Research Institute in Wellington, founded by revolutionary thinker Dr Swee Tan.
It’s time to think differently
Inspired by the unique combination of science and creativity pioneered by the Gillies McIndoe Research Institute, the jewel in the ThinkBird crown is our Empirically Derived Lateral Thinking – EDLT™ methodology, a structured five-step process that has been consistently and successfully applied in high-risk, high-pressure environments.
Through hands-on exercises, teams learn to apply this process, ensuring they are equipped to tackle even the most complex strategic challenges in-house – creating vital cost-efficiencies for your organisation.
Who we are
SHAUN CLARKE and PAULA TER BRAKE
The co-founders of the ThinkBird Experience are not theorists or academics, but hands-on leaders with strong track records in handling high-risk, high-pressure, multi-variable environments.
Together, our experience covers large risk-based portfolio delivery in the insurance industry, international defence and security, NZ regional contingency management, and commercial entrepreneurship.
Our vision is to create a legacy of mission-focused teams, where ‘match fit’ leaders guide their organisations through an exceptional period of challenge and opportunity, all the while enabling the Gillies Mclndoe Research Institute to continue its life-changing research into the treatment of cancer.
What we do
NO ORDINARY EXPERIENCE
ThinkBird is on a mission to add essential capability to New Zealand’s organisations, working with leadership teams to inspire cultural shift and instil new approaches and tools that can be used on a daily basis in an operating environment of profound change.
By participating in the ThinkBird Experiences, your organisation will achieve the following:
Foresight – enhanced early awareness of looming disruptors
Self-reliance – a high-quality, reliable and repeatable in-house capability
Cost savings – reduced reliance on outsourcing strategic challenges
Response times – leverage from instantly employable internal resources
Vital ownership – greater ownership with solutions developed, bought into and implemented by your own teams
Competitive advantage – faster, more agile and competitive planning responses
Political approval – alignment with the changing expectations of boards, central government and other stakeholders as they increasingly seek speed and cost-efficiency.
Four core pillars
The ThinkBird Experiences are built on four highly practical pillars, setting us apart from other theoretical, desk-based consultancy services.
Mastering strategic drivers: surveillance and intelligence
We offer specific guidance on monitoring emerging business futures, identifying potential risks, and developing robust strategies to mitigate these challenges and recognise opportunities effectively. This results in a deep appreciation for the drivers of a fast-evolving strategic environment.
Introducing the EDLT™ process
Our trademarked Empirically Derived Lateral Thinking – EDLT™ bricoleur problem-solving approach helps leaders feel comfortable with radical thinking, excited by changing conditions and loving disruption.
Putting culture at the core of problem-solving
Using the universally recognised FourSightⓇ Thinking Profiles psychometric assessment, we provide leaders with a comprehensive understanding of how different thinking styles contribute to creative problem-solving – and how to leverage these insights to maximise team potential and business performance.
Using creativity to your advantage
We know lateral thinking is not an innate talent but a skill that can be taught and refined. The ThinkBird Experiences integrate creativity theory with practical exercises, empowering teams to think outside the box and develop innovative solutions for the most complex problems.
Providing much-needed support
AN UNLIKELY REBEL
ThinkBird is a proud supporter of the Gillies Mclndoe Research Institute in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, enabling this dedicated team to continue their life-changing research.
Founded by Dr Swee Tan, an unconventional hero who innovates at the frontier of cancer research, the Gillies Mclndoe Research Institute uses bricolage and creativity to achieve a paradigm shift in the way numerous diseases, including cancer, are treated.
Their ultimate goal is to develop low cost and widely available treatments without the need for invasive surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. They urgently need to raise funds if their important work is to continue.